Have you ever stopped to think about how people get to know your brand? Understanding the beginning of this relationship between students and your educational institution is also part of Educational Marketing.
By analyzing this journey, your team can get to know the students' perceptions and thus create a more targeted strategy. The name of this work is Customer Journey Analytics.
Shall we understand how it works?
What is Customer Journey Analytics?
Customer Journey Analytics is a terminology that is not yet widespread, but it is a marketing trend. Experts are betting that by using it, companies will be able to make more precise decisions and focus on the desired results.
But what is Analytics?
Well, the term Analytics refers to a computer system that analyzes data and statistics. Customer Journey Analytics is a strategy that uses technology to understand the customer's (or student's) buying journey through a complex process of data and statistics evaluation.
The purpose of this strategy is to connect all the points of contact your brand has with students and understand their perception of this relationship. With this information, it is possible to start a data-driven culture in your educational institution.
But the challenge is greater than it seems. You need to map all the contact that all students have with your brand across all channels. More than that: your team needs to understand how each student uses a combination of different channels to interact with the brand.
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How would this work in practice?
Imagine, for example, that the student José met your brand on the subway while looking out of the window and saw a billboard. This may not have been a very impactful contact, but it has already generated some level of awareness of your educational institution.
Coincidentally, José was in his third year of secondary school and needed to decide which course he would take. He then started researching the subject and found a text on his school's blog talking about exactly that subject - another point of contact.
Having decided what course to take, José then starts looking for the school he's going to apply to. The name of his educational institution appears on the list and he decides to do a bit more research, since that brand (the name) was already well known.
Looking at your website, he sees a chat room. There, he starts chatting with a robot that directs him to a human attendant who answers all his questions. A few days later, José returns to the website and decides to apply for the entrance exam.
As soon as he is approved, José gets in touch by phone and receives instructions on what to do. He gathers his documents and goes to the student service center to finalize his registration.
In this example of José, how many points of contact did he have with your brand before he actually became a student? There were seven different channels:
- billboard;
- blog;
- list of colleges;
- chat on the educational institution's website
- entrance exam form;
- telephone contact;
- student service center.
And we're still not taking into account the day of the exam, surveys on websites that measure the reputation of your educational institution, social networks and various other channels that can totally change the student's experience with your brand.
Here we look only at José and get to know his entire journey. Customer Journey Analytics proposes that we do just that, but that we also understand the buying journey of all customers (students), not just one person.
Omnichannel integration has become essential in order to map the student journey effectively. This means that all interactions, whether through social networks, emails, chats or face-to-face service, must be connected to provide a cohesive and seamless experience.
This approach not only improves student satisfaction, but also provides valuable data for optimizing attraction and retention strategies.
In the education sector, Customer Journey Analytics is used not only to attract students, but also to personalize the learning experience. By analyzing student interaction data with educational platforms, it is possible to adapt content and teaching methods to individual needs, promoting more effective and engaging learning.
What is the difference between Customer Journey Analytics and the buying journey?
You may now be wondering what the difference is between Customer Journey Analytics and the customer buying journey. After all, the two things are very similar. Or so it seems at first.
But there's a big difference: while the buying journey is an illustration of the steps the company believes the customer takes to make a purchase, the logic of Analytics consists exactly of collecting data. In other words, you don't "create" the buying journey, you analyze it based on data from real students who have become your students.
This gives Customer Journey Analytics some unique characteristics:
- it is based on data analysis;
- you can visualize and understand micro-purchase journeys that are essential for student decision-making;
- because it is a data analysis, Customer Journey Analytics is done in real time and changes as students change their behavior;
- with accurate information, your team can contact each student at the right moment in their journey (for José it was a chat conversation, for other students it could be an email, phone call or even leafleting. It all depends on the analysis).
In recent years, Customer Journey Analytics has evolved significantly, incorporating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to offer more personalized experiences to students.
These tools make it possible to analyze large volumes of data in real time, identifying behavior patterns and anticipating student needs, which results in more effective and relevant interactions.
Caption: Customer interaction pathsin a multichannel journey.
What is Customer Journey Analytics for?
When looking at how Customer Journey Analytics is done, one thing needs to be stressed: data-driven. This way of measuring the student's journey to becoming a student allows your team to make decisions based solely on data.
As a result, you have much more precise control over the student buying journey and fewer mistakes. Therefore, student acquisition benefits directly from the good use of information, which can be collected through dynamic analysis of the purchasing journey rather than static analysis (also known as a customer journey map).
The global Customer Journey Analytics market has shown robust growth, reflecting the growing demand for solutions that improve the Customer Experience.
It is estimated that the market will reach US$ 20.87 billion by 2025, driven by the adoption of advanced technologies and the need to better understand consumer behavior in various sectors, including education.
Customer Journey Analytics allows you and your team to follow students' individual buying journeys, but also to understand average patterns of behavior, measure the weight of each action taken, make decisions, test changes to the buying journey and evaluate the impact of these changes in real time.
Looking to the future, Customer Journey Analytics is expected to continue to develop with the incorporation of emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, which will make it possible to simulate interactions with students in order to predict behavior and needs.
In addition, sentiment analysis and the use of real-time data will become increasingly common, providing deeper insights and more precise actions to improve the student experience.
Summary: Customer Journey Analytics analyzes, based on real data, how students interact with your educational institution across multiple channels. By connecting points in the journey, such as social networks, chat, outdoor and registration, it is possible to personalize strategies and predict behavior. With AI and real-time data, this approach improves student acquisition and experience.
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How to apply Customer Journey Analytics in educational marketing
What is Customer Journey Analytics?
It's a strategy that analyzes the student's real journey using data collected from various channels, such as the website, social networks and customer service. It allows for more precise and personalized decisions when attracting students.
What is the difference between the buying journey and Customer Journey Analytics?
The buying journey is an assumption of the student's path. Customer Journey Analytics, on the other hand, is based on real data, analyzing each student's behavior in real time and adapting actions according to their interactions.
How does this analysis help to attract more students?
By understanding the right time to approach each student, your team can target the ideal channels more precisely, increasing the conversion of interested parties into enrollees and reducing communication errors.
What are the main channels analyzed?
All points of contact are considered: from billboards, blogs and social networks to registration forms, chats and face-to-face service. Omnichannel integration is essential for mapping the entire journey.
How important is personalization in the journey?
With real-time data, it's possible to adapt service and content to the preferences of each student, promoting a more effective, engaging experience that strengthens the relationship with the institution.
How does AI contribute to Customer Journey Analytics?
Artificial intelligence makes it possible to predict behavior, identify patterns and simulate interactions with students. This makes actions faster, more precise and more in line with the needs of the public at each stage.
What changes with the data-driven approach?
Decisions are now based on concrete data and not guesswork. This reduces failures, optimizes resources and increases the chances of success in marketing, retention and student relationship strategies.
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