Recruitment marketing and enrollment management can be complicated — much more complicated than it was 20, even 10, years ago. The digital revolution has transformed the landscape, introducing so many new channels, tools and techniques.
Keeping up can sometimes feel daunting!
One of the most critical decisions university recruitment marketers face is determining what and when to outsource. Let’s look at some ways to navigate this complex decision-making process, ensuring you maximize both your internal team and vendor relationships.
What do you do great?
Before diving into the specifics of outsourcing, it’s important to know your core competencies. These are the areas where your internal team excels and can provide a competitive advantage.
… strategic planning and brand management are often better managed internally because they require a deep understanding of the university’s vision and values.
Are you great at brand strategy? Does your staff have a strong understanding of the university’s voice and positioning? What about student insights? Do your people know your prospective students and their behaviors? Program knowledge: Does your staff have a command of your academic programs and campus offerings?
Identifying your strengths lets you determine which functions are best kept in-house. For example, strategic planning and brand management are often better managed internally because they require a deep understanding of the university’s vision and values.
What and when should you outsource?
Universities tend to outsource for specialized expertise, scalability and cost savings. If your institution’s recruitment strategy requires specialized technical expertise your team lacks — like running digital ad campaigns, applying marketing automation to get behavioral insights, using predictive models to guide efforts — outsourcing can fill the gaps effectively.
Also, during peak recruitment periods or specific campaigns, your internal team might be spread thin. Outsourcing allows you to scale your efforts without the long-term commitment of hiring full-time staff.
… external vendors often have streamlined processes and experienced teams that can execute campaigns faster, allowing you to respond quickly to market opportunities.
And then, of course, there’s the cost efficiency and speed to market. For smaller universities or specific projects, outsourcing can be more cost-effective than building an in-house team. It eliminates the need for ongoing training and reduces overhead costs. Also, external vendors often have streamlined processes and experienced teams that can execute campaigns faster, allowing you to respond quickly to market opportunities.
While each university’s needs are unique, certain marketing functions are commonly outsourced due to their specialized nature or the resources they require. This includes:
- Marketing automation implementation and support
- CRM
- Predictive modeling
- Digital advertising
- Content creation
- Market research
- Enhanced student search
How do you build strong vendor relationships?
Getting the most out of outsourcing requires strong vendor partnerships characterized by clear communication, well-defined goals and key performance indicators (KPIs), a collaborative approach, and a good cultural fit.
This means establishing clear expectations and maintaining open lines of communication with regular check-ins and updates to ensure alignment and address any issues promptly.
It’s also crucial to set specific, measurable goals and KPIs to track the success of your vendor partnerships. This ensures accountability and helps in evaluating performance. Be sure to conduct regular performance reviews to assess the effectiveness of your vendors, provide constructive feedback and discuss areas for improvement.
Finally, think of your vendors as partners! (At Capture Higher Ed, we have always referred to our relationship with client universities as partnerships.) Involve them in strategic discussions and encourage collaboration with your internal team. This means ensuring that your vendor’s values and working style align with your university’s culture.
A good cultural fit enhances collaboration and mutual understanding.
For Example
In 2022, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), the largest comprehensive, fully accredited university in the Kansas City area, faced a series of challenges that prompted them to re-assess their outside recruitment marketing support.
The university’s understaffed admissions team was spread thin and recruitment marketing vendors delivered lackluster performance. The vendor relationship was challenged by account managers turning over frequently and failing to develop an in-depth understanding of the university, its market, and its goals.
This was at a time when UMKC was trying to grow awareness of its unique, differentiated brand and had aggressive goals for enrollment. As UMKC director of admissions, Elora Thomas was charged with finding innovative solutions.
“To get there, we needed to make a change,” she said. “In our vendor relationships, we were struggling with errors and changing account managers, and our recruiters were bogged down in administrative tasks.”
The university’s enrollment leadership knew it was time to make bold changes. Rather than retain a single vendor to provide a full-service solution, UMKC opted to seek out the most innovative solutions available to address their specific needs.
“When we evaluated vendors, I asked pointed questions about how they were really doing something different — because we can’t differentiate ourselves with marketing and content that’s just reformatted and rebranded,” Thomas said.” Most vendors are doing the same things, but with Capture, we saw true innovation in behavioral intelligence.”
You can go here to read how UMKC signed on with Capture to make an immediate impact by streamlining its recruitment marketing efforts, enabling counselor success, maximizing its Slate CRM and, overall, making data-driven decisions.
Striking the correct balance between what efforts to keep in-house and what to outsource will continue to be a critical aspect of modern university marketing strategy. This means identifying the right opportunities for outsourcing and fostering strong vendor relationships.
A balanced approach ensures that your marketing efforts are efficient, scalable and effective, driving your university’s growth and success in a complex and ever-evolving landscape.
By Kevin Hyde, Senior Content Manager, Capture Higher Ed
