Get Your Students Hired
Describe your school's external customer touch points. How do you think these might be improved?
One of our key customer touch points is our website (and other online avenues, such as social media & email). Our website is modern and up-to-date. It is easy to navigate. When comparing other schools in the area, it is our website that many prospective students stated set us apart. Our presence on social media is on area that needs to be improved, and something on which we are currently working. We are utilizing social media for advertising, and we are increasing our presence on all social media networks. We are also improving the immediacy of our email responses by linking our emails to our mobile devices. This allows us to respond to inquiries when we are not at home at our computers.
Websites, Our reps. and career services stay in contact tofollow up. Social media such as LInked IN could play a big part as well as possible guest spaeakers.
We have career services staff for all programs who go on site with students and meet on a regular basis with site administrators and staff.
Seeking out new and varied markets to generate external customers. In a challenging environment where enrollment is declining, canvassing and recruiting must seek out new and different avenues to uncover previously undiscovered potential customers.
Matthew, Interesting insight! How can you assist with getting more things posted on social media?
Elizabeth Wheeler
Like most other businesses our campus utilizes a number of social media sites. Facebook, Instagram, Pintrest, YouTube and Twitter. Our company could definitely improve its performance with the use of the diofferent avenues by simply posting more. Posts are made but not regular enough. I would love to see more as we host events, have guest speakers, host demos, etc. Our campus needs to stay more current and up to date with the posting.
Great idea, Matthew! What are some physical touch points on campus that you feel could be updated?
Elizabeth Wheeler
I suggest the performance standards be compiled of the following:
Number of rings to answer the phone
Response time of 24 hours on phone calls and e-mails
Documenting communications with the customers in Power Campus
Warm transferring the customer to the right person
Actively listening to the customer's issues
Smiling and Greeting customers when you see them
Never use the phrase "That is not my job"
No eating in front of customers
Give the customer your undivided attention
Just some ideas off the top of my head.
Matthew, Great awareness. What are you suggesting the performance standards are compiled of?
Dr. Jean Norris
The "internal touch points" which include career services, student support, registrar office, staff and faculty could use a set of performance standards to ensure that they are providing the best customer service for our students. Our learning platform could use some updating to make it more customer friendly.
Matthew, Thank you for posting! Great ideas for external touch points. What about the "internal" touch points, or touch points for when students are already enrolled and attending? Do these touch points need to be updated?
Dr. Jean Norris
My school's external customer touch points are our website, community events, the appearance of the building, externship sites and the administrative assistants answering the phone. The external touch point that needs the most work is our website seems to be a little plain and does not display the success of our graduates or the exciting changes that we are trying to make to our college. The front page of the website can lead external customers to believe that we are in the education industry just to make a profit and it does not show the our passion for education. I think that the website needs to include success stories from our graduates. We also should use the website to tell the story of our school and the exciting changes that we are making to our on-line programs. Some of our campuses look a little run down and could a make over, especially our main campus in Falls Church which is housed in an office building. This building is not every inviting to external customers. I would build another building in the same area similar to the other campus locations which have more curb appeal.
Karen, That is such a great practice, and you are correct that it will help promote the school.
Elizabeth Wheeler
To continue to train staff and students that whenever they are out in public they are a walking advertisement for the school/clinic. This is a good advertisement for the school but also for their future as well. Being out in the community like we are has spread the word of our school and in turn we also help promote other companies by partnering with them whether through events or our public clinic. That is what continues to have these companies call us every term, to attend our clinic and book events with our students.
Karen, Thank you for posting. Do you see any way to improve this external touch point for your students?
Dr. Jean Norris
Our students are required to complete a certain amount of clinic hours, event hours(in the community) and hands-on classes. This gives them the opportunity to not only train in their field but also connect with the community to promote the school and also themselves for future employment which in turn promotes the school.
David, Thank you for posting. How do you think this process can be improved?
Elizabeth Wheeler
I believe our representatives once the students input their info they are contacted many times and their parents throughout the whole process and then after they have enrolled and started classes. The local reps will stay in contact with the students all through graduation. I as an instructor will also keep in touch with some students throughout school and even after they graduate.
I believe that social media is not used enough, today more and more people connect through facebook, instagram, twitter, ect. and it is a viable way of reaching new customers