Inbound calls can be a high-converting channel for education marketers because of the efficiency with which this product connects interested, prospective students to admissions representatives. An inbound call can be generated from a number of channels, including organic and paid search, display, email and SMS, all of which ultimately connect prospective students with admissions representatives.

In the case of hot transfers, the call center gathers some information and briefly engages with the prospect before directly transferring the prospect to an admissions representative. For click-to-call, although the student is connected immediately with the school, interactive voice response (IVR) questions typically qualify the prospective student’s interest before the call is directed to the admissions team. Both types of inbound calls are the beginning of a beneficial relationship between prospects and higher education institutions.

Click-To-Call Campaigns Generate Inbound Calls From Prospects Who Are In The Search Mindset

Prospective students connected with admissions through click-to-call campaigns are often active searchers, already in the compare/enroll mindset. Because they are connected directly with institutions offering programs for which they were searching, click-to-call prospective students are likely to be interested in learning more. Enrollment and campaign qualifications can be further ascertained with custom IVR filters, though schools should be careful to not use too many IVR questions, which can result in a prospect losing interest.

Call Center Pre-Qualification Provides An Additional Step In Securing Quality Hot Transfers

With well-crafted scripts and marketing campaigns optimized to meet client specifications, call centers can further pre-qualify hot transfer prospects before transferring them to admissions representatives. Pre-qualification can confirm intent, geography, highest level of education and other prerequisites or parameters set by each school. By providing vetted hot transfers, frustrations can also be reduced for admissions representatives, who might otherwise be encountering disinterested or unqualified prospects.

Inbound Calls Offer A 100% Contact Rate

Inbound calls, including live agent transfers and click-to-call leads, deliver a 100% contact rate with prospects and connect admissions with prospective students when they have the time and willingness to engage in lengthy conversations about the benefits and strengths of a particular institution or program.

As a result of this 100% contact rate, even when the contact-to-enroll rate matches other channels, the lead-to-enroll rate is often significantly higher than channels with average contact rates. This superior conversion rate is strictly because of the sheer percentage of prospects that are being reached at a point in which they are ready to engage.

Additionally, a 100% contact rate means virtually no additional overhead cost to get prospects on the phone and happier admissions reps who feel they are productive and successful.

Hot Transfer Conversion Rates Are 3X Higher Than Other Third-Party Channels

In addition to helping admissions connect with high-quality prospective students, hot transfers generally lead to higher conversion rates than other third-party lead channels. According to the 2018 Year-End Higher Education Inquiry Generation Review the conversion rate (CVR) of hot transfers was nearly three times higher (14.5%) than the average conversion rate for all third-party channels (5.2%).

Unfortunately, most colleges require more inbound leads than just the volume of inbound calls they can secure. In these cases, it is often recommended that inbound call volume be maximized as part of a cross-channel enrollment marketing campaign.

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