Don't Take it Personally

After thinking about this for some time, it is ironic that this comes right after my last Monday Marketing Minute where I discussed the lack of continuity in communication flows. It never even dawned on me that something worse might be happening.

In an attempt to play the personalization game, all four of these schools lost.

Today, technology is available to easily personalize direct mail, email and the Web to each individual student. Schools can go beyond “Dear Randee” and include specific photos and text based on any interest or demographic attribute. And, it is affordable. So why are admission offices spending money to send out the same letter as their competitors?

I don’t have the answer, but I do think as a community of higher education marketers, we are better than this. We are better than a replicated letter with a swapped out logo and signature. We can do a better job personalizing and targeting our communication. And, I know we will.

Cathy Willette,
Vice President of Higher Education, James Tower