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Financial aid, a customer service test

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As a former Director of Financial Aid, I still have a special place in my heart for helping students through the confounding process that is financial aid. I work with local students whose parents are unemployed, under-employed or worse yet, in the abyss occupied by throngs of middle-income families. FAFSA

I volunteer with a remarkably talented but financially challenged group of young people. With the exception of their status as high-need students, they are a college recruiter’s dream. It is the financial aid process, however, that strikes fear in the hearts of these seemingly unstoppable, resilient young people because they know it is the one obstacle that stands between them and the education ...

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Categories: Customer Service, Financial Aid

Do you have a Millennial problem?

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Even though I’m a proud card-carrying member of Generation X, I’ve grown to love and understand Millennials. But according to Advertising Age magazine, they don’t love McDonald’s, a brand to which I was extremely loyal in my youth. Ronald McDonald

As children during the 1960′s, we viewed McDonald’s as a rare treat. But as teenagers in the 70′s and 80′s, its Golden Arches drew us like moths to a flame. It was the place to gather after most high school and church youth group activities. It was for many in our generation, a home (with a red Mansard roof) away from home.

Well, times have changed. A recent article in Ad Age reveals ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Campus Visit, Campus Visit Experiences, Communication, Customer Service, Experience, Millennial Generation, Millennials

Maker’s Mark makes good

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Know your students. Apologize when you are wrong.

Last week, one of Kentucky’s finest, Maker’s Mark bourbon, made a huge mistake. In an effort to combat a possible shortage in their supply, they decided to water down their bourbon to meet the needs of their customers. What they experienced was a backlash that COO Rob Samuels referred to as the worst 4-5 days of his life.

This past Sunday, they reversed the decision and apologized to their customers, letting them know that they were heard loud and clear — no changes would be made to the recipe. maker's mark bourbonIt wasn’t a fancy apology, it was clear and to the point. ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Customer Service

Improving customer (and student) loyalty

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In my early days as an admissions counselor, I knew that my job was to help students get into their best-fit school. However, if anyone had told me then that I was working in customer service, I probably wouldn’t have defined my role in that way. Looking back, that connection is much more clear to me now.

As lead trainer and a client services team member for TargetX, customer service and customer loyalty are a huge part of my job. That’s why I love the article “5 Ways to Take Customer Loyalty to the Next Level,” by Joanna Lord of Entrepreneur magazine. It had a lot of value for me and I see many parallels to higher ed. Here are a ...

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Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Customer Service, Student Recruiting

Is McDonald’s keeping it real? (Well at least in Canada.) And can your school?

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Earlier this month TargetX hosted our Xpert Summit at the most inauthentic or least-real place on Earth; Las Vegas.  Every form of civilization (represented by some themed hotel) has gone to the desert to die out there. (But that’s a whole-other rant.)

I’m going to talk about a McDonald’s marketing effort that I like. I need to first qualify and say that growing up as a teen in Florida, McDonald’s was the hangout for my high school and church youth group. So I’ve consumed my fair share. But like Las Vegas, I’m now not a fan.

Let’s connect Las Vegas and McDonald’s. Both might be the symbol or poster child of everything wrong with America. Both are fabricated, processed versions of originals, ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Customer Service, Social Media, Social Networking, Your Website

What Mercedes and other auto brands can teach you about your visit experience

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I’m a car guy.

Back in 6th grade I had subscriptions to Road & Track and Car and Driver. My father sold cars and managed dealerships. He used to quiz me on the year, make, and model of cars we passed while driving – by day and by night (Yes, I can identify a car based upon its headlights).

Take a look at the Global Fortune 500 top 25 companies list. It’s inundated with oil and car companies.

So what does all this mean to you in admissions? At TargetX, we always encourage you to look beyond the school up the road for best practices and to look outside of admissions. Car companies are a great place to look for best ...

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Categories: Best Practice Documents, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Campus Visit Audits Sidebar, Campus Visit Experiences, Change, Customer Service, Uncategorized

A simple solution for summer

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In college admissions, summer is a popular time for new initiatives and revamping processes. A simple change to make, yet we often forget, is the value of good customer service for your prospective students and parents.

Andy Hanelsman writes that Apple is a great example of exceptional service, with intensive training for employees who consistently provide a customer-friendly environment in their wildly popular, 326 Apple stores.

In a Wall Street Journal article, the Apple “steps of service” were identified, revealing that the acronym “APPLE” is used to provide a roadmap for successful customer service:

Approach customers with a personalized warm welcome.
Probe politely to understand all the customer’s needs.
Present a solution for the customer to take home today.
Listen for and resolve ...

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Categories: Campus Visit, Customer Service, Uncategorized

10 Lessons from Starbucks

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My TargetX colleague, Scott Parks, sent a great blog post link that I’d like to share with you. It’s 10 Lessons from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s book Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul.

The blog post challenges radio broadcasters, who like college administrators are facing challenges, to “think how these lessons apply to you.”  The guts of the post are quoted below. Let me throw out the same challenge: Think how these lessons apply to you.

1.  Don’t Lose Sight of what Matters

“Our strategy was to do more of what worked in the past.  But we were not pushing ourselves to do things better or differently. ...

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Categories: Best Practice Documents, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Customer Service, Storytelling, Student Workers

Customer service is key

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Customer service can go a long way.

We often hear that today’s economic environment has affected the enrollment at colleges and universities across the nation. Institutions have become hyper-concerned with financial aid packages, tuition discounts and meeting students monetary needs.

But let’s not forget to tap into the other consumer senses, especially the experience they have with your institution and their main link to campus right now — the admissions office. While price is a key component in college choice, prospective families’ attitudes toward your institution and the experience provided to them is just as critical.

AdWeek reports on a survey conducted by American Express, that identifies customer service as “still important to consumers in this economy.” Not only does it affect their ...

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Categories: Customer Service, Experience

XpertTip No. 146: Random acts of…customer service?

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This weekend I had dinner at a restaurant I’ve never been to before.

As usual, as I was waiting for my table, I started chatting up the staff and asking for food recommendations.

One waiter not only gave me suggestions, but also noticed my excitement over one particular appetizer (stay with me here — there will be a point;)

He reacted immediately and said “You know what?  This is your first time here.  I’m going to have one sent to your table on us.  You have to try it.”

Aside from making great business sense, what struck me was that the waiter was empowered to make that call.  Not a manager or some higher-up, but the person on the front lines working with the ...

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Categories: Customer Service