Agents Vs Direct Marketing for Student Recruitment

There are two different types of students in the market:
-1) Independent students
-2) Dependent students.

Some students are more independent and they are looking to apply directly (particularly for master’s, phd, and from developed countries), but some students are dependent – they are less sure and need some help to navigate the application process. This is particularly true for bachelor’s students, and in countries where their language is not English.

However most students are not totally independent or dependent on others but lie somewhere on a spectrum with some students being more independent than others. Most students will look for guidance and support from a variety of different sources such as friends, family, and online sources before making a decision.

With the rise of digitisation, online platforms and information there is a growth in the number of independent students. I expect this trend is going to continue to increase.

Now in the industry there are two main ways to get more students:
– 1) Commission based with agents
– 2) Direct-digital based direct to student marketing

Commission based with agents is better to attract the dependent students who need support form local agents. Direct digital based marketing is better for students who are more independent and looking to apply directly.

Commission Based

Commission based is one of the most common and traditional ways of attracting more students. There are many agencies all around that help international students to apply to universities. Some of them charge a fee and some of them do it for free. Universities can partner with these agents as representatives. The universities will give a commission for successfully enrolled students.

One of the benefits of commission is that the universities do not have any risk, and will only pay for the students that successfully enroll. It also means that there is a partner there who can help to do a portion of the work such as reviewing students and encouraging them to enroll which can be particularly valuable in countries with a different language. By working with agents universities can multiply their recruitment efforts all around the world. It can also be very effective to have someone in that market who really knows that market. There is a lot of variation in different markets and cultures and its impossible for universities to have that knowledge about markets and effectively operate all around the world.

However there are some disadvantages to working with agents. It is very competitive, many universities are offering a commission and so why would the agent recommend your university over others? How do universities effectively manage a large number of agents around the world? And if you have lots of agents how can you effectively manage their recruitment work and know what they are really doing? This is especially the case because there are a small number of larger agents, but the majority of agents are smaller and sending 100-200 students per year to a variety of different universities around the world. Few agencies effectively manage to scale beyond that level.

With covid, and digitisation the agency model is changing. Previously the students would have visited the agents in person, but now most of the agents are doing online consultations and applications on whatsapp. Digitisation is sweeping the industry and is bringing about huge change, opportunities and challenges.

Direct to Student Marketing

With the rise of digital marketing, universities are increasingly focusing on direct to student market. It is becoming easier to reach out to students on social media and other platforms and mediums and through online events.

There are a lot of different tools available but it is also fast changing. This is an area of huge opportunities but also challenges. I am aiming to give a framework for how to do effective digital marketing, because if the university is doing itself without any agent then it is important to understand the whole process and funnel really wel.

These are the following systems to understand:

– Target Students
– Products
– Brand
– Website
– Channels – social media.
– Content
– Funnel
– Registration Process
– Mailing List

The Set Up

It is really important to first set up the core metrics:
– Traffic
– Registrations / Leads
– Applications
– Enrolments

Now that you have that, you can experiment with the different toolkits available.

Spending Money on Digital Marketing

Spending money on digital marketing for student recruitment is an extremely powerful tool to boost more students, but before doing that it is really important to make sure the system is set up correctly. You need to make sure that the bucket is not leaking before you fill it up. Spending money should therefore be the last step after all the fundamentals are in place.

Conversion Rate

What is the conversion rate for students who register on your website? How many of them go on to apply? It is really important to start to track that first. After that you can work out how valuable a lead is, and how many leads will leave

There are typically three conversion rates to track:

• The conversion rate between those that go onto your website and register interest
• The conversion rate between those that register interest and go on to apply
• Those that apply and pay and then enrol