Michael Platt on Remarketing

It always surprised me—the emotional distaste for remarketing.  The distaste comes from the concept of paying again to mail, email or call an old inquiry in order to raise it from the dead. "Lazarus Leads," as I used to call them.  

Originally the argument was that admissions reps worked old leads. I referred to that as "The Great Myth" of admissions.  Asking reps to work old leads was like asking my kids to do their homework. The main difference being that while my kids were actually watching TV, reps were actually playing Free Cell solitaire.

Once we get past the idea that reps will effectively work old leads, the question  simply becomes, What is the ROI on reaching out to old leads?  The ROI is, without question, lower than virtually any other paid lead source.  Yes, you are spending money on a lead that you already paid for once, but that’s a given with remarketing.  Lose the start to a competitive school? Let’s not go there. These old leads and your database need to be looked at as new opportunities. Do not get hung up on their status as "already paid for leads." Once they do not enroll in the usual fashion, they become records that require your remarketing efforts.

Whether you use email or contact center (we recommend both), use an outside provider to manage the message, the timing and the delivery. Schools that attempt to manage remarketing in-house tend to let it become an afterthought.  Given cost per starts with remarketing are often half that of other media, that is a huge mistake.

All this said, I am still surprised with how many schools do not do consistent remarketing, especially when new leads are available in abundance. That is a shame as this should be right behind referrals as the most preferred lead by admissions reps.  They have already learned about the school and the program. All that is left to do is tie the bow.