Now That you got Their Attention – Make Sure to Close the Sale
The “D+” campaign was successful in getting a lot of attention from prospective students – but now Drake University needs to take the next step – dazzling the prospective students with their competitive advantages to explain, “Why Choose Drake University?”
Here are some good examples of competitive advantage statements that a college or university might use (these are hypothetical examples that are not meant to specifically represent Drake University):
- 95% of our graduates were employed in full-time jobs or in graduate school within six months of graduation.
- Among our alumni who go on to graduate school, 80% of them were admitted into their first or second choice graduate degree program.
- Over 250 companies, government agencies and non-profit organizations attended on-campus recruitment last year to hire our graduating seniors.
- 75% of students studied abroad – in over 50 countries.
- 80% of students completed a paid internship during their college career – in 50 U.S. cities and 10 international locations.
- 10 years after graduation, our alumni earned a median annual income that is 50% higher than the national average for all college graduates.
Was Drake University Able to Enroll the Prospective Students?
In another few months, I would be curious to hear about whether or not the Drake University admissions team reaches their enrollment goals for the next academic year – getting foot traffic past the door of your business (or on your college campus) is one thing, but it takes a further level of connection to close the deal and make the sale (or enrollment in the case of Drake).
Once you have the attention of your target market, it is imperative to sell them on your services by communicating your competitive advantages.
Building buzz is great. But actually taking that attention and converting it into sales is what separates the leaders from the ones left behind.
So this begs the question – How many advertisements or marketing campaigns have caught your eye, but failed to convince you to buy their product or service?