This tool helps you visualize the performance of your student search or other sources of student information at the Prospect and Inquiry stage. Prospect Source is defined as the original source for purchased records, such as a student search program from Encoura or other sources. Inquiry Source is defined as the method or source of inquiry records such as travel-related programs, search response, campus visit programs, or web inquiries.
The Source Comparisons scatterplot visualization provides a quick overview of your key Inquiry or Prospect sources. The report shows your data in quadrants with the x-axis showing the volume of students by source and y-axis showing the Conversion Rate of these students. The default Conversion Rate is Inquiry to Applicant but you can change to others using the filters at the top of the report. The dotted lines on the scatterplot represent your average conversion rate and volume for the data selected. They can act as your internal performance benchmarks and create quadrants for evaluation.
Like most scatter plots, you can spot how the variable is performing based on its relationship to the x and y axis, or in this case, the dotted lines representing your average volume or conversion
Quadrant I | Quadrant II
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Quadrant IV | Quadrant III
Quadrant I : Sources in this quadrant have an above-average conversion rate from Inquiry to Applicant. An enrollment leader might consider investing in ways to produce more inquiries from these sources because they convert well. Investigating the makeup of the students you acquire from these sources could help you understand why they convert at high rates.
Quadrant II: Sources in Quadrant II are generally successful for you. Instead of focusing on these to improve your outcomes, consider making extra investment in Quadrant I or III.
Quadrant III: Sources in this quadrant produce many Inquiries, but their conversion to Applicant is relatively low. An enrollment leader might consider investing in ways to improve conversion rates from these sources. Investigating the demographics of students who apply, your recruiting practices, and marketing strategies may uncover a way to increase conversion. While the increase in conversion might be small, with so many inquiries, the outcome could be substantial!
Quadrant IV: This is your “room for improvement” or “challenge” area. Sources in this quadrant produce your lowest volume of inquiries and conversion to application. These areas may be a risk for you. They require a more comprehensive investigation into why these sources aren’t performing well for you.
Questions an enrollment leader might seek to answer would include:
- Would the students from these sources be a good fit for my institution?
- Do we have accurate and sufficient quality of data for students from these sources to create multi-touch marketing campaigns?
- How are we marketing to these students? Should we consider a change in messaging or delivery?
- Do we have adequate representation in the areas where theses students come from?
- Should we consider redistributing this budget to another source in the future?
Top Insights from First Source
- Which sources are performing best overall? Change "Top N Sources" to see your top 5, 10, 15, 20 or 50. If the scatterplot gets too crowded to see all of the data points, use your mouse to draw a box over a specific area to 'zoom in' to see more detail.
- Are some sources performing better at a specific point in the funnel? Select which sources you want to evaluate, then change Conversion Rate to look at the part of the funnel you're interested in.
- Of my sources with high travel costs, which is performing best? Which needs improvement?
Select which Inquiry Sources from the filter you would like to include, and at what point of the funnel you're interested in (Conversion Rate). To look at "overall" performance, start with Inquiry to Enrolled. Then move through Inquiry to Applicant, Applicant to Completed Applicant, and Completed Applicant to Enrolled.