The State of Higher Education Website & Marketing Technology
In Partnership with
In this first annual study, we surveyed 170 higher education senior marketing and technology professionals across the country to both benchmark the industry's current state, and to provide the insight and instruction necessary to help it advance and thrive. Reach out with questions or insights—we're here for the conversation.
Key Takeaways
- Most institutions lack a cohesive website & marketing technology strategy
- Some segments show evidence of modernizing and adopting new approaches
- Four commonalities among high-performing institutions: they measure, iterate, integrate, and report into central MarComm
Institutions lack a cohesive website & marketing technology strategy
- Only 35% of institutions have integrated their CRM with their CMS
- Worth noting: In our 2019 CMO Study, 32% of institutions had reported this integration, while 35% said they planned to within the next year.
- While 94% have a CRM capable of email marketing, 90% of institutions continue to use third-party email platforms like MailChimp & Constant Contact
- Less than 50% have well-defined accessibility standards
Despite an increasing need for institutions to position themselves as digital-first, most lack a cohesive approach to digital strategy and the underlying data strategy.
Some segments show evidence of modernizing and adopting new approaches
- 84% of respondents are happy with their CMS solution
- 72% have deployed cloud hosting
- 44% state their website is part of the institution's strategic plan
- 58% plan to modernize the user experience in the next .edu redesign
This eagerness for modernization suggests that with the right leadership, digital acumen, and resources, any institution can achieve success as a digital-first brand.
Four commonalities among high-performing institutions: measure, iterate, integrate, report into central MarComm
- Measure
- Iterate
- Integrate
- Report into MarComm
Every digital strategy begins with data. This is why we talk about the need for CRM-CMS integration at a minimum, as institutions are historically poor at sharing data across divisions leading to an incredible number of missed opportunities to create meaningful digital experiences and to practice data hygiene.
In the News
Media Coverage of our National Student Studies
-
Back-to-College Plans Devolve Into a Jumble of Fast-Changing Rules
Wall Street Journal / July 28, 2020
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Colleges Could Lose 20% of Students
Inside Higher Ed / April 29, 2020
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COVID-19 Will Keep Some Students From Enrolling in College This Fall
NBC Boston / April 22, 2020
-
New Survey: Pandemic Will Drive Down College Enrollment
Forbes / April 9, 2020
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