Private Research Institution sees a 42% Conversion Rate and 77% Yield Rate with Unibuddy

Challenge: Thousands of Student Inquiries with Limited Time and Resources

In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, leaders continually seek efficient ways to engage, convert, and connect with students. A large top-tier private research institution in Boston, was in search of an effective approach to this challenge. Housing approximately 40 Master’s programs with an annual intake of 350 to 400 students, their Director of Master’s Marketing and Enrollment grappled with the time-consuming tasks of addressing thousands of student inquiries and connecting admitted students with one another.

As students submitted their questions via email, the marketing and enrollment team observed that messages often went unnoticed, remained unread, or recurrently addressed the same inquiries. “We found ourselves inundated with 2,000 to 3,000 student emails every couple of days, all carrying similar questions, and it became quite repetitive.” This urged the team to seek a different approach, to both streamline their responses and make answers readily available to all their prospective and incoming students.

The Marketing and Enrollment team didn’t just see challenges responding to student emails; they also noticed inefficiencies in connecting students with staff and ambassadors. “It’s quite a challenge to link prospective students with their respective programs when we have 40 different departments and limited staff and ambassadors. Some departments have dedicated administrators, while others don’t, resulting in inquiries landing in admissions or faculty members’ inboxes. This creates numerous issues in connecting students with someone who can provide personalized, authentic answers.”

Solution: Bridging Communication Gaps with Unibuddy

Their Director of Master’s Marketing and Enrollment discovered Unibuddy at a higher education conference, where a trusted friend and colleague recommended it. Reflecting on this discovery, they shared, “When I first heard about Unibuddy Chat, it immediately caught my attention because it seemed like a solution to all our problems.” While considering various options, Unibuddy clearly stood out for its user-friendly interface, time-savings, and robust backend data. “The school had initially set aside a budget for a tool like this, however, driven by a compelling pitch and the potential to reduce email volume while establishing a dedicated touchpoint with students, we successfully secured funding and even qualified for a grant.”

The incorporation of Unibuddy into their system was seamless. The team of administrators welcomed the technology with enthusiasm and showed a genuine interest in tailoring Unibuddy to suit their institution’s needs. “The resources and collaborative effort from Unibuddy significantly eased the process; making it much easier to identify the ideal placement on our website and helping to increase engagement and sign-ups.”

“At that time, we were also in the process of expanding our ambassador program, which worked out perfectly with the launch of Unibuddy. The platform required less hands-on monitoring, which allowed us to empower our ambassadors without overwhelming them. It offered the flexibility for both our ambassadors and prospective students to engage with the technology at their own pace and get the answers they need without any strict mandates.”

Recognizing the short duration of master’s programs at the University, where students have a limited time on campus, their Director of Master’s Marketing and Enrollment initiated student ambassador recruitment efforts during student orientation. “We reached out to students who had positive interactions with the platform themselves. Many students were enthusiastic about giving back and assisting prospective students on their journey; which helped preserve the authenticity.”

Result: + 13pp Conversion Improvement and 4X Impact on Yield

“Unibuddy has been instrumental in addressing our communication issues with prospective students. It enables them to connect with our ambassadors and staff on a single, user-friendly platform, ensuring that no inquiries slip through the cracks.” Integrating Unibuddy has not only significantly reduced the volume of emails their team receives, but has also given them confidence that their students are getting what they need to choose, enroll and stay at the University.

Since launching, 411 prospective students have utilized Unibuddy Chat throughout their admissions journey, with a total of 1520 questions answered by their student ambassadors. During the most recent cycle, 276 students chatted on the platform, 108 submitted their applications, 44 were admitted, and 34 enrolled.

“As we can see from the data, Unibuddy Chat has been performing remarkably well, which is why we also chose to adopt Unibuddy Community.” Since then, the team have noticed students returning to and engaging with both platforms throughout their decision making journey, indicating that students are successfully connecting and getting the information they need.

“The evidence of ROI is clear, and it’s become our go-to tool for connecting and engaging with our students. Although the overall number of applications is similar to the previous cycle, we see a higher conversion rate of 42% versus 29% non-Unibuddy leads, and a yield rate of 77% versus 16% non-Unibuddy leads, for those who utilize the platform. We’re genuinely thrilled with the results, and our students have recognized that Unibuddy is the best way to get in touch with our office and their peers. We’re definitely in it for the long haul.”