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Beyond Traditional Metrics: Measures for College Marketing

October 7, 2013
, , , , Higher Education

By Elizabeth Foley

In the last few years, one of the biggest trends among communications and marketing professionals has been to predict the rapid growth of university and college marketing.  For example, University Business published an article five years ago highlighting the importance for college marketers to measure the success of their future marketing campaigns.  At Melior, higher education market research has been one of the fastest growing segments of our business in recent years.

So, now that marketing research is an established industry practice in higher education, we think it’s time to take another look at common research techniques.  Traditionally, top-of-mind awareness is used as a metric of success to understand where various colleges rank in the minds of prospective students and parents.

However, in a market where there’s so much noise and colleges are really stepping up their marketing initiatives, we realized that the traditional measures can no longer tell the whole story.  There are other measures that colleges need to pay more attention to when creating their marketing strategies, including:

• Likelihood to visit

• Interest in applying

• Likelihood to recommend

• Web/social media activities

• Alumni giving/engagement

Invisible Money?

September 4, 2013
, , , , , Financial Services, The Invisible Customer
Bitcoin, an example of invisible money

Bitcoin.org

By Elisa Foster

Invisible customers can now pay with invisible money (a.k.a., digital currency). With the emergence of Bitcoin, consumers have the ability to make transactions from their computer without an intermediate financial institution.  Bitcoin has been getting an incredible amount of attention over the last year and people are starting to wonder how it will affect the financial services industry.  Head over to American Banker for an interesting discussion on Why Banks Should Care About Bitcoin.

Race & Marketing: A Time for Reflection

September 4, 2013
, , , , , The Art of Research

Marketing infographic

By Elisa Foster

As marketing researchers, we are constantly looking at demographic data.  Race, income and education play a major role in the way we communicate with consumers.  Last week’s 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the perfect time to reflect on the position and impact racial minorities have in business, commerce and America’s economic and social structures.

For a clear picture of how far we have (and have not) come, take a look at this government data compiled by Pew Research Center.  And please feel free to continue the discussion in the comments section below.  What role do racial demographics play in marketing your business?

Welcome to Philadelphia! Our View from Walnut Street

September 4, 2013
, , The View From Walnut St.

Philadelphia Skyline - not quite the view from Walnut Street

By Elisa Foster

The Melior Group has deep roots in the Greater Philadelphia Region – it isn’t merely our headquarters, it’s the place that shapes our vision and creativity.  From Mt. Airy to South Philly, from South Jersey to the Main Line, each member of Melior’s staff is fully invested in the Region.  We serve on nonprofit boards, we are alumni of local universities (Penn, Temple, TCNJ and Villanova to name a few), we are enthusiasts of the local arts scene.  So, we’ve dedicated a portion our blog, “The View from Walnut Street,” to the local issues and events that shape Melior’s culture and work.

Stay tuned for more stories from The View from Walnut Street!

Health Plans Preparing for “Visible” Customers

August 23, 2013
, , Healthcare, The Invisible Customer

health plans insurance form

By Elisa Foster

The landscape of health care will see drastic changes in the coming months.  As commercial health plans start selling to consumers directly through exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, consumers will have a lot to learn as they navigate through the maze new health care policies.  As a result, insurers are ramping up advertising and popping up at brick and mortar locations to enroll and educate consumers.

Medicare and Medicaid plans have been selling direct to consumers for years – how can commercial health plans benefit from the lessons learned in Medicare/Medicaid health plan marketing?  And how can they ensure that consumers will make informed decisions?

Do you have Invisible Customers?

July 16, 2013
, , , The Invisible Customer

Picture of invisible customers

By Elisa Foster

The Internet has certainly made life easier for consumers and businesses; purchases and transactions can be made from the comfort of one’s home or office.  However, there is a downside to this trend: customers who once had to be physically present and conduct business face-to-face (e.g., at a department store or bank) are rendered virtually invisible by the conveniences of modern technology.  We like to call them “invisible customers.”

In this series of posts, we will explore the impact of invisible customers on retail businesses, service providers and the overall economy.  We will also give some advice to those businesses that want to reach beyond the computer screen, build a relationship and reconnect with their invisible customers.

First, we’d like to figure out which industries are seeing the most growth in their invisible customer market.  At a brainstorming session of Meliorites, we realized that the possibilities are endless.  However, we decided that the banking industry is a great example: over the past several years, we’ve seen a huge push to get bank customers to handle their business online.

Stay tuned for details about our research on this topic.  In the meantime, what industries do you think are seeing an increase of invisible customers?  Is this a good or bad trend?  Feel free to discuss in the comments below!

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