Why you need a student recruitment CRM in Higher Education

A CRM for student recruitment is a central platform that automates and personalises complex campaigns across multiple channels while integrating with third-party software. A student recruitment CRM provides on-demand insights enabling insight-led decisions. Institutions can use this information to understand the different touchpoints on a prospective student's journey from application to enrolment. A student recruitment CRM is a platform that can be used to:  

• Manage and report on open days and events, whether virtual or in-person.  
• Provide personalised, automated communication and enquiry management, turning enquiries into prospective students.  
• Improve response times and measure engagement with prospective students.   
• Monitor marketing and recruitment campaigns across different channels and platforms.  
• Provide reports and insights on demand, collating different performance measurements.  

Getting the most out of your student recruitment CRM  

Embedding a  CRM can be a complex task. It often involves the centralisation of potentially wide-ranging approaches to student recruitment. Early work needs to be done to prepare and plan so that the project is a success from the beginning. This includes gaining buy-in from the various stakeholders that might manage student recruitment across your institution. The different workflows that make up your campaigns should also be identified and mapped because this will make the integration within a CRM that much easier.  

The main key to success here is choosing the right CRM from the right partner. Having the system integrate seamlessly with your Student Information System (SIS) and other key systems is fundamental. Being cloud-based brings a whole set of different benefits in terms of security, availability, scalability and sustainability. 

Seven ways to get the most out of your student recruitment CRM:  

• Prepare for Change: Change management can be challenging in implementing student recruitment CRM as multiple departments may have different methods of recording and reporting campaigns. 
• Win Hearts and Minds: Gaining stakeholder buy-in is key to successful CRM implementation by identifying problems and requirements and positioning CRM as a solution. 

• Choose for HE: Choose a CRM specifically built for higher education for bespoke features and easy integration with common education systems. 
• Automate Workflows: CRM platform automates manual processes and workflows for more efficient recruitment. 
• Data-Led Approach: CRM offers centralised access to reporting and insights for data-led decisions and audience segmentation. 
• Clear Goals: Set clear goals early for effective use of CRM across the student journey, and regularly review and optimise campaigns. 
• Continuous Process: Getting the most out of CRM is a continuous process, building a roadmap for long-term aims for value year after year. 

Durham University introduced Tribal’s student recruitment CRM to transform their student recruitment and engagement, using the platform to realise ambitious recruitment targets. Previously, recruitment processes were managed through spreadsheets, so there were clear benefits of shifting to better campaign measurement. SEE THE CASE STUDY  

How can Tribal’s student recruitment CRM help you?  

From initial engagement to recruitment, Tribal’s Student Marketing & Recruitment solution revolutionises the student recruitment process. Our platform will help you monitor, and measure return on investment, plan, and deliver campaigns with improved outcomes, and gain in-depth insights across every platform.  

Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform, it’s designed to meet the education sector’s growing need for a powerful student recruitment CRM. With detailed audience segmentation and seamless automation, unify your student marketing and recruitment with Tribal.