Inbound admissions applies the inbound methodology to the admissions process to provide value to the prospecting contacts throughout their entire admissions journey.
Inbound marketing attracts prospective students by providing value through relevant content and experiences tailored to them, solving their problems and personalising their experience with your school or college throughout their entire journey.
The inbound methodology can be applied to the admissions process and aims to attract new prospects, engage them with insightful content and delight them with expert advice, products and services; all whilst avoiding traditional, interrupting, marketing methods. Thus, inbound admissions utilise tailored inbound marketing concepts to support parents and students through their customer journey when deciding the most suitable education institution.
The inbound admissions strategy enables educational institutions to achieve their objectives by nurturing meaningful, long-term relationships online. Inbound admissions focus on attracting suitable audiences to your website, converting them into contacts and engaging with them at critical points in their journey so that they will apply to your institution. Prospects who become enrolled students must then be engaged with to help retain their custom, and delighted to turn them into promoters.
Thus, the inbound process adapted to the admissions process would feature its three core stages in an educational context:
- Attract: the school or college must attract prospective students and families to their website, establishing your organisation as a trusted advisor worthy of engagement, which can be achieved via valuable content and conversations.
- Engage: the school or college should present insights and solutions to the students' problems and goals, encouraging them to ask questions, engage, visit your institution and submit their student application.
- Delight: the school or college should provide help and support for students and their families, showcasing that they are empowered to reach their goals and find success by selecting your institution.
Therefore, the inbound marketing methodology can be adapted and applied to any organisation or industry, and the inbound admission strategy is its application in the education sector. Inbound admissions focus on the unique steps of the enrollment process and the various challenges present only in the education industry. It also highlights that positive word of mouth is one of the main channels through which schools and colleges grow their audience and attract future students, thus capitalising on the flywheel's momentum.