Customer

Lessons from the travel industry

Ticketing. Simplified.

Imagine that you’re a travel agent and you call an airline to book a flight for a customer. The call operator goes to a printed card on a rotating file – one per flight – and checks whether it has been marked as full. The entire process of looking for a seat and writing up a ticket takes around 2 hours.

That’s how the American Airlines reservation system worked in the 1950s. Fast-forward 50 years, and that same travel agent can book a seat online for their customer in a matter of seconds, as well as their insurance, car hire, hotel bookings and tours.

It’s all thanks to the development of Global Distribution Systems (GDS) such as Galileo and Sabre. Both launched in the early 1970s to cope with a dramatic increase in demand for air travel, and quickly expanded to include a wide range of travel information and associated services.

They have changed the way travel agents operate – and also made the rapid explosion of travel e-commerce, that ‘self-service‘ travel booking system, possible.

The very idea of writing out a paper airline ticket seems archaic. And yet in the education industry, we still rely on endless reams of paper to manage our student applications. So what can we learn from the success of Galileo and the rest?

Lesson 1. Efficiency.

First of all, they’ve made the entire process so much more efficient. Travel agents have more time to focus on the customer’s needs, and can respond quickly to requests for information. Airlines have the ability to make quick decisions about their services based on immediate access to information on their bookings.

Online applications in action: the USQ experience

Admissions management and marketing go hand in hand when it comes to international student recruitment. It’s really all about conversion.

So says Gabrielle Rolan, Managing Director at new international education consultancy WorldStar International. In this article, Gabrielle shares her experience as former Executive Director USQ International, in rolling out a new online application management system for USQ, and looks to a future where agent relationships are more important than ever.

During Gabrielle’s time at USQ, the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) dealt with a large volume of student applications – around 5,000 every semester. Over 6,000 USQ students were studying offshore with partner institutions, and every application went through the Australian admissions office.

It’s a complex management scenario. “USQ International wanted to move away from a paper-based system,” explains Gabrielle. “Going online allowed USQ to process this volume more accurately and provide a better service for students and agents.”

“The intent was to get most people onto it – at least 80% of all agents and partners using it within 12 months. And eventually the uptake was very good, once we’d spent time training them fully so they could see the benefits.”

A two-way partnership

The key to getting agents actively using USQ’s new system was in the relationship. “If they know that when their application is sent online they can track it, and they’ll get priority service back – well, that’s what they want,” says Gabrielle. “It has to be a two-way stream – they need to benefit as well.”

For USQ, the benefits were immediate.

“USQ International could now have better qualified admissions people doing a better job – rather than receiving emails and shuffling them around they could focus on the assessment and other agent relationship activities, develop expertise in different countries.”

New website – designed to deliver more

We launched the new StudyLink website in February, with a focus on personalised student search and advice. After many months of research and testing, we’ve created a streamlined search function that captures more student information immediately and allows our clients to tailor effective and direct online communications with their prospects.

“Our recent student research found that 70% of all international students would like to research university options on a neutral education directory – but they all start with Google,” Therese Larsson, StudyLink’s Marketing Analyst explains, “That often led them down a time-consuming and often frustrating path of comparing individual university websites.”

So, the new StudyLink website has been designed to take these students through a simple four-step process. Allowing them to customise their search with more criteria such as start dates and affordability. The number of subject areas has expanded dramatically from just 14 broad subject areas to over 200. For example, instead of selecting ‘health, medicine and vet studies’ the student can hone straight into ‘nursing’ or ‘acupuncture’.

The results are then prioritised, with StudyLink advertisers taking sponsored positions at the top.

As Jason Howard explains, the benefits to universities and providers are immense. “As part of their initial search process, students need to tell us a bit about who they are and where they are from. We can now capture those details and provide highly personalised information to them straight away.”

Applications for CRICOS re-registration due 16 April 2010

On 3 March 2010, the ESOS Act 2010 went into effect, requiring all current Australian CRICOS providers to be re-registered by the end of this year.

The State and Federal governments have agreed on a nationally consistent risk management approach to re-registration, meaning that the re-registration process may vary among providers according to a risk assessment.

All current providers will have to apply for re-registration, including those that may have been recently registered or audited, or that may be due for re-registration in 2010 as a part of their usual audit cycle.

All providers will need to apply for re-registration online through the PRISMS home page. After you have submitted your application you will receive automated advice that it has been received.

While CRICOS re- registrations must be completed by the end of this year, the closing date for applications is 16 April.

All StudyLink trained agents - at January 2010

Welcome to the A-Z of StudyLink trained agents.

Each of these agents has been trained to use the StudyLink agent portal to submit electronic applications to our AppManager clients:

The Australian National University, The University of Sydney, Griffith University, The Australian Catholic University, DET International (TAFE and Schools NSW), The Navitas Group, Charles Darwin University, Nottingham Trent University (UK), Salford University (UK), Charlton Brown, John Paul International College and the University of Ballarat.

Many more agents have been trained by the staff of The Australian National University and the Australian Catholic University.

If your agency has been trained and is not on the list, or you would like to be trained and represent the clients above, please post a comment below.

Trained and Certified Agents - Jan 2010

Congratulations and welcome to the following agents - trained and certified on the StudyLink agent portal. We are training agents for our clients at the rate of 6-10 new agents per week and welcome these new users on behalf of their education provider clients.

The following list of agent offices use the StudyLink agent portal to submit electronic applications to AppManager clients:

Alternatif Education Counseling Service - Istanbul, Turkey

Alternatif Education Counseling Service - Izmir, Turkey

Australia Bangladesh Education Consultants(ABEC)- Dhaka, Bangladesh

Australia Studyworld Academy Sydney

College for Higher Education Studies (CHES)

Edlink & Connex

EgitimAL.com

Education Counselling Services - Turkey

Hui & Kuah Pte Ltd

Inner Universe - Dubai, UAE

J&J International Education

PTC Education Consultancy - Mauritius

Maple Education Canada Inc. - Nigeria

M&K Language School - Almaty, Kazakhstan

M&K Language School - Astana, Kazakhstan

Shinyway International

10 New Year resolutions for 2010

A new year, a new decade and a fresh start. Whether you keep them or not, making New Year’s resolutions is an opportunity to review and set a course for the year ahead. So what direction will your business take in 2010?

1. Be personal about communication and cut out lazy mass-marketing. Have a real one-on-one dialogue with clients and prospective students, and start building lifelong relationships. With direct marketing techniques and social technologies like email, chat, Facebook, blogs – it’s all easier to manage in 2010.

2. Keep on top of new opportunities and threats. Put some time aside each month to scan the macro and micro factors affecting your business. Use models like PESTLE, Porter’s Five Forces and SWOT Analysis to do this and back up each item with evidence.

3. Get involved in the conversation. Set up social media listening posts – keep an eye on blogs, tweets and updates that mention your business and competitors. Don’t be shy about resolving negative concerns, or making the most of positive feedback. It’s free market research on an ongoing basis and it’s easier than you might think!

4. Challenge old-Gen ways of working. It’s time to get productive with Gen-Y workforce habits. What repetitive or mundane tasks can be automated? Use Gen-X skills to scenario plan to reduce risk.

5. Find a way to balance your triple bottom line. Set targets for economic, social and environmental results. Profit, People and the Planet – it all adds up to a sustainable business with a long-term future.

International students want one-stop course search site

A new survey by StudyLink has found 70% of international students would like to research university offers on a neutral directory website. But they all start with Google.

That’s the findings of a recent student focus group and survey on study abroad decisions, conducted by leading global education information provider StudyLink.

The international student recruitment survey involved 1000 responses from 15 countries, including India, Pakistan and Indonesia. It was followed up with two focus group meetings in the UK, involving students from twelve countries.

“Students start with their desired course,” says Therese Larsson, StudyLink’s Marketing Analyst. “Location is a much less important factor for study abroad. But many students were frustrated that they had to visit so many university websites to compare details.”

By starting with Google, they often faced a bewildering array of international education marketing – none of which was easily comparable, and some of which was unreliable. They also found that many university websites lacked the critical information they needed – including visa information, English-level requirements and fees.

As a result of their findings, StudyLink is launching its new, improved international education website on Monday February 1st 2010.

The future of student marketing

On the eve of a new decade, we’ve gazed into our crystal ball to predict the major changes, challenges and opportunities ahead for those of us marketing to international students.

Here are five essential marketing trends to understand in 2010.

Using technology for good (not evil!)

Unless you were hiding under a rock for most of the past decade, you will have seen a huge shift in the way products and services are marketed – all thanks to rapid developments in technology.

Technology has given us new channels to reach and build relationships with customers, and new tools to measure the results. We’ve seen this growth in social technology help drive a change to a more sophisticated and informed customer. From Twitter instant news to Facebook fan pages and Google Analytics… where would we be today without online communication and collaboration tools?

But in this race to embrace digital marketing, we need to remember to put the student (or ‘customer’) and their needs and personal data protection at the heart of the organisation. Who is the technology serving? Is it creating real value-driven relationships? Are we protecting their data and explaining our terms of service clearly?

In 2010, we’ll find new ways to automate the most mundane or repetitive marketing tasks – like data entry and analysis – and free up more time for customer service. Instead of mass marketing, such as broadcast communications and de-humanised decisions, we can use technology to develop one-on-one personalised relationships through better data segmentation and market research.

Ethical marketing

Marketers have a critical role in developing sustainable business strategies, because we are closest to the student market. We understand them, and how they feel about privacy, sustainability and how their personal data is used.

Attracting Gen Y – what do they really want?

Generation Y, the ‘net generation’, probably forms the largest part of your student cohort. Born between 1982 and 2000, these ‘Millenials’ are now aged between 11 and 29. They are (generally speaking) smart, creative, productive and achievement-oriented - which makes them the perfect candidates for further education.

So, along with the HR departments in businesses around the world, many universities and colleges are looking at what they need to do to attract the best and brightest Gen Y students. By 2020, it’s predicted that Gen Y will make up half our working population. Which means they’re not just your current and future students – they are also your current and future employees.

So what is the first impression you make on Generation Y? And is that what they are looking for?

A need for speed

Gen Y are multi-taskers. They are used to juggling school, sports, coaching, computer games and text messages (often all at the same time). So whatever they’re doing, whether it’s looking for information or filling in an application, they want to do it quickly, and they want it to be simple.

The simplicity of your website design and navigation, bite sized information chunks, and the ease with which they can access further information or apply, forms an impression of what it will be like to go to class at your school or do business with your organisation.

Likewise, your future Gen-Y staff don’t expect to be dealing with huge amounts of paper or re-keying data. They’d rather be getting on with more important and meaningful work – like helping students once they’re here.