Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | June 26th, 2019

Enrollment Marketing: The value of digital strategy from a specialized firm

In most retail or consumer goods businesses, a good digital agency will be successful in helping meet revenue goals. But finding a firm that has experience in education and enrollment marketing is taking it a step further. Higher ed is a definite “niche market” and working with a firm that is both qualified in digital advertising AND has education expertise is key to success.

Here are a few insights on how to select an agency to help you with your enrollment goals.

They’ve been around the block (with a solid and varied education client roster)

You recognize their past clients. You may have even seen some of their recent work. Although digital marketing is all about innovation and new tactics, it’s important to select a firm that’s been doing this for a while. They can spot a good opportunity and weed out the bad ones. They’ve “been there done that” and can share new perspectives in your strategy sessions based on their breadth and depth of knowledge on how to meet enrollment goals.

They can prove their results (think case studies)

When you ask them about past results, they readily respond with client testimonials and proven ROI. The firms that you want to work with to fulfill your enrollment goals have done this for other schools and they’re proud of their results. You might be the next client they use for a case study!

Your peers know about them (and recommend them)

The last time you were at a conference, connecting with your peers from other schools, this firm may have come up in conversation. Nothing speaks more strongly than a recommendation from a peer. It’s likely that if the admissions director or CMO at a peer school is singing their praises, there’s something worth looking into.

They have their roots in education (although they may serve other industries)

Starting with retail or consumer goods and then backing into education is very different than originating in the higher ed space. You don’t want to be the guinea pig. Chances are, if they haven’t had an education client before, or have only worked with one or two, you’ll be paying heavily for their learning curve. Instead, look for a firm that has a strong background in your space and understands the sales funnel for prospective students. This is especially true with the specialized niche of graduate programs.

If you’re looking for an agency that has all 4 of the criteria listed above, GPRS is your ideal partner. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to share those case studies with you.

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | June 12th, 2019

Navigating the Generational Divide: Communicating to Prospects

Baby boomers. Gen X. Millennials. Each generation has different value sets, core motivations and media consumption habits. Make the most of your communications to each group, and bridge the gap with some universal messaging that applies to all.

Millennials are in the work force and Boomers are slowly starting to transition out of the professional landscape. You’ve been inundated with information about how these groups consume information. But how do you handle communications when you’re marketing a program that may include more than one generation?

Universal Messaging

Marketers can go crazy trying to integrate the buzz words that are important to different market segments. Make sure you don’t offend anyone. Use the right mix of humor. Try to include data that is relevant to a certain career stage, or you’ll lose them. If your head is spinning, wondering how you can stay relevant, consider this – there are some universal messages in education that cut through any generational divide. Those are:

Value – Who wants to pay more than something is worth?
Return on investment – Most people are looking for a payoff on the time and money they’ve spent.
Personal connections – We are all human. Relationships matter. Make sure your prospects know you care and are available to help them.
Flexibility – Regardless of career or life stage, we can all use a little more time and control over our schedule to focus on things that are important to us.

Communication Tracks

In a recent blog, we discussed using segmentation to bucket your communication strategies. One way to do this is to segment by age group. For emails, if you have birthdate or years of work experience, you might be able to use that knowledge to craft different messages aimed at core motivations. For advertising and social media, you can depend on certain channels. Check out this infographic showing media consumption habits across generations.

Event Strategy

Wondering why your Preview Day attendance has dropped? Thinking about trying a webinar for the first time? Are you open to testing new types of events? What worked 10 years ago to market an Executive MBA program at a 3 hour event on a Saturday may not yield the same response today. Why? Because when you were marketing your program 10 years ago it was to Boomers who may have been amenable to that type of event. But now, you’re marketing to GenX and even some ambitious Millennials. They don’t have the time to attend this event, although they would attend class if they were accepted to the program. These generations are less likely to invest time in something that is not a sure thing.

Bottom line: Innovation can work in your favor. Try a webinar or a coffee chat. Hold an info session at a restaurant near a business park. You can still keep your favorite events, but it can’t hurt to add new ones to the mix.

Marketing Materials

Have you checked out your competition online recently? You may be surprised at what materials they are offering to prospective students. In an age where the website is king, even supplemental information is shifting. Standard brochures are morphing into videos and blogs. Photo albums are now social feeds.

If you’re looking for ways to innovate to connect with your target, we can help. Get tips to engage prospects on their terms so you can get the most from your communications strategies. Contact GPRS.

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | June 11th, 2019

Pattern matching: The 10 most important marketing and recruiting insights derived from working across 120 graduate business programs

Eighteen years and more than 120 different graduate business programs.

Do we have your attention?

Our first-hand experiences have unearthed a treasure of insights. And, here’s a unique opportunity for you to take a peek inside. Join Graduate Program Recruitment Solutions (GPRS) President of University Partnerships, Anthony Campisi, at the 2019 GMAC Annual Conference as he gives you a rare look at how to enable your graduate programs to thrive, even during challenging times.

From June 19-21 in Denver, CO, hundreds of industry professionals will converge to share ideas, trends and best practices at the Graduate Management Admissions Council’s 2019 Annual Conference. Complete your stay in the mile-high city with Anthony on Friday, June 21st, from 8:30am – 9:45am, as he presents insights developed working with top graduate programs.

Session Title:

Pattern Matching: The 10 Most Important Marketing and Recruiting Insights Derived from Working across 120 Graduate Business Programs

Session Description:

In this session you will have the unique opportunity to explore the top 10 marketing and recruiting trends that have led to enrollment success across more than 120 different graduate business programs, including MBA, EMBA, Working Professionals, Specialty Masters and Online programs.

Patterns that have emerged time and time again, leading to increased program inquiries, diversification in applicant pool and higher matriculation yield rates.

You will learn:

• What type of content encourages more women to apply to graduate programs
• How many form fields is the sweet spot for an information request form
• You may be closer to an enrollment with your older leads than you are with your newer ones
• To tone down your “calls to action”
• The truth about which geographies online programs are most successful in
• Who your biggest competitor is – spoiler alert – it’s none of the schools you think!

Expect to leave this session with insights that will exponentially increase your market penetration.

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | May 29th, 2019

Maximizing CRM: Unique communications tracks, content and frequency

Customer Relationship Management. There are platforms designed around this idea, but even if you don’t have a formal platform, but rather a process, every B-school can benefit from a communications map to keep leads and prospects engaged.

Find out how you can manage your relationships with prospective students using different communications tracks, content and frequency.

Communications Tracks

Once a lead enters into your system, you’ve likely obtained some key information that will help you tailor the messages you send them. Or, if they entered in through a short info request form, you can always follow up to find out more about them. These demographics can be considered as you segment your messaging:

Gender
Geographic location
Specialty groups: military, healthcare, etc.
Program of interest
Entry year
Title
Industry
Age

When you know any or all of these aspects of a person’s background, you can assign them into a “track” within your communications map that is in addition to the general communications track that everyone receives. For example, if you are located in Michigan and you’re offering information sessions in Ohio, it probably makes sense to tell prospects from Ohio that you’ll be in their area with a personal message. Or, if you are offering a military scholarship, consider sending out a separate communications flow to the military applicants in your pool. In addition, you can further segment messaging based on industries like healthcare or IT to communicate the benefits of your program.

Content Variation

Not everyone responds the same to the same message. Just as we discussed above, you have a melting pot of people in your funnel and they are all looking for different things. Once you’ve determined your communications tracks, you can decide on the content. For the general communications track that everyone receives, you can use program features & benefits, ROI and admissions criteria & events. Once you start digging into your segmentation, try to focus on the core motivations of each sub-group. Here are some examples:

For gender-tailored content, consider:
- Women: climb the corporate ladder, flexibility, lead with confidence, advance your pay scale, collaborative environment that values your talents
- Men: prepare yourself for leadership, powerfully elevate your career, make an impact, become a dealmaker, reposition your career, solidify your advancement
For age differences, consider:
- Millennials: be transparent, get to the point, focus on their goals and community
- Gen X: include data, emphasize results, stay away from clichés
- Boomers: try clever humor, focus on how you can make their lives better
For industry ideas, consider messaging targeted at how your program can impact those in these fields/stages of career:
- Healthcare
- Entrepreneurs
- Executives vs. career launchers
- IT
- Strategy
- Marketing
- Finance

The goal here is to focus on what motivates these segments and fine-tune your messaging to connect with them.

Frequency

While some prospects are hyper-engaged and ready to act right now, there are others who are just starting their search and want to “browse.” So how do you strike the balance of giving everyone what they need, when they need it, but not turning them off? The answer is a structured plan. Even for the hottest prospects, you want to be sure you’re not coming on too strong.

For all prospects, consider an email campaign, or a communications map that is auto-triggered to send messages every 10 days (following lead entrance into the system). For the active leads, you can layer on a calling or text campaign. In addition, you may consider mailings, i.e. sending your brochure, a postcard with events (although these may be hard to track). Also, don’t discount the power of social media. This is a great supplement to the communications you’re sending because the prospects can consume this information on their terms, giving them the feeling of control. If they are following you, it is likely that they are seeing what you’re posting every 1-3 days. Be sure to vary your content, and also be aware of what you’re posting on social to reduce duplication.

By mapping out your communications, considering your audience’s motivations and varying your frequency, you can find ways to connect with your prospects on their terms.

Find out more about how to engage prospects with email nurture campaigns through your CRM platform. Contact GPRS.

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | May 14th, 2019

Recruiting: The middle of the funnel – who’s responsible?

If you’re in B-school admissions or marketing, you’re familiar with the common push-pull of who’s responsible for filling your next class.

Hey, we’re all on the same team, right? Then why does it sometimes feel divisive when it’s time to assign accountability for a waning class size, or take credit for an overflowing classroom on day 1? Let’s talk about where the most important action happens – the middle of the funnel.

Admissions Team

You’ve collaborated with marketing on a strategy to bring leads into the top of the funnel. You’ve stated your goals, approved a plan, and you’re gaining traction. Your pool of leads may be growing and your admissions events have attendees. You’re ready for them to apply – NOW! After all, they showed up, called you or filled out a form – they must be interested right? Here’s where the questions begin:

If we spent money to bring them in and they’re not applying, are they the right leads?
Did marketing lead us astray on strategy? Should they be doing more emails/advertising/InMails/billboards/radio? (Fear not, marketing folk, we’ll get to you.)
Is our database stale?
Is the competition eating our lunch?

All of these things (and more) are possible, however, consider asking these questions about your prospects, instead:

What barriers do they have and how can I address them?
How could I get them to interact with my school, either on-campus or online?
Could I connect with them (beyond email) in a meaningful way?
Could I collaborate with my team or my agency to develop a calling campaign, email campaign, mailing or webinar series to engage those that have been stagnant?
Is there any content I could share with them that would be interesting and compelling, i.e. video or a professor’s recent book?

The goal here is to focus less on “what went wrong” prematurely and more on how you can help your prospects make a decision. With a different approach, you may be surprised at how much action you can spur, pulling them through the murky waters of the middle funnel and down to the bottom where you’re ready for them.

Marketing Team

You’ve done your job. You’ve developed a marketing strategy, your advertising is filling admissions events, you’re tracking activity on your dashboard, and you’re seeing an uptick in YOY leads. So why are applications down? Here’s where the questions begin:

How is admissions following up with the leads I generated for them?
What is happening at admissions events if no one is applying?
Do I need to ask for more advertising budget?
What is the competition doing that we’re not?

All of these things (and more) are valid, however, consider asking these questions about your prospects, instead:

What barriers do they have and how can I address them?
How could I get them to interact with my school, either on-campus or online?
Could I connect with them (beyond email) in a meaningful way?
Could I collaborate with my team or my agency to develop a calling campaign, email campaign, mailing or webinar series to engage those that have been stagnant?
Is there any content I could share with them that would be interesting and compelling, i.e. video or a professor’s recent book?

So, you see, the second set of questions is the same for both teams, implying the need for a paradigm shift in how you think about the middle funnel. If you can collaborate and share the responsibility, you can also share the victory.

Find out more about how to engage prospects in the middle of the funnel with digital marketing or contact center solutions. Contact GPRS.

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | April 30th, 2019

How long does it take for a prospective student to choose to enroll in a graduate program?

It’s been a year, or two, or 5. Are they still considering continuing their education, did they already complete another program or did they give up the dream?

For some graduate programs, there is fixed window for decisions, while others have a longer lifecycle. Let’s examine typical cycle time from shortest to longest.

1-Year Masters (After Undergrad)

You probably have a year (or 2 max) to catch these students’ attention. They are either super-motivated juniors who are planning their future or exasperated seniors who need to bolster their undergraduate degree to launch a career. If they’ve been in your funnel for over 2 years, it’s worth an email to ask if they’d still like to hear from you.

MBA

Typical lead cycle time for an MBA is 2-3 years. Often, these early career professionals realize after graduating and working for a couple years, that: 1) they don’t like their career choice and need to shift, or 2) they need a broader perspective to move into a leadership role. From this point, it could take a couple of years to prep for an admissions test, find a school and determine the right timing. They have more life decisions at play than a graduating senior, but less than a senior executive. Once they’ve signed up to take a GMAT, you likely have less than 2 years because they will be hit by every school in the country that purchases names of test takers.

EMBA/Global EMBA

Working professionals and aspiring executives who are considering an Executive MBA could be in your funnel up to 5, maybe even 7 years. There are some who know that they want to continue their education, and they want you to keep reminding them (which is why they signed up in the first place and haven’t opted out). There are some that are struggling with barriers like career trajectory, family and personal issues. And for global programs where travel is required, it can be even more difficult to work themselves into a work situation where a boss will give them the time off to pursue a degree. And then there are those who are lifelong learners who may actually be getting another degree in the meantime (yes, this happens). Give them the time they need to make the decision and do all you can to address their concerns. Even though they may seem distant, it’s possible that your messages are getting through and they’ll act when they hear the right one.

Executive Education (Ongoing)

Early-, mid- or late-career professionals and executives either need to fill a knowledge gap right away, or they are pursuing continuing education which means they are always ripe for picking a new program if your offerings coincide with their needs. For this audience, recency and relevance is key because when they’re ready to move, you need to be top of mind.

Online

Prospective students of all career levels that are considering an online education fall in 2 camps. They either need a degree right away to get them to the next level, or they have time to decide and they are banking on ultimate flexibility. While proliferation of online degree programs is up and other free online education options are widely available, give these prospects the most leeway so you don’t lose them.

Find out more about how to engage prospects at different stages of the decision-making process. Contact GPRS.

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | April 17th, 2019

Conversion Challenges: Do you have the right people in your funnel?

Let’s examine your leads, prospects and future students.

Top of the Funnel = Leads

Depending on who you talk to — marketing, admissions, administrators, faculty — these may be the most important people in your funnel and the ones that deserve the highest dollar investment. If your leads are qualified, engaged and ripe for the opportunity at hand (your degree program), they will be much more likely to turn into prospects and seated students. Sounds obvious, right? Then why are there so many temptations to shortcut the lead generation process?

If you’ve ever purchased a list and then watched your email campaign bounce rates triple, or tried to “cast a wide net” with a digital advertising deal that seemed too good to be true, you’ve fallen prey to marketing advice that leaves you with fewer dollars and lots of time wasted. A laser-focused digital strategy that utilizes multiple platforms, compelling ad creative and targeted media may seem insurmountable with your time and budget constraints, but in the long run it can pay off. In fact, 500 quality leads will serve you better than 10,000 expired email addresses you’ve obtained with antiquated mass marketing tactics. And you’ll see the fruits of your labor as your leads convert into the middle of the funnel.

Middle of the Funnel = Prospects

This is where leads turn into real prospects — if the strategic lead generation strategy you implemented at the top of the funnel worked. The middle of the funnel is where the churn begins. Prospects are beginning to ask themselves questions like: Is it time to go back to school? Should I continue to work while I earn my degree? Is an in-person, online or hybrid program right for me? What can I afford? And this is also where you step in to answer those questions.

A targeted email communications flow to address barriers can speak to their concerns. A video or other media on your website can help them decide which program is right for them. A personal outreach or an invitation to an event from the admissions staff or call center can set their minds at ease. If you’re making these efforts at engaging them and you’ve spent the time and money to make sure they’re qualified, you’ll find that the transition from lead to prospect is much smoother.

Bottom of the Funnel = Future Students

As your prospects continue the decision making process, your team’s efforts are pivotal in converting them. It does seem however that it is much easier to convert the right candidate than someone who was never right to begin with — even if they appear ideal on paper. See, the way that prospects appear on paper is very different from their current mindsets. They are more than just numbers, demographics and job titles. They are complex people with real lives, families, circumstances and ambitions. When you market to them, it is imperative to meet them on their journeys — where they are both physically and mentally.

If you focus your efforts early on, you can better connect with the right people at the right time — which is where the magic happens. Once they make it to this point in the funnel, they’ve already been qualified by a fantastic marketing strategy and are ready to be pulled through the funnel by admissions. And congratulations, you’re on your way to filling your next class.

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | April 3rd, 2019

Your prospects have stopped engaging. Now what?

It’s crunch time. You’re finishing your final round of admissions events for the year. Your class is starting to round itself out, but you’ve still got those final seats to fill. You’re looking at each and every lead in your funnel, trying to predict which ones will take action.

If you’re like many schools, you’ve got a group of stagnant leads that you’re wondering about. Did they decide to pursue another program/school/path and forgot to let you know? Or is it possible that they may emerge from the black hole of grad school prospects and raise their hands, magically giving you that last push across the finish line of filling your class.

Stagnant leads are tricky for many reasons. Here are a few ideas on what to do with them.

Consider the decision timeline for your program

Some programs like MAcc or MSF, have an immediate decision cycle because students are coming straight out of undergrad. If you haven’t heard from them after a year, it may be time to purge them. With an MBA, the prospects could take up to 1-2 years as they are early in their careers and trying to figure out how to move up or switch directions. For an executive program such as an EMBA, it’s important to give prospects the time they need for their decision because they are weighing (already successful) careers and families to find the right time to weave school into their busy lives. Of course, you want to be sure that your messages aren’t falling on deaf ears, but giving them the time they need, even if it’s up to 5 years, may be necessary.

Audit your current communications mix

Within your current channels, is your messaging getting tired? It may be time to try something new. If an audit of your ads/emails/social/etc. reveals low response rates, get creative with your content. Are you only promoting events? Try some value added content like infographics or videos. Are you tirelessly pushing for applications, with no submissions? Try hosting an informal webinar. Other enticing information can be high profile alumni profiles or student stories. If you’ve tried these things to no avail, it may be time to develop or evolve your digital strategy.

Cater to your target and their communications preferences

You’ve heard the buzzwords surrounding multi-generational workforces. Catering your messaging to prospects with different mindsets – even if you’re inviting them to the same event – can work to your advantage. Here are a few ideas on communicating to different generations:

Boomers – prefer face-to-face interaction but also like a balance of voicemail and email
GenX – prefer succinct email, but since they strive for work-life balance, prefer business communications during working hours
Millennials – prefer all forms of online communication, but need prompt feedback

Of course, these are broad generalizations. If you’re having trouble connecting with a particular age group, do some research on their communication preferences.

Vary your calls to action

Get creative. If you’re seeing some engagement, i.e. they opened the email but didn’t click, consider what you’re asking them to do. Is it too tall of an order to request that they start an application in an email if they haven’t attended an event yet? Is it possible that something is holding them back from attending an event and perhaps they’d like to connect on the phone first? Try being flexible and varying your calls to action and see what happens.

Ask them if they’d like to opt out

“No way!” may be what you’re thinking. But consider this…how many emails do you get in your inbox per day? How many online ads or social media posts do you see per day? People are overloaded. Couldn’t everyone benefit from a little less noise? A short email to prospects who’ve been stagnant may actually spur the action you want as they say, “I’ve been watching from the sidelines for too long and now it’s time for me to act!”

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | March 15th, 2019

Why your local marketing agency won’t help you meet your enrollment goals.

There’s a firm in town that’s been reaching out. They’re really nice, and have a great website. Some of the other departments are using them and seem to like them. Sounds like a no-brainer for your graduate program’s needs, right?

Unfortunately not, and this is a very common mistake. Further, it holds especially true if the program was looking for qualified lead generation that could be directly associated with enrollment, and not simply a brand advertising campaign.

So why is the local agency the wrong choice? It’s not because they’re local, but because they’re generalists. Of course they’ll tell you that their marketing expertise can be applied across industries, and is transferrable. And even show you successful examples of that. But this is different, graduate program marketing and recruitment is a unique animal. The consumers are savvy, they’re difficult to pinpoint and connect with, and the decision making cycle can be lengthy before they choose to enroll.

Contending with very specific personas which require unique messages is another challenge. Like veterans, stay-at-home-moms looking to return to the workforce, future entrepreneurs, those looking to change careers, and the more typical professional looking to advance their career or add to their skill sets.

Industry experience, mastery of lead generation channels, and highly capable measurement platforms for optimization and match back ROI are some of the most important factors you should consider when hiring support. Graduate programs do not have the luxury of gambling with their marketing budgets – they need as close to a sure thing as they can find.

I recently talked to an MBA program that chose a local firm 9 months ago because their colleagues were using them. Now that program director is panicking because she’s at risk of having her marketing budget cut by her superior. Why, because though the firm got them exposure, and they received a lot of clicks, and some leads, applications are down and the enrollment window is quickly closing. She shared that her boss was convinced, as a result of the previous efforts, that digital marketing doesn’t work for their program and that there’s less demand for MBA programs. That’s exactly the opposite of what we’re seeing across our clients. But then again that comes from highly specialized experience, exposure to programs across the entire country, and a data warehouse full of patterns highlighting the path to enrollment success.

Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | January 30th, 2019

How EMBA Prospects Choose Their Future Programs

The decision-making process for a prospect to enroll in an Executive MBA program is painfully long. Statistics show that this process can take up to two years. So what can you do to speed up the process? Develop — and implement — a pull-through digital enrollment marketing strategy.

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting is a key component of any successful marketing strategy, online or offline. Don’t throw a wide net; targeting will produce better results. Why? Because you will be delivering relevant content. If you bid on keywords that are too broad, you may be wasting your online advertising dollars. To promote a Healthcare EMBA program, for instance, both the keywords and the ad messaging must be specific. Otherwise, you may receive a great number of leads but not quality leads. Quality leads are more engaged in your EMBA program and, therefore, more likely to commit sooner.

Timing

Timing is everything. While you want your online ads to appear prior to your program deadlines, you also want prospects to see them at key stages in their decision-making process. Keep in mind that, although these two timelines may intersect at certain points, the overlap may be minimal. That’s why you should schedule ads throughout the calendar year, not just based on the academic calendar.

So what are some of the stages that prospects will go through on their path to enrolling? Here are a few common stages:

Considering an EMBA
Deciding what type of EMBA program
Seeking information
Applying
Enrolling

Reasons Why a Prospect Stalls

Just because you get a prospect into the funnel, that doesn’t mean it will be smooth sailing. Bottlenecks can pop up anywhere:

Cost of the program
Concerns regarding work-life balance
Questioning ROI of EMBA degree

Offering Incentives

Your program positioning and digital marketing strategy must address and overcome these and other obstacles. You can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by offering incentives for early enrollment.

First, financial incentives will help to bring down the overall cost of an EMBA. Second, incentives can help shorten the decision-making process.

What kinds of incentives can you offer? That depends on your program’s pricing and operations budget. Some programs offer scholarships, waive application or GMAT fees (some programs waive the GMAT altogether), or pay for textbooks. Other programs offer incentives to specific groups, such as military veterans.

If you find that work-life balance is an issue for prospects, take a look at your program format. EMBA programs must be willing to rethink traditional models in order to appeal to professionals with limited bandwidth. Programs with flexible scheduling will have an advantage over those with rigid formats and may prompt commitments earlier in the decision-making process.

Your digital marketing strategy must demonstrate program ROI. How? Include testimonials on ROI from current students and alumni. If favorable, compare your tuition to that of other EMBA programs. Survey your alumni to find out how they moved up the career ladder (and how quickly) and how much their salaries increased post-graduation. Collect stats, and then use them to your advantage.

Digital enrollment marketing is more than just “setting and forgetting” a search engine marketing (SEM) campaign. Your strategy should be made up of many components: keyword optimization, banner and search ads, landing pages, search engine optimized (SEO) web content, social media advertising, retargeting campaigns and more. Your online campaign also should be consistent in visuals and messaging with offline marketing.

Don’t forget to monitor your campaigns. Tracking results will reveal which components worked best, and which fell flat. Then tweak your campaigns for optimal results.

A coordinated, consistent, ongoing marketing effort will produce the best results and, ultimately, shorten the prospect’s decision-making timeline.