The importance of CRM systems in Higher Education

Any Higher Education Institution is made on various linked networks. It becomes tiresome interacting with potential students, present students, graduates, staff as well as the parents and rest of the administration section. A CRM for education system helps to shape an active network which keeps updated with all the parties along with making several processes, namely admission, fee payment, etc. that much easier.

Advantages

1) Manage Student Life Cycle

CRM systems for education can manage a student relationship from enquiry to enrolment. By analysing student details, it aids in tracking potential leads during the admission procedure. There are a large number of enquiries to manage during the enrolment procedure. Replying to all such enquiries can be made easy while using a CRM. Furthermore, the entire admission procedure can be carried out smoothly and with minimum effort.

2) Keep in touch with Alumni

Nowadays, it is hard to keep up with demands of the constantly changing market and industry. It becomes necessary to stay in touch with the alumni of a university in order to figure out the needs of the modern industry. This will help a university in deciding new courses to offer as well as to prepare the present students for employment.

By using a CRM solution, staying in touch turns out to be simpler through regular emails to the alumni and receiving constant updates on their lives and careers. This can further lead to higher donations and help from them.

3) Effective Communication with Students

Regular automatically generated emails make it easier to follow up on the prospective students as well as to remind enrolling students about upcoming deadlines. CRM for education system can be effective while communicating with the enrolled students in order to let them know about future events, projects, assignment deadlines, etc.

4) Better Reach and Relationships

It requires a lot of resources to advertise a university and attract new students. It is difficult to compete with other universities and make one’s university seem the best. This needs effective marketing strategies.

A CRM for education system can be of assistance here. It can be used to engage students via social media platforms. By evaluating the places where potential students spend most of their time, they can directly advertise in such places.

5) Track Fee Payment

It is important that the financial operations of an education system are running smoothly. Whether it is a reminder for fee payment, or pay fees via online transactions, a CRM can assist by automating the procedure. It gives regular reminders as well as track fee payment for students effortlessly. Human errors and unnecessary paperwork can also be avoided.

6) Keep Centralised Database

An effective data management is necessary in an education system. The education system can benefit from mining the centralised database to figure out the current market trends and requirements. One can determine which courses to offer in the future.

7) Generate MIS Reports

Although students make up the major share of any education system, the other members such as faculty, administration, various departments such as marketing, IT, financial department, etc. are also vital in running an institution smoothly. A CRM can generate reports for individual departments as well as the faculty and students. This can track their performances and guide a university in making informed decisions about any improvements they need to make for a better organization.

How to choose an effective CRM system

One has to keep in mind a lot of factors while choosing a CRM system compatible to their institution. These can vary according to different institutions. Some of the major factors are as follows:

1) Contact Management

Choose a system which helps maintain contact with customers efficiently through online applications and tracking. It is better if the system is integrated with an email service so that one can automatically send and receive emails. Following up on potential students is essential to recruit them successfully. An effective contact management can aid this task.

2) User Friendliness

The system should be simple and adaptable to client’s needs. If the system is too difficult to navigate and understand, no one would want to use it. Also, if every customisation requires help from the provider then it becomes very tedious to use the system. A CRM system that can run on any platform including cell phones is even better for use. The user interface of the system should have a simple design so that it is easy for customers to understand.

3) Memory Requirements

It is extremely important to know the institutions’ storage requirements. If one has limited IT support and technical staff along with less initial requirement, then one should go with a cloud based solution which is easy to upgrade and access. Also, it’s easy to transfer to an on premise system at a later date.

On the other hand, if one requires heavy customisation, specific data structures and is able to afford good IT support, an on premise solution is better.

Conclusion

A CRM for education system can help build a better institution by maintaining contacts with alumni, tracking performances and generally making all the tasks simpler.

Vedansh Infoway has developed a CRM for education systems. It can be used by schools, colleges, training institutes and other education institutions. For more details, click here.