Acquiring a new customer costs, on average, five to seven times more expensive than retaining someone who has previously purchased services from a company. Anyone who studies marketing and sales has probably heard this saying from American specialist Philip Kotler. Therefore, more and more companies are investing in customer loyalty, recurring sales and repurchases.
In the education market, this concern about retaining customers translates into actions to retain students. The segment has a recurring revenue characteristic, as students pay for classes monthly. In this context, keeping a student enrolled is essential because often the cost of bringing them into the classroom will only be compensated after months of paying tuition fees.
And if the institution has high dropout rates and loses the student in a short time, the balance of the amount invested to win him over minus the revenue he brought in when paying the monthly fees will be negative.
One of the ways to achieve retention is to invest in marketing automation, causing more people to graduate and, consequently, increasing the company's revenue. This resource, which has been increasingly used to attracting new students, works very well in customer relations after registration is complete.
Upon entering college, the student begins a new cycle of their life and needs to assimilate a series of new features related to their student routine. Providing information about the enrollment system, tuition payment methods and dates, subjects, assessments, events, restaurants and cafeterias on campus will make them feel familiar with the new environment and more eager to continue their studies.
All of this can be done automatically, with scheduled interactions on different channels, such as email, SMS and Whatsapp, using software developed for this purpose.
In addition to traditional automation tools, the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and chatbots has revolutionized educational marketing. These solutions allow for personalized communication at scale, quick responses to student queries, and optimization of the student journey, resulting in greater engagement and retention.
SEE TOO:
- CRM and marketing automation for all stages of the funnel;
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What do you need to automate your Institution’s marketing?
The key to success in an automation strategy is knowing who your person is and using the right tools for communication. That is why it is essential to have qualified professionals. And the knowledge to develop these two activities is part of 4RevOps’ DNA.
In 2024, Mkt4Edu was recognized globally by winning two awards at the HubSpot Impact Awards, standing out for its success stories with Red Balloon and ESPM. This achievement reinforces our commitment to excellence in automation and educational marketing, consolidating our position as a reference in the sector.
Data analytics plays a crucial role in formulating effective student retention strategies. By monitoring metrics such as dropout rates, engagement on digital platforms, and student feedback, institutions can identify areas for improvement and implement proactive actions to keep students motivated and engaged in their studies.
We are experts in education and serve more than 50 educational institutions in three countries, helping our clients attract and retain students. We are immersed in this segment and, as a result, we are able to accurately map the characteristics, problems and needs of this target audience.
For each new client, we combine our market experience with an in-depth investigation into the particularities of the Institution and its students. This allows us to create personas in a very efficient way, in order to align the planning of recruitment and retention actions. The results of this work come in the form of revenue for the educational institution.
With the interaction history of leads and students recorded in Hubspot, we created personalized communications to improve the conversion rates of our customers and reduce dropouts among those who have already enrolled. This customized messaging strategy is responsible for a large part of the positive results and the excellent financial return on the resources invested in digital marketing by our clients.
With well-planned, programmed automation and using appropriate software such as Hubspot, it is possible to scale communication actions and reach more leads and students, without necessarily increasing the marketing, sales and customer relationship team.
In our portfolio we also offer strategic marketing consultancy services for educational institutions, branding, SEO and SEM, content marketing, inbound marketing, social media, mobile marketing, web design and reopening of registrations.
Caption: Automation in action: enhance educational marketing results with technology and process integration.
Inbound sales: why should your institution invest in this format?
To attract students, a very efficient strategy that requires a smaller investment than traditional sales is inbound sales. If you need to reduce your customer acquisition cost (CAC), it's worth including it in your list of digital actions.
In inbound sales, we first attract the interest of students with content production, to convert them into leads. Secondly, these leads receive segmented information for each stage of the purchasing journey, until they reach the decision to enroll.
Instead of wasting time with cold calls (calls to cold leads, who have never had a relationship with your brand), your team of consultants steps in to finalize enrollment when the lead is ready to say yes!
Complementing the use of HubSpot, Mkt4Edu also uses other advanced tools, such as Agents4edu, developed by 4RevOps. This platform integrates intelligent automation, personalization at scale, and data analysis, providing a more effective approach to student recruitment and retention.
Inbound sales allows you to increase the productivity of your call center, reducing the time taken to close registrations by increasing the quality of the leads that will be approached.
It is worth remembering that these strategies already bring results in the short term, but they are best used in the medium and long term. Therefore, the sooner you start investing in digital actions for marketing and sales, the sooner you will reap the rewards of your efforts.
Inbound sales has proven particularly effective in the education sector, as it allows institutions to connect with potential students in a more personalized way that is aligned with their needs. This approach not only increases conversion rates, but also strengthens relationships with students from the very first contact.
Summary: Investing in student retention is crucial for educational institutions. Through automation, AI, and Inbound Sales strategies, it's possible to reduce dropout rates, increase revenue, and scale enrollments efficiently. Mkt4Edu, a Diamond HubSpot partner, delivers proven solutions that personalize the student journey and enhance educational marketing with a focus on performance and lasting results.
And to start scaling your enrollments and see if the cost of acquiring students decreases, schedule a conversation with us.
How to retain students and scale enrollment with automation?
Why is retaining students more cost-effective than acquiring new ones?
Because attracting a new student can cost up to 7 times more than keeping an existing one. Institutions with high dropout rates often fail to recover initial acquisition investments.
How does automation support student retention?
It enables sending tailored messages about academic routines, payment deadlines, assessments, and events—helping students feel supported and engaged throughout their journey.
What role does artificial intelligence play in retention?
AI and chatbots scale personalized communication and offer real-time support, enhancing the student experience and improving retention outcomes.
How does Mkt4Edu implement automation for retention and enrollment?
Using HubSpot and Agents4edu, we build custom workflows based on behavioral data, boosting conversion, reducing churn, and scaling without needing larger teams.
What is Inbound Sales and why adopt it?
It’s a sales strategy focused on high-quality leads. Your admissions team engages when the student is ready to enroll, improving efficiency and lowering customer acquisition cost (CAC).
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