Southwestern Michigan College Increased Its Admissions Yield by 6% Among Students Who Received Personalized Text Messages

Like many other community colleges, SMC was looking for an effective communication channel that would streamline their conversations with applicants and increase their yield and retention rates on campus.

Prior to using Signal Vine, SMC already knew that texting was the most effective way to reach their students and had been using another texting platform. However, after facing limitations, they decided to look into other providers that would allow them to use their student data more effectively to increase the relevance and personalization of their messages. They found that sending mass, unpersonalized messages led to students feeling disengaged and disconnected from the institution, and it was too time-consuming for staff to do the work of targeting messages that a more advanced platform would be able to do for them. 

 

Implementation 

SMC made the switch to Signal Vine so that they could better personalize and target their text messages at scale.

Prospective students provide a mobile number on their application and choose to opt in to receive texts throughout the admissions cycle. Students can also find their recruiters’ Signal Vine texting number on recruiters’ business cards or on the admissions website. Through these channels, SMC has increased the number of students they communicate with throughout the admissions cycle.

Students receive texts once they’ve submitted their application and are provided with an outlet where they can ask questions throughout the admissions process. SMC sends texts reminding students of upcoming deadlines and informing students of where they can find the proper resources to complete their tasks.

SMC also uses student data to target the right messages to the right students. For example, recruiters will use the platform’s advanced search capability to reach out to students from certain high schools when they’ll be visiting their school.