Q: We are looking at how and where we can trim costs, I’m sure like every other program. We have not changed the glossy cover and newsprint insides of our catalog for a number of years. How do we determine the effectiveness of that paper? Surrounding districts use newsprint, some in newspaper style others in magazine format. In terms of the catalog, we feel there is a big gap in what we do and what they do. Is there a way to determine how much that matters? Does paper quality make a difference to registration? Do we do a quick survey/analysis when people register?
Also, we are considering doing a focus group – finally – of our best customers. Any tips on putting that together?
We are also considering not doing in-class paper evaluations and moving to online evaluations (we send an email inviting them to give us feedback). Pros/Cons? Do we do both for a while? We don’t use our paper evals effectively because of the time it takes to compile the results.
A: LERN has heard from member programs that making a change to a glossy cover stock from a newsprint stock (and only that one change) generated increased enrollments as much as 10%. A glossy paper stock helps convey an impression of quality about your program, and is best for the quality of reproduction of color and images on the cover. We have no research and have not heard from any programs that have experienced drops in enrollment from using newsprint for inside pages. Since your brochure is a strong representation of your program - it is what people see and think of when they consider your program options - the quality of your brochure is basically a direct reflection of the quality of your program. A first impression can be important, and a good quality cover is the first impression you make with your brochure.
One thing you could consider is testing. LERN always recommends that you TEST any significant change in your marketing before you apply it "across the board. Select a portion of your mailing list and use a newsprint cover, and then send a second mailing a few weeks after the first with a glossy cover, and approach the mailings vice versa for another portion (i.e. send the blossy cover first and newsprint second). Track to determine what response levels you get from each mailing. You can certainly ask/survey some of your best customers for their feedback on each cover option, too.
Another thing we would recommend is that you check out the How to Cut Brochure Costs webinar in the LERN Club. It is from April 2010, but the principles are basic and continue to apply. You can access the PowerPoint and audio by login into the LERN Club (let me know if you need a reminder of your password). When you enter your Username and Password in the boxes on the LERN home page at www.lern.org, you will be directed to the LERN Club main page. Select Webinars on Demand in the tab near the top, and them find the How to Cut Brochure Costs webinar and simply click on the link (it takes a minute or so to download). You might gain some additional ideas for saving costs.
A focus group is always a good idea to gain the perspectives of your customers. Focus groups are a wonderful opportunity to get rich data and in-depth information that you can acquire with a survey. Although the topics you want to cover may be the same you have an opportunity to probe more deeply for specific information than you can get from other types of market research.
For our types of programs, it is typical that the groups are less formal than a typical focus group. Of course, I am sure you have already planned to put together a group of people that represent the constituency you want to reach and ideally that contain people who are good customers and know your program well. It is much more likely that you will be able to get useful input from people who know you and like you than to compose a focus group of people who are not frequent users of your services and programs.
Focus Group Questions - Brochure questions
Do you receive our print brochure?
Do you browse it?
Is it easy to find information that you are looking for?
Do you have suggestions about how we could make it more effective?
Do you ever share it with friends?
How do you prefer to register? (Online, phone, in-person, etc.)
Are the course descriptions sufficiently informative?
Do you need more information about our instructors?
What could we do to become more visible in the community?
Other contact
Would you like to get e-mails about upcoming programs?
If we had a facebook page, would you use this as a source of information?
Would you be willing to respond to e-mail surveys on specific areas of our program?
Other ways you would like to be contacted?
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What is the first thing that you think of when you think of SMU?
What kinds of classes and programs do you think of when you think of SMU?
What one word do you think best describes SMU?
How do you think we are perceived in the community?
Do you think the community sees us as a strong provider for “X”?
Why do you take courses at SMU?
Awareness
Do our marketing efforts provide you with timely information about our programs?
Are you aware of our extension program in Plano?
What courses do you think are offered in Plano?
What kinds of programs do you think we offer?
Additional Programs
What gaps in programming do you perceive that we might fill?
What courses are we not offering that you would like to see us offer?
Are there specific programs that would personally benefit you that you cannot find at
SMU?
Safety, convenience, customer service
Do you feel that our classes are conducted in a safe area?
How is the parking availability for our classes and events?
Are our staff helpful and responsive?
Is our refund policy user friendly?
As far as your evaluations, if you are not using your paper evals, they are clearly not providing you with value. Survey monkey is an excellent option for gathering information about your participants' experience in your program. LERN uses this frequently for surveys, and we get a very high rate of response. It is also useful that the software can produce charts and analyze the responses automatically, which is a big time-saver. If you would like us to critique your evaluation form, just let us know. It is part of your member benefit package, so we can do this at no cost to you.
We have also had very good results with the email surveys. They are quick to prepare and easy to respond to. People can enter their answers right away and be done with it. Results are compiled manually, but it takes very little time. Another option to consider would be to create a form using Google Docs. Email the form to your respondents. They fill in their answers on the form and it is automatically uploaded to an excel spreadsheet in Google Docs. You don't have to do any manual compiling or anything else. Ask your IT folks to demonstrate how forms work for Google Docs if you are not already familiar with them. It is pretty slick. Since you are doing a simple survey, all you need are basic counts of people using a specific project. Even if you did this with tally marks on a sheet of paper, you could quickly and easily compile results for up to 100 respondents. You are only asking 3-5 questions and the responses could be tallied as they come in.