The average college-going high school student can expect recruitment outreach from 20+ higher education institutions. With that in mind, personalized admissions processes have become more important than ever. Gen Z students expect personalization in all their interactions with brands and organizations. That alone makes admissions personalization a vital part of standing out in a crowded recruitment environment.
At the same time, scaling a truly personalized admissions process can often seem impossible. Recruitment teams frequently communicate with tens of thousands of prospective students in every stage of the funnel. This process often spans multiple enrollment cycles at once. The sheer scope of recruitment outreach has made automation in admissions such a central topic in recent years.
Fortunately, automation and personalization don’t need to be opposed to each other. Instead, admissions offices that can find a balance between the human touch of personalization and automation see high levels of success, creating a seamless and engaging admissions experience. Keep reading to explore how institutions can effectively combine both personalized admissions and automation to improve their efficiency—all without sacrificing authentic connections with their prospect pool.
The Growing Role of Personalization in Admissions
The concept of a personalized admissions process is nothing new. It predates all of our modern recruitment technology. But, as that technology has become more common and necessary to manage large prospect pools in varied geographic areas, admissions personalization has too often fallen by the wayside.
That trend is especially problematic because of Gen Z’s strong expectations when it comes to interactions with organizations and brands.
According to one report, nearly three-quarters of Gen Z customers prefer interacting with brands whose experiences inspire them beyond the purchase. Another found that 45% of Gen Z internet users expect personalization in every online interaction. A third found that 84% of them want their favorite brands to treat them like individuals.
As a recent AdAge article puts it, “Gen Z does not want to be a statistic but wants to feel bonded to and aligned with the brands they patronize.”
Put differently, a one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective—especially in higher education. Here, the investment and student journey is so complex that personalization becomes even more vital. Without it, students will begin disengaging at every point in the funnel. This leads to lower conversion and yield rates as they prioritize schools that give them the attention they’re looking for.
That’s what makes admissions personalization such a vital step. Of course, it doesn’t reduce its core challenge: scaling up your personalized admissions efforts without overwhelming the team in charge of that outreach.
Where Automation Can Enhance Efficiency in Admissions
In a world of shrinking recruitment budgets and increasing enrollment pressures, automation in admissions has become a welcome salve for overwhelmed teams and complex strategies. That has especially proven true as automation initiatives have gained the potential to leverage personalization at fundamental levels. Consider the power of these capabilities:
- Automating repetitive tasks like email sequences, application reminders, and event follow-ups can free up staff for more strategic and personal outreach. At the same time, this provides some basic personalization capabilities in its own right.
- AI-powered chatbots can answer frequently asked questions. They can also start guiding students through application steps, answering questions about scholarships and financial aid, and more. Machine learning capabilities enable conversations to draw on student information from the CRM and past conversations.
- Predictive analytics enable better insights into prospective students. Enable processes like finding prospects similar to current applicants and students, identifying highly engaged prospective students for follow-ups, and more.
These automation efforts require the right tools for success. FlippedApp, for example, enables admissions teams to leverage data-driven insights that help the institution prioritize the right students. This change allows for a more strategic use of both automated and personalized outreach.
The Importance of Maintaining Human Connection in Student Recruitment
While the benefits of automation in admissions are both far-ranging and undeniable, they can also lead to pitfalls in their own right. Simply put, even mass-personalized outreach via chatbot or email cannot replace the human touch of an admissions counselor getting on the phone or meeting with prospective students and their families. Similarly, predictive analytics only matter if their insights result in personally relevant follow-ups that are driven by the admissions team.
Especially in high-impact moments, the human element remains essential in the admissions process. Technology-driven outreach will never replace one-on-one meetings, personalized calls, and campus visits. And of course, there will always be personal questions from students and families that technology cannot predict, showing the need for truly personalized admissions even in the age of automation.
Make no mistake: emotional connections with the institutions they’re considering have a massive impact on prospective students and parents. Conversations with admissions counselors, faculty, and current students will always influence enrollment decisions. This connection matters even more when the typical student applies to 10+ colleges and expects personalization even in routine shopping interactions.
Many colleges and universities, regardless of enrollment size, promise students that they’ll be more than just a number when they enroll. They’ll discuss professors who know their names, student clubs for their interests, and small student-faculty ratios. The best way to drive that point home in their enrollment journey is to ensure students already have the feeling that your institution cares about them.
It all comes down to a simple truth: prospective and current students want and need to feel valued. The only way to prompt that feeling is by providing both speed and a personal touch. As automation efforts become more common, they must be paired with genuine human engagement to create a balance of automated and personalized admissions.
How to Find the Right Balance Between Automation and Human Interaction
Human interaction matters, but it cannot drive the entire admissions process. At the same time, while automation is convenient and often necessary, it cannot accomplish personalized admissions processes on its own. The key to success is integrating both throughout the enrollment funnel.
That starts with automating routine communications. You can easily automate event reminders, application completion reminders with a list of incomplete information, and even functional information like FAFSA filing needs. Meanwhile, human outreach can be reserved for key touchpoints that are close and important to the decision-making process.
In addition, predictive analytics enable admissions teams to segment prospective students based on their engagement levels. The resulting insights can help counselors determine when human intervention is most important or effective, ensuring that every call and conversation makes an impact on the way to an enrollment decision.
Finally, modern CRM systems and AI tools can deliver more personalized conversations and recommendations without losing authenticity. Trained on brand voice and pulling from existing information about the students, they can build personalization-approximate communications flows that provide a more customized baseline for human outreach.
FlippedApp is one such example. Its ability to provide precise student profiles and facilitate direct, meaningful interactions helps admissions teams focus their human efforts on the most promising leads, maximizing engagement and efficiency.
Measuring Success and Adapting Your Strategy
The above balance between automation and personalization is a sound strategy. But its exact success relies on individual situations and institutions. That makes tracking engagement and enrollment success over time so crucial for adjusting your strategy as necessary.
Start by setting clear KPIs for both automated and human-driven touchpoints. A clear, measurable idea of what each interaction should accomplish is vital to success. Setting these KPIs also enables you to analyze student responses to different types of communication. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of where to focus your efforts and resources.
Through ongoing iteration, these data insights can ultimately lead to continual improvements in effectiveness for all of your admissions efforts. You might find that some human interactions can be personalized through technology and vice versa. The more you learn, the more you can shift your strategy to build a communications plan that works for your audience.
Tracking your efforts can be complex, especially when it comes to human interactions. FlippedApp can enable you to enhance your tracking efforts by providing the admissions team with insights into which engagement methods are driving results, leading to data-driven improvements as a result.
The Key to Balancing Automation and Human Touch in College Admissions
The age of automation has been vital to admissions offices continuing to find success even with limited resources. But even as it offers increasing personalization opportunities, it cannot replace the value of human touch at key points when engaging with prospective students and families.
The time to act is now. Through a strategic assessment of current personalization efforts, admissions offices can optimize their strategies for better student engagement even as they look to build more efficient operations. Ultimately, finding the right balance between automation and personalization doesn’t just save resources. It also enables a communications plan designed to meet student expectations and preferences.
It’s not a simple process. But with tools like FlippedApp, admissions teams can streamline automation while strengthening personal connections with the right students. Ready to get started? Contact us today to start implementing FlippedApp on your way to better, more dynamic admissions and enrollment communication.