The Element451 Customer Panel at the 2023 Engage Summit brought together five of our most valued partner institutions to discuss their experiences and insights into the transformative power of the Element451 platform. 

Dive deep into the discussions and key takeaways from the panel, focusing on the challenges faced by these higher education institutions, the importance of data-driven decision-making, and the value of effective communication and collaboration through implementing Element451. 

Element451 Customer Panel Q&A - 2023 Engage Summit

Devin Purgason - Executive Director of Marketing and Student Care, Forsyth Technical Community College

Most Loved Feature: “Creating personalized emails and text messages that automatically flow when students fill out a form on our digital ads.”

Jacquelyn Thompson, Ed.D. - Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, Florida State College at Jacksonville

Most Loved Feature: “Creating a place for all of our communication so the student isn't telling their story again and again.” 

Abe Dones, Vice President, Chief Student Services Officer, Durham Technical Community College

Most Loved Feature: “The seriousness behind when you come and propose an idea and the investment that they make in taking that idea to the next level.”

Lenell Hahn - Director of Admissions, Southeast Missouri State University

Most Loved Feature: “You're not trying to take five different platforms and piece together an experience for students and it makes relationship building easy.”

Kristina Faller - Director of Marketing and Brand Experience, RIT Certified

Most Loved Feature: “Beiing able to connect with either a prospective or current student or learner where they are in their journey and deliver a relevant personalized engagement contact with them.”

The Power of Data for Decision-Making and Performance Analysis

The panelists started the discussion by emphasizing the critical role of having access to integrated data for effective decision-making and performance analysis in higher education. They highlighted the ease of bringing together data from different systems, the power of Element451 Insights, and being able to gain a comprehensive understanding of student success metrics. 

By having readily available data, institutions like Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) can compare performance year over year and identify underperforming areas, allowing them to reallocate resources efficiently and make data-driven decisions. 

The Impact of Effective Implementation and Support

Panelists shared their experiences and praised Element451's implementation process. Thompson shared how FSCJ purchased Element451 in March of 2020. As the institution faced impending challenges due to the worldwide pandemic, Thompson had a deadline of replacing her old CRM system in May and met it with time to spare. She noted that the school was only able to transition away from the CRM to Element451 with ease because of the supportive implementation staff.

The level of support that I get from Element451 is far and above anything that I've had from other vendors.

Faller from RIT-Certified specifically name-dropped their team captain during implementation because of how vital his support had been throughout the entire process.

I just went through the chat, and I hoped for the best, and I had a lengthy back and forth with an engaged, knowledgeable person, who then set up a Zoom meeting with me for the next morning first thing, and found a workaround to what we were trying to do.

Element451's support helped ease Faller's initial insecurities and provided her with confidence in using the platform. Additionally, the chat function proved invaluable when seeking help, with knowledgeable experts providing prompt responses and setting up Zoom meetings to find specific solutions.

Maximizing Student Success through Communication and Consistency

Front-facing employees were discussed as crucial for student success, particularly for first-generation students. The transition of employees can have severe consequences for students, leading to inconsistency and potential setbacks. 

Thompson emphasized the importance of consistency in supporting students' progress and goals and viewed Element451 as a vital resource for onboarding, application, and early success monitoring. 

Understanding data and metrics has helped FSCJ improve student outcomes, and simplified processes for employees for better retention and support for students' academic journey.

Driving Collaboration and Alignment Across Departments

Hahn from SEMO highlighted the need for collaboration, communication, and a shared understanding of objectives between different units within colleges and universities. She acknowledged the potential for duplication and confusion when marketing and student support teams use the Element451 platform in siloed ways. 

Her marketing team acted as stewards of the subscription base, ensuring unified communication, while other units were empowered to develop their own communication objectives and strategies. She stressed the importance of everyone putting themselves in the shoes of prospective students and learners to ensure a cohesive and unified message. 

By seeing the full picture across departments and adjusting based on the data, SEMO can provide a seamless experience for students and improve overall outcomes.

I'm making sure that all the funnels can be seen like marketing, recruitment, admissions, enrollment, persistence and being able to pull it together. Now we've got this data warehouse that can be pulled together with other systems you're using to really be able to see the full funnel. That is super important and very impactful.

Leveraging Element451 for Effective Digital Marketing

Element451's capabilities in digital marketing were widely praised by the panelists. 

Before implementing Element451, institutions like Forsyth Technical Community College struggled with efficient text messaging to students, but the platform unveiled the effectiveness of text click rates and engagement compared to email. With Element451, Forsyth Tech was able to build and enhance it's text messaging strategic plans and communication plans. 

From a marketing perspective, we really, really loved the insights that we got from Element because it showed us what was working and what was not working, what students were engaging with and what they were ignoring.

For Forsyth Tech, the platform facilitated the integration of digital marketing strategies with personalized pages and forms, providing valuable insights into student preferences and enabling targeted adjustments. 

Purgason also expressed excitement about Bolt Copilot, which simplified A/B testing by transforming written content into different tones of voice, helping them understand how messaging resonated with students.

Navigating Change Management and Maximizing the Human-Tech Partnership

Dones from Durham Technical Community College underscored the importance of effective change management when introducing a platform like Element451. 

Dones emphasized that change management is not just about getting people to use the platform but rather showing the value and using data to drive decisions. Cultivating relationships with partners and demonstrating the platform's value are key elements in promoting adoption. Dones shared a success story where implementing proven programs as models facilitated the adoption process. 

What I'm looking forward to is not only having consistent employees who can master one system but it also will allow us to hopefully increase our ability to retain employees because they don't feel overwhelmed, they don't feel burnt out with all of these different things that they need to learn.

Hahn also acknowledged the challenges of change management in conservative higher education environments and highlighted transparency and communication as essential components in overcoming resistance.

With its powerful and customizable platform, Element451 can provide an unparalleled level of support to institutions seeking to engage with their students in a more effective and dynamic way.

Element451 as a Game-Changer in Higher Education

The panelists described their ongoing implementation process with Element451 and expressed gratitude for Element's partnership, investment, and commitment to taking ideas to the next level. All of our partners recognized the need for technology to enable efficiency and reduce the burden on human resources while connecting students and schools. 

If you’re ready to unlock the potential of Element451 and discover how your institution can thrive in an ever-evolving educational landscape, connect with us.

To see the slides and rewatch all the Engage Summit session recordings, visit our session library.

Transforming Higher Ed: Insights from the Element451 Customer Panel

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