DWSA CRM Assessment Tool HE


					Student Relationship Management
					Readiness Assessment


	The purpose of this SRM Assessment is to identify opportunities to optimize your current student relationships and improve recruitment and retention performance. The Assessment is divided into three key functional areas – Student Recruitment, Student Retention and CRM Database - in order to assess how you gather, analyze and utilize data in order to recruit and retain successful students. After completing this assessment, you will be presented with a score that will help you identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. If you identify opportunities for improvement, please contact us for a FREE NO OBLIGATION one-hour consultation that will provide you with practical recommendations to turn opportunities into improved performance. To schedule your FREE CONSULTATION, please call 651-315-7588 or contact us by email to schedule a date and time for this meeting. LET’S GET STARTED! Simply click on the Section Links (Student Recruitment, Student Retention and CRM Database) at the top of the page and complete all of the questions within each Section. When you have completed all three Sections, click on Overall Assessment Score in order to learn your overall assessment.

	When finished, you can click Print All in order to receive your completed assessment for your records.



	Section	Description	Total Questions	Questions Answered	Maximum Points From Answered Questions	Actual Points From Questions Answered	Average Score


	1	Student Recruitment and Enrollment Management	44


	2	Student Retention	37


	3	CRM Database Management	19


		Totals / Overall Score


	Analysis of your Score						Score

	Grade "A" - Excellent						4.1 - 5.0
	Overall, a score of 4.1 to 5.0 means that you have excellent processes and practices in place, so if you have not already done so, you should consider purchasing a CRM solution to support those processes and drive greater efficiencies. You should also focus more on testing offers, messaging, and segmentation based on the data analysis you can perform.

	Grade "B" - Above Average						3.1 - 4.0
	A score between 3.1 and 4.0 means that you have good processes and practices in place and only need to work on fine tuning a few critical areas. You could benefit from streamlining processes as well as utilizing data to drive better messaging and offers that can improve conversion and retention rates.

	Grade "C" - Fair						2.1 - 3.0
	A score between 2.1 and 3.0 means you need to evaluate and document processes that utilize your resources efficiently. You should also develop a data management strategy that clearly identifies the data you need to drive insight.

	Grade "D" - Below Average						1.1 - 2.0
	A score between 1.1 and 2.0 means that your organization has a lot of work to do in improving student relationship management processes and practices in order to benefit from implementing a CRM solution.

	Grade "F" - Poor						0.0 - 1.0
	A score under 1.0 means that your organization is absolutely not ready to purchase or implement a CRM solution. You need to focus on developing the required processes and practices of student relationship management before going out and purchasing a CRM solution.

© 2009 DWS Associates. All Rights Reserved


				Student Relationship Management
				Readiness Assessment

		Use this tool to measure your institution's student relationship management processes and practices.
		Give your organization a score of 1 - 5 for each of the following statements.
		Leave score blank if the statement is not applicable to your situation.
		Check the SRM Scorecard TAB for your total results & analysis.

		Score 5 - Strongly Agree		This Section
		Score 4 - Agree
		Score 3 - Undecided		Questions Answered
		Score 2 - Disagree		Total Points
		Score 1 - Strongly Disagree		Average Score

		Leave blank if not applicable


	Student Recruitment & Enrollment Management		Score	Concerns


	1	We have a new student recruitment program with clearly defined budgets and forecasts.

	2	We have a new student recruitment program with clearly defined enrollment goals for the institution by college and program.

	3	We have a new student recruitment program that delivers appropriate messages and offers to our target audiences.

	4	We regularly review performance of our lead generation programs in order to determine if we are successful.

	5	We can quickly adapt to changes in the market that impact our new student acquisition efforts.

	6	We target our lead generation efforts based on a well-defined profile of what we know to be a successful student.

	7	We use lead scoring before placing an inquiry into the CRM system for the enrollment team to contact.

	8	We have an efficient process for identifying and prioritizing individuals that are most likely to enroll and succeed at our institution.

	9	Only qualified prospective student leads are turned over to our sales organization.

	10	Our conversion rate (# of new students divided by the # of inquiries) has improved year-over-year for the past three years.

	11	We are constantly striving to lower our new student acquisition costs.

	12	We are spending less to generate a larger number of new student inquires because our conversion rate is increasing year-over-year.

	13	We've lowered the cost to enroll a new student for each for the past three years.

	14	We have a new student referral program.

	15	Our referral program is highly successfully and produces more than 10% of our new students annually.

	16	We have a process in place for managing the relationship with prospective students from the point of initial contact through their enrollment.

	17	We have regular ongoing communications programs with new student prospects.

	18	We make it easy for prospective students to get information about our institution, programs and services, via our website, telephone, email, and mail.

	19	We constantly review our processes in order to improve and provide greater value to prospective students.

	20	All inquiries (new student prospects) are segmented from our main database until they have been qualified and confirmed as a real opportunity.

	21	All new prospect student inquires are contacted within 24 hours.

	22	We believe that all prospective students are created equal so our enrollment team responds to all inquiries as they arrive at our institution.

	23	We have a formal process for working and converting warm and cold leads into qualified student prospects.

	24	We have identified key data requirements that allow us to prioritize prospective students.

	25	We have standardized reports that provides us with timely insight into lead volume, quality of lead, location in the decision-making process etc.

	26	We rescore our prospective students every time that new data is captured so we can reprioritize and respond accordingly.

	27	We utilize capacity and lead flow planning to manage lead flow so that it matches our new student enrollment team's capacity to handle them.

	28	We have a process in place that focuses our enrollment team on those prospects and leads that, based on the analysis of available data, are most likely to enroll and succeed at our institution.

	29	We successfully manage the flow of leads to enrollment specialists so they don't have too many or too few leads to work on.

	30	We track all leads generated from all marketing activities (e.g., advertising, events, Internet).

	31	We know how much it costs to acquire a new student lead.

	32	We have an established criteria for ranking new student inquiries/leads based on factors that determine a prospective students success in completing the enrollment process to become a new student.

	33	We have identified and understand the typical student’s decision making process.

	34	We have unique marketing communication processes that are driven by our CRM system which allows us to deliver the right message to the right individual at the right time via the right channel.

	35	We use the results of student satisfaction surveys to develop marketing campaigns and marketing materials.

	36	We constantly test messages, creative presentation, communication channel and frequency in order to improve the performance of our recruitment and retention efforts.

	37	We constantly test offers in order to improve the performance of our recruitment and retention efforts.

	38	Our enrollment and retention teams are involved in the development of all new student acquisition / lead generation programs.

	39	Our enrollment, retention and student services teams have input into the creation of marketing programs and materials (e.g., sales brochures, catalogs, website, print advertisements, etc.)

	40	Our enrollment and retention teams are thoroughly educated on the full promotional effort before it runs.

	41	Our enrollment and retention teams regularly review sales performance and formally discusses performance with their staff.

	42	Our enrollment and retention teams are happy with the quality of prospective student leads that are generated from our promotional efforts.

	43	Our enrollment and retention teams are happy with the quantity of prospective student leads that are generated from our promotional efforts.

	44	Our enrollment team has access to a knowledge database that provides any type of information while working with prospective students - objection handling, competitive selling points, program information, sales scripts, benefit statements, etc.



© 2009 DWS Associates. All Rights Reserved


				Student Relationship Management
				Readiness Assessment

		Use this tool to measure your institution's student relationship management processes and practices.
		Give your organization a score of 1 - 5 for each of the following statements.
		Leave score blank if the statement is not applicable to your situation.
		Check the SRM Scorecard TAB for your total results & analysis.

		Score 5 - Strongly Agree		This Section
		Score 4 - Agree
		Score 3 - Undecided		Questions Answered
		Score 2 - Disagree		Total Points
		Score 1 - Strongly Disagree		Average Score

		Leave blank if not applicable


	Student Retention		Score	Concerns


	1	Our institution and processes are structured around our students to better serve them.

	2	We have a formal process for evaluating student services performance that is based on metrics that tie to our institution's objectives.

	3	Our institution has a formal program for increasing student service levels.

	4	We have a student relationship management strategy to improve service, cut costs, and revitalize retention.

	5	We regularly compare our students needs with our programs and services in order to identify opportunities and threats.

	6	We regularly survey our students to determine their level of satisfaction with our programs and services.

	7	We review and update our processes on a regular basis to improve efficiency and student experiences.

	8	We have a formal process for capturing and disseminating students feedback so appropriate action can be taken quickly.

	9	We understand and anticipate the needs of current and potential students.

	10	We have a student advisory board that provides us with valuable insight into their perception of our efforts to deliver value.

	11	We use student advisory panels to help in new course and program development.

	12	We have a formal training program for all departments and staff that interact with students and student prospects to ensure consistent levels of service.

	13	We have regular ongoing communications programs with our students.

	14	All student inquiries are typically responded to within one business day.

	15	We offer after business hours and weekend support to our students.

	16	We provide fast, easy access to accurate and relevant information to all students via the Internet.

	17	We use online chat to provide students with immediate service.

	18	We use social media to communicate critical information and offer timely service and support to our students (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace).

	19	Our institution has on-line self services available for students (e.g., register for classes, pay bills, etc.).

	20	We provide our students with a primary contact within our institution that is responsible for ensuring the student's satisfaction.

	21	Our student retention team has the authority to resolve student service and enrollment issues.

	22	We have a process in place aimed at welcoming new students.

	23	We know that our new student program increases their satisfaction and retention.

	24	We constantly monitor student performance in order to identify early warning signs of possible dissatisfaction and/or dropouts.

	25	We have a proactive student retention effort that utilizes key data indicators and predictive models that identify those most likely to drop-out.

	26	We have developed successful strategies and programs that have reduced student dropouts and defections.

	27	We have a clear definition of "dropout" students that is universally understood and accepted across the institution.

	28	We know why we lose students.

	29	We have a process in place for winning back former students.

	30	We have a process in place that allows us to “win back” potential dropouts.

	31	We use the results of student satisfaction surveys to develop marketing campaigns and marketing materials.

	32	We utilize models to project a students likelihood of dropping out.

	33	We have a program that identifies successful student and invites them to enroll in new programs upon graduation.

	34	We have identified students that are 'under performing' and developed plans to help them succeed and stay in our programs.

	35	We measure the profitability of individual students.

	36	We know what percentage of our students are profitable.

	37	We have a program in place that motivates students to pursue additional degree programs, certificates or courses.



© 2009 DWS Associates. All Rights Reserved


				Student Relationship Management
				Readiness Assessment

		Use this tool to measure your institution's student relationship management processes and practices.
		Give your organization a score of 1 - 5 for each of the following statements.
		Leave score blank if the statement is not applicable to your situation.
		Check the SRM Scorecard TAB for your total results & analysis.

		Score 5 - Strongly Agree		This Section
		Score 4 - Agree
		Score 3 - Undecided		Questions Answered
		Score 2 - Disagree		Total Points
		Score 1 - Strongly Disagree		Average Score

		Leave blank if not applicable


	CRM Database Management		Score	Concerns


	1	We have a centralized database for capturing new student prospect data.

	2	We track all leads generated from all marketing activities (e.g., advertising, events, Internet).

	3	We track all enrollments by marketing activities.

	4	We use lead scoring before placing an inquiry into the CRM system for the enrollment team to contact.

	5	We use information gathered about our best students to target new student acquisition efforts.

	6	We have a centralized database that captures all information about students, our interactions with them and their interactions with our institution from initial inquiry through graduation.

	7	We collect student transaction, service and demographic information from internal and external sources and use this information to acquire, retain and service students.

	8	We use student data to acquire and retain students, which includes enrolling them in subsequent programs (e.g., certificate programs, advanced degrees).

	9	We use this information when communicating with students through any touch points with students including sales, student services, web sites, marketing collateral and all communications.

	10	We have a process in place that documents all interactions between the student and the institution in a centralized database.

	11	Faculty and staff within our institution who come into to contact with students can access a complete picture of students so that they can make informed decisions and deliver a better student experience.

	12	We seamlessly share data about our students between all departments that have some interaction with the students.

	13	All formal contact with the student is captured in our centralized database so we have a complete history to draw upon when serving the individual.

	14	We require all outside agencies or vendors who may have interactions with our new student inquiries or leads to follow established recruitment processes and capture all interactions in our institution's centralized database.

	15	We purchase student demographic and psychographic data and append it to our central database in order to enhance our knowledge of the student and improve our lead generation, management and retention efforts.

	16	We have calculated the life time value (customer lifetime value (CLV)) of our average student.

	17	We constantly analyze student behavior in order to identify opportunities and/or threats.

	18	We are currently using a CRM solution to manage our student relationships.

	19	We are thoroughly satisfied with the CRM database solution that we are using.



© 2009 DWS Associates. All Rights Reserved