Multi-Generational Marketing: Customizing Your Value Proposition

WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:07.280 You're listening to the Higher Ed Marketer, a podcast geared towards marketing professionals in 2 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:12.480 higher education. This show will tackle all sorts of questions related to student recruitment, 3 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:16.359 donor relations, marketing trends, new technologies, and so much more. 4 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:21.480 If you're looking for conversations centered around where the industry is going, this podcast 5 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:29.519 is for you. Let's get into the show. Welcome to the Higher Ed 6 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:35.200 Marketer podcast. I'm Troy Singer along with Bart Kaylor, and today our topic 7 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:40.439 is going to be incorporating more of a corporate marketing mindset within higher reed. 8 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:45.399 We speak to Jennifer McCord. She is the vice president of Enrollment and Marketing 9 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:49.920 at Asbury University. We have heard about some of the success that they've had 10 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:55.039 at Asbury and we get to tap into Jennifer's brain on how they've achieved that 11 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:59.079 success. Yeah, Troy, she's she does such a great job kind of 12 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:02.880 explaining that she's got a a corporate background, much like many of the people 13 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.120 in higher that I've talked to that kind of have made that shift over from 14 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:08.319 from corporate to the higher ed world. And she does a great job of 15 00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:11.840 kind of explaining, you know, some of the thinking and how she approaches 16 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.760 that from from you know, her background, and then she goes into several 17 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:19.040 other things that are just so valuable in this episode. I mean, there's 18 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:22.959 so many good things that she talks about, either from the beginning when she 19 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:26.560 just even gives kind of what she has learned recently, to the very end 20 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:30.120 when she gives us the tip that we always ask about. So I'm really 21 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:33.599 excited about this episode. I think it's it's one that you'll want to bookmark 22 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:38.079 and probably listen to a couple of times. Here's our conversation with Jennifer. 23 00:01:38.599 --> 00:01:44.599 Jennifer, We're excited to get into the conversation with you about how Asbury has 24 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:49.640 had success and how you've incorporated a corporate culture at Asbury. But before we 25 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:55.280 get into that topic, would love to know if there's anything you have learned 26 00:01:55.359 --> 00:02:00.840 recently that would be interesting to share with our audience. Absolutely. Uh, 27 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:06.200 you know, some of the things that we talk about often, here are 28 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:10.800 some new thoughts that maybe some of our listeners have never considered, and a 29 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:15.199 couple of those are We're in a moment in time where we are in an 30 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:22.000 eight second attention span world, and that's a little bit shocking to people to 31 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:27.240 realize, oh wow, Guinness, my my messages have to be concise and 32 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:31.000 more impactful than ever. But in addition to that, we're also in a 33 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:36.759 five generation workplace, so we have we have to be excellent in an eight 34 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:44.080 second world and connecting to each person and how they hear things differently with a 35 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:47.479 little bit of that filter of the generations across the board from gen Z all 36 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:53.240 the way up to traditionals. We still have traditional people on our board of 37 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:59.000 trustees and their grandparents and in different ways that they're they're involved in the university, 38 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.960 So how do we connect with them? So the eight second attention span 39 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:07.840 world, the five five generations all take place, and that really gives me 40 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:12.759 a little bit of understanding of when, oh goodness, it's just so hard 41 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:19.759 to connect sometimes, and then to to undercurrent that with we're also doing this 42 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:23.919 in the middle of a global pandemic. And so I want to give your 43 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:28.919 listeners just a little bit of grace today, just some time to just give 44 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:32.439 themselves grace to say, you know what, not not all of us can 45 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:37.759 go to a bookshelf and pick off the old ninety two right that book that 46 00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:42.759 says how to do this in a pandemic, grow enrollment, grow marketing in 47 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.439 a pandemic, and an eight second world working with five different generations. So 48 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:52.439 just that context, it's just a little bit easier to understand. My brain 49 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:55.400 is a bit full, and I think are as well, but it just 50 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:59.280 gives us a little bit of Okay, that makes sense. I can give 51 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:01.800 myself a little bit the grace, thank you, And that's wonderful food for 52 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:06.599 thought. I would like to touch upon that a little bit later about generational 53 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:12.159 communication, and I know that Bart he has a lot to say about that, 54 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:16.319 and I think he's given a seminar here recently before before that, give 55 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:21.920 us an introduction to Asbury M I'd be happy to um. Asbury is a 56 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:27.519 beautiful campus here in Wilmore, Kentucky. It's about twenty miles south of Lexington, 57 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:32.399 Kentucky. It's a private Christian liberal arts university, and we really work 58 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:39.240 hard to provide our students with you know, the best most relevant holistic education. 59 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:45.800 UM really preparing them for their first job, but also their fifth job. 60 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:50.199 And we know that so many jobs just you know, we're preparing students 61 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:56.240 for jobs that don't even really exist yet. So So students come here either 62 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:01.439 virtually in an online format with graduate program or online undergraduate, or on our 63 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:06.360 beautiful campus here in Wellmore, and they really learn how to think critically, 64 00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:14.279 think creatively, build relationships, to be able to be nimble throughout different industries, 65 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:18.240 and understand how to do that all in the context with that biblical worldview. 66 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:24.800 So really teaching students how to think, live, serve, and love 67 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:29.480 well is what we do here. Thank you. I appreciate that, Troy. 68 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:31.519 That question was great, and you know, in all transparency, I'm 69 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:34.279 a product of a very similar school to that, and I think we talked 70 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:38.000 about about that before and I think a lot of our our listeners know that 71 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.800 already. But I think one of the things that kind of intrigues me as 72 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:45.399 we kind of get started into our conversation Jennifer, and we kind of hinted 73 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:48.000 out a little bit during the intro, but the idea that while you and 74 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:55.439 I never crossed paths, back before I started Kaylor Solutions and and my focus 75 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:58.600 in higher education, I did. I did a little bit of work corporate 76 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:00.920 work, and one of my clients as a lex Mark, the agency that 77 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:04.240 I was a part of, and we've figured out that while are past it 78 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:08.639 and Cross, I think there were some similarities. But one thing I'm always 79 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:11.759 fascinated with and I and I know we've had several guests on the on the 80 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:15.720 podcast Ethan Braden from from Purdue is one that comes to mind who had a 81 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:21.040 very successful corporate career and then felt drawn to come into higher education to kind 82 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:26.040 of take what they learned in the corporate realm and apply that into higher ed. 83 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.600 And and I have That's kind of been my philosophy as I'm getting in 84 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:31.680 because I mean, I've got a lot of corporate experience, but being able 85 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:34.560 to provide that into higher it. So tell me a little bit about your 86 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:40.680 corporate background and maybe how you arrived at higher ed at Asbury University, and 87 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:46.360 then how you've applied some of that thinking to your current role. Absolutely, 88 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:51.720 I spent two decades in that Fortune five hundred technology world, really focused in 89 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:58.399 that timeframe on business development, communications, marketing, sales, all the things 90 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:03.800 right to to all a product into a fast moving, fast changing world. 91 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:10.480 And how do you create differentiation in a technology industry that, my goodness, 92 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:15.399 there's so much competition. So when God brought me to Asbury, it was 93 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:21.800 a really good fit because I was used to working within a large structure of 94 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:30.199 a corporation that really operated just as all Fortune five corporations operate like a almost 95 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:34.240 an ocean liner as a whole. Right, it takes a lot to change 96 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:40.399 and to move and to be able to respond to the market. But yet 97 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:46.560 in these smaller areas, in these different functions of the business, I've had 98 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:50.519 the privilege of being part of those tug boat operations, if that makes sense, 99 00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:58.560 right, those entrepreneurial groups inside of the ocean liner. And so those 100 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:03.480 tug boat places has taught me very quickly how to move quickly, how to 101 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:09.040 respond to the market, how to see what was happening in the industry but 102 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:13.560 also in the marketplace, and who is our understanding, who is our customer, 103 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:18.000 and how do we connect with that customer quickly and be able to create 104 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:24.199 that true differentiation and stand out in a very crowded marketplace. So in a 105 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:28.480 lot of industries, that's what what people are doing. And the same is 106 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:35.879 true and higher education. So there's five thousand universities in the United States that 107 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:39.879 and we are all vying for the same group of students right there, all 108 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:45.679 eighteen for the most part all graduating high school across the world, they have 109 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:52.360 a lot of options, and a lot of universities have very similar qualities and 110 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:58.720 characteristics. And when we can find those unique differentiators to each university, to 111 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:05.639 each product or each thing that we're talking to our customer about, and we 112 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:11.679 can set that apart and customize that message really well to that audience and shift 113 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:16.639 easily. Find those parts of the university that are the tug boat that you 114 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:20.399 can actually shift quickly, you know, and there are places in a university 115 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:26.080 where it makes absolute sense that it's an ocean liner, that it takes time, 116 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:31.000 just like in a big corporation. Right, there's reasons that we don't 117 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:37.799 move fast in curriculum. There's reasons we have approval processes and and accreditation things 118 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:43.559 and all of that correct, But there are always places in an organization that 119 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:48.960 you can find that our tug boat, places that you can shift and react 120 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:54.919 to the market quickly. And so how do you find that and and figure 121 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:00.799 out what is working in those places and what might need to a just a 122 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.399 bit to be able to just tweak it a little bit to connect to that 123 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:11.000 audience more quickly and create that differentiation and in a customized way to your audience. 124 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:18.799 We will be right back after a word from our sponsor. Today's podcast 125 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:22.919 is brought to you by spoke Note, the simple way to add video to 126 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:26.919 anything. If you're looking for an innovative, effective way to get someone's attention, 127 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:30.440 you really ought to check out Spokenote. 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Let's rejoin the conversation right here on the higher ed 136 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:15.519 marketer. A few things that you said that I just want to point out 137 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:18.399 one the differentiation. I mean, I wanted to give you an amen on 138 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:22.480 that because it's like, you know, the the idea, and I kind 139 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:24.919 of preach this and people get tired of hearing me. You've got to differentiate 140 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.600 yourselves from not only your cross apps, but where other people are. I 141 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:31.840 mean a lot of people, especially when we talk about you know, small 142 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:37.000 private faith based schools, we think we're competing against the other small faith based 143 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:39.639 schools. Most of the time, we're competing against the states of the community 144 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:43.639 colleges and state schools, and state schools are competing against other state schools. 145 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:46.960 I mean, so we need to understand what is different about us than anybody 146 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.279 else. And so I think that's a really important piece. How do we 147 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:54.399 communicate that in a very customized, personalized way to our prospective audience. Excellent, 148 00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:58.240 excellent point. And I think that finally, that other element that I 149 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:01.159 wanted to just kind of highlight that you said is is the fact that, 150 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:05.480 yes, we need to have those tug boats and you know, ocean liners 151 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:07.840 are slow. But you know, and I don't want to be disparaging in 152 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.240 in any way, but you experienced this going from corporate to Higher ED. 153 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:15.440 I know a lot of other people have said this to me. Higher ED 154 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:22.679 is a little slower than corporation. And so I mean, you know, 155 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:28.080 so we also have to recognize that, you know, what might be uh 156 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:33.679 slow in corporate is even slower in higher ED. But that's not to say 157 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:35.399 that that's an excuse. I mean too many times I think we kind of 158 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:37.720 say, well, this is higher ED, that's what it is. But 159 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:41.519 I mean I think even as you've told us, even as you came into 160 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:46.159 Asbury, into this new role, you were able to kind of actually get 161 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:48.039 that tug boat a little bit more of a speedboat a little bit. So 162 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:52.399 tell us a little bit about some examples of of how you were able to 163 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:56.000 do that. And because I mean a lot of people are probably ready with 164 00:12:56.039 --> 00:12:58.000 their notes to say, okay, how can I speed some things up? 165 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:05.399 Because it feels like lasses sometimes exactly exactly and you know, some of some 166 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:09.639 of it just really truly has to do with who is who are the decision 167 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:16.639 makers and how do you get to them and quickly explain the pain um in 168 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:22.759 an effective way without disparaging, without throwing people under the bus. Right, 169 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:28.080 But sometimes there's just some pain there that just needs to be addressed because we 170 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:33.120 have to move fast. So what is a pain, and then what are 171 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:37.720 some solutions that are easy to say yes to that you can actually Okay, 172 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:43.639 I found the money, I have the vendor, or here's what we're gonna 173 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:46.919 do, here's the plan, here's what pain it's gonna solve, and here's 174 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:52.240 how quickly that's going to be solved. And sometimes you can get really in 175 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:58.759 a blessed situation and all of the elements come together and you can move really 176 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:01.480 fast. And we found that. And one of the examples that we had 177 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:07.840 was we had the opportunity to be featured in season three of The College Tour. 178 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:11.639 And I don't know if your listeners know too much about the College Tour. 179 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:15.600 If they don't, you can go to the College Tour dot com and 180 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:20.639 kind of see what I'm talking about. But basically, this is a company 181 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:26.720 that highlights a university's students and alumni story directly from the students and alumni. 182 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:33.919 So gen Z we know, loves authentic stories from their peers. So there's 183 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:39.960 nothing better than a prospective student that's coming to an on campus residential program to 184 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:46.919 see from their peers what their experiences. And so the College Tour exist to 185 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:50.879 do a basically a college tour on steroids. In the in a in a 186 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:56.159 storytelling way, and it's available on Amazon, Amazon Prime and lots of other 187 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:01.879 outlets with that stream, and so and Z loves it, loves a story 188 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:05.679 and they love to binge watch. Right, So College Tour, you get 189 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:11.559 into Amazon Prime and you start on season one and hopefully that student just really 190 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:16.200 binge watches all the way through whichever scenes in the College touris on now. 191 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:20.200 So these are episodes of thirty thirty minutes to sixty minutes. And Asbury was 192 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:26.440 blessed to have the opportunity to make that move, and that really leap frogged 193 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:33.679 Asbury from the standpoint of we didn't have a strong virtual tour on our website, 194 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:37.879 and we were in a moment in the spring of twenty one where we 195 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:43.679 were having to make a really hard decision of do we spend the money that 196 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:48.279 we need to find in a virtual tour or do we do something else. 197 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:54.240 The College Tour kind of heard our pain and they called. We had about 198 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:58.840 a forty eight hour window to make this decision because they were moving on to 199 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:02.440 season four, and so we had to make a very quick decision. So 200 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:07.080 the pain was high on campus with our administration and our decision makers, the 201 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:11.320 need was there, the money was close to their right. We still have 202 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:17.480 to go fund some and be creative and that um. But because the vendor 203 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:22.039 and the solution and the pain we're both so present, we were able to 204 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:26.360 move on that decision within a forty eight hour window. Actually, even we 205 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:32.519 made a cabinet decision in a quick, quick meeting where we pulled all the 206 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:37.320 cabinet members together outside of a regular little huddle on let's figure out how we're 207 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:40.879 gonna make this happen. That's awesome, that's right. It was such a 208 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:45.000 victory, and it was such a good decision, um, because the College 209 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:52.320 Tour is a great, great program, great partner, and we have we 210 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:56.159 have seen nothing but good from that partnership, and so that one worked out. 211 00:16:56.519 --> 00:17:02.759 But those were times where where can we find these tugboat moments? Where 212 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:07.839 can we move fast? Where can we gather everybody even if it's not in 213 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:11.359 a cabinet meeting or in a situation, because we have to move and the 214 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:17.480 longer we wait, the longer the results take to come. That's great. 215 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:22.039 Well, in all full disclosure, we actually met Jennifer through Alex Boylan from 216 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:23.839 the College Tour. He he had, he was kind enough to introduce us, 217 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.519 and we've had several episodes. So if you go to just high Ed 218 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:30.039 Marketer podcast dot com, do a search for College Tour, you'll be able 219 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:33.119 to see some of the other episodes where we've talked about that. But also 220 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:37.720 you know we've we've talked to you know, hanover Delaware Valley, Arizona State, 221 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:42.319 University of Illinois. These were all introductions because of their participation in the 222 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:45.920 college Tour. So that was a that was a really good and I'm so 223 00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:51.200 excited to hear you guys having success with that. Yes, absolutely, Jennifer. 224 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:56.559 Speaking of the cabinet, recently, your role as vice president of Enrollment 225 00:17:56.599 --> 00:18:00.519 and Marketing was elevated to a cabinet level, and I know that both Bart 226 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.640 and I believe in the value of doing so, and we'd like to hear 227 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:08.240 your opinion. But before you go into that, would love to know as 228 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:12.000 much as you're willing to share, how you came to that decision and how 229 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:18.359 that decision took place. So the cabinet was in a little bit of a 230 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:23.359 transition from the standpoint of No, I was not privy to those conversations, 231 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:33.039 right, so they saw a need to move from a vice president reporting having 232 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:37.240 a couple of reporting structures, so financial aid reported to one vice president, 233 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:44.680 admissions reported to a different vice president, and marketing or strategic communications reported to 234 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:52.480 a third vice president. So what they recognized last fall was that just moving 235 00:18:52.440 --> 00:19:00.319 with three different silos was moving a little bit slow, not by any means 236 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:06.920 other than it just took a little bit longer to move through the communications structure, 237 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:11.160 right, And all three of those sections and all three of those vice 238 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:15.759 presidents worked really well together, but it's still just slowed the process down. 239 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:22.680 So they recognize back in the fall that we needed to put all three of 240 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:30.400 those areas together. So admissions from online undergraduate to graduate to residential undergraduate, 241 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:37.880 to financial aid and our marketing arm are all three now together in one vice 242 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:42.000 president role. And so I am blessed to get to lead that. And 243 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:48.240 it has been an absolute whirlwind, but it has been the right decision um 244 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.400 not because I'm in the seat, but because even if I was still in 245 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:57.720 my marketing seat, it was a It has sped up decision making. It 246 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:03.160 has been we have been able a streamline a lot of communication. We've got 247 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:07.000 to be able to clarify and move a lot more quickly. Yeah, that's 248 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:10.599 exciting. And we had Terry Flannery on the podcast a few a few weeks 249 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:12.519 ago. She's the author of How to Market at University and she's a big 250 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:18.039 believer in and we specifically talked about this about the importance of marketing having a 251 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:21.359 seat at the cabinet level. Um, and I think that a lot of 252 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.640 times, I mean, at smaller schools it's going to be a combination of 253 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:29.400 vice president of enrollment in marketing and and I'm a big believer And she actually 254 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:32.079 says this too, is that, you know, putting that under enrollment makes 255 00:20:32.119 --> 00:20:34.160 a lot of sense because I mean, you know, for for the vast 256 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:40.319 majority of those five thousand schools that you talked about, especially the privates of 257 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:45.799 the bottom line and the income comes through enrollment supported certainly many times at different 258 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:49.640 levels by development. But um and I think that a lot of times it 259 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:52.599 goes back to what we talked about earlier with the ocean liners and the slowness 260 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:56.119 sometimes have higher ed is that I think that we still have this model many 261 00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:02.400 times of marketing serving under advanced want and that's okay, but that's that's where 262 00:21:02.440 --> 00:21:06.480 it came out of historically, because marketing used to be in charge of let's 263 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:08.599 get the alumni magazine together, and that's that's what we do. That's all 264 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:11.720 marketing really did, because you know, everybody's just going to come to our 265 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:17.079 college because we're here. Well that's changed obviously in the last thirty or forty 266 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:22.000 years, and so I think that many times, kind of recognizing the importance 267 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:26.240 of marketing and then also recognizing the fact of what it is that marketing does 268 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:30.720 is so important. I actually did a post on LinkedIn this morning about you 269 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:33.599 know, the idea of what what if I were a president, what marketing 270 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:36.759 metric would I want to know about? And you know, I had somebody, 271 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:38.200 you know, respond back and said, well, do you think that 272 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:41.960 presidents really understand that if you gave them that that metric? And I said, 273 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:45.160 well, that's a fair thing, but they've had to learn what cash 274 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.039 flow is and p n L is, you know, from the CFO. 275 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:52.720 They have to learn these metrics as well. And her response was back on 276 00:21:52.960 --> 00:22:00.160 the comment was that's so true because higher it has been slow to accept up 277 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:03.440 the fact that we are a business and that we have to operate like a 278 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:04.920 business and I think that you know, folks like you that are coming in 279 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:10.200 from a corporate background can help with that with the leadership and in that direction. 280 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:14.160 But I think that it's some that's so important to kind of understand that. 281 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:17.839 And and I guess question back to you now, Jennifer's is as you're 282 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:21.039 at the table and as you have that sense of marketing and especially with your 283 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:25.119 background and your experience, UM, I'm sure that's going to help you know, 284 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:27.640 just like you had with the example with the college tour, you know, 285 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:30.920 being able to have conversations about you know, enrollment, about admissions, 286 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:34.799 about budget cuts, about how we spend the money. Is is that billboard 287 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:38.359 that everybody thinks that we need as important as another way of doing it? 288 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:41.960 Maybe just kind of respond a little bit to some of that. It's it's 289 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:47.960 been critical because to be in to be in the room and to hear the 290 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:53.720 origin of the conversations and to really understand where the conversation is coming from, 291 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:59.319 because a lot of times a budget cut type conversation, by the time it 292 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:04.359 gets too to the staff, that has been filtered four or five six different 293 00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:10.000 times, and sometimes it's not exactly the way it was intended, right it 294 00:23:10.039 --> 00:23:12.319 grows. It's just like the old telephone you know game that we played as 295 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:17.839 its right, and so to be able to hear the origin of the conversation 296 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:22.000 and to be able to know, okay, how are we going to respond 297 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:26.440 to that, And to be able to speak into that whether that is a 298 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:32.519 budget situation or it's a new curriculum, new program situation, to be able 299 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:37.799 to see the market research and to understand that that, okay, it that 300 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:44.480 makes sense that we're thinking about that graduate program or that new master's program, 301 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:49.319 or perhaps I have had something that's happened in admissions or in the marketing world 302 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:56.759 just even that week from the standpoint of an undergraduate conversation or a graduate conversation, 303 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:02.279 and I'm able to bring that in to give some perspective of what's happening 304 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:07.880 on the street, right Like what's really being talked about in those admissions conversations 305 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:12.880 and those counselor meetings. What what is the pain of the family. And 306 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:19.119 whenever a curriculum or a program or something as being discussed at that table, 307 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:25.599 I'm able to bring that real world information right then and there, and then 308 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:30.880 we can decide whether to move forward. It's just brings the conversation up more 309 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:36.960 quickly and allows marketing and even in the admissions world to be able to speak 310 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:42.039 into what the cabinet is, what the strategy is, what they're talking about 311 00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:49.720 across the across campus. And we have just seen just a streamlining and an 312 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:56.000 effectiveness that is really critical at this moment in time. And I think that 313 00:24:56.039 --> 00:25:00.839 you know, that idea of understanding the pain points, understanding marketing and all 314 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:03.039 of that I think is so critical because I think part of it too is 315 00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:08.279 the fact that so many times it seems like these programs are kind of birth 316 00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:14.240 out of, you know, the imagination of faculty and and I think many 317 00:25:14.279 --> 00:25:18.000 times I've talked to different marketers and and different enrollment people who are really frustrated 318 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:22.799 sometimes where it's like, Okay, we just learned that we have been you 319 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:26.039 know, proved by the creditor to do underwater basket weaving, but nobody is 320 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:30.960 going to do underwater basket weaving. I cannot sell that program. And now 321 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:33.920 they've told me we need to fill it with thirty seats next next semester. 322 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:40.599 Another reason why that it's so critical to have that voice at the table at 323 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:45.200 the very beginning when it's first coming up. Absolutely, It's just it's just 324 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:48.519 nice to go ahead and get that all all talking, and then everyone knows 325 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:55.519 why we are moving forward or why we aren't, and it's just moves a 326 00:25:55.559 --> 00:26:00.319 lot faster, and those communication lines are open and clear so that the telephone 327 00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:04.920 game doesn't happen as bad or as big. Well, I'm gonna pivot here 328 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:08.359 for a second as we start to think a little bit about the multi generational 329 00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:11.759 marketing. I know that you know, you would referenced that in the in 330 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:15.519 the way that you've been learning about. You know, we've got five generations 331 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:19.240 on campus right now. We're influencing that and and lest we forget, probably 332 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:22.880 in three or four years, we're gonna have a sixth generation, um, 333 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:26.240 you know, and so that's gonna that's gonna be a little bit of challenge. 334 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:27.559 But let's talk a little bit about that. So tell me a little 335 00:26:27.559 --> 00:26:32.319 bit about you know, we and most of our conversation here has been what 336 00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:36.519 I would call tug So traditional undergrad is what we've been talking a lot about 337 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:38.279 today on this on this podcast, and so we're gonna keep doing that. 338 00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:41.960 We could probably go into a whole another conversation about you know, adult and 339 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:45.559 graduate and all of that. But as for the for the sake of this 340 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:48.319 conversation, tell me a little bit about Asbury University's approach to kind of that 341 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:55.000 traditional residential student population. It's kind of it's migrated from that millennial from a 342 00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:57.400 few years ago and now we're in the in the midst of the Generation Z. 343 00:26:59.079 --> 00:27:02.640 Tell us a bit about how that approach it to your enrollment, messaging, 344 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:06.799 to your marketing has has happened. I believe it's critical, especially with 345 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:11.480 this generation. So if you've learned anything about Gen Z, one of the 346 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:15.279 things that that is so important to them. So these these are students that 347 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:22.039 are in school right now. So they are probably mid middle mid elementary school 348 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:27.599 up to in college right now. They haven't quite tipped over into their first 349 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:30.720 jobs yet, but they're coming in the next couple of years, right And 350 00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:34.200 depending on which dates you use, and you can find all kinds of different 351 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:38.599 ones out there, but they're in school. So if someone is marketing to 352 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:47.240 that generation and their parents, that's critical to think about because a lot of 353 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:51.880 these students, a lot of that age range, they're not the purse strings, 354 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:55.680 right they haven't earned that money yet to buy that product or by that 355 00:27:55.880 --> 00:28:02.160 education, So you're really marketing to two generation and at least at the same 356 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:06.640 time. One thing about gen Z that we really have to understand is that 357 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:11.200 their value, they're a buzzword for them. What they really enjoy is a 358 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:15.160 customized experience. So think about what they've done from the crib. They knew 359 00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:21.519 how to order Amazon next day delivery or even same day delivery right before I 360 00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:22.920 even kind of knew what it was kind of you know, I mean, 361 00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:30.680 they are they are technology natives. They knew how to swipe an iPad before 362 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:34.160 they knew how to turn a page of a book, and so they understand 363 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:41.880 quick They understand customized their feeds on their phones, their home screens, everything 364 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:48.200 is customized to what they want. So how do we take that same customized 365 00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:53.480 message into higher ed and really make sure that they understand that there's there are 366 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:59.920 lanes, and there are regulations, and there are accreditations and there are qualifications 367 00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:03.759 to get this degree. But where it makes sense, where can we customize 368 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:07.519 it and where can we tell that story. So we took the customized message 369 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:11.759 and then we looked very quickly in the midst of a in the midst of 370 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:18.960 a pandemic. Mind you right. We realized very quickly that our tagline was 371 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:22.799 very similar to a lot of universities that were marketing to millennials a few years 372 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:29.359 ago, and that tagline for Asbury University was start here, Impact the world. 373 00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:34.559 For millennials. That's a beautiful tagline because they are wiled, wired up 374 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:40.400 that they want to impact the world. Gen Z looks a lot like millennials, 375 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:45.759 but they're just a shade off of where they want to customize their world. 376 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:49.720 They want to write their own story. They want to find people that 377 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:53.200 will help them get where they want to go on their journey, and they 378 00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:57.400 want those people to stay with them now or for a lifetime. So in 379 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:00.799 the middle of a pandemic, in the all of a generational shift, we 380 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:07.200 shifted from a millennial start here, impact the world to Asbury University for the 381 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:11.599 gen Z student is for the journey of a lifetime. That's great. I 382 00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:15.880 love that and I and I think that's so important to kind of customize those 383 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:19.440 messages because I think that you're right, it's a different world. I did 384 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:23.039 a presentation last week on websites. One of the examples I often give is 385 00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:26.680 that in all of my kids, you know, went to through the same 386 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:30.519 school system, and in seventh grade, one of the assignments in their creative 387 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:37.039 writing class was to develop a website with three blog entries about a topic of 388 00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:41.000 your choice. Right, those three blog entries on the website, so they 389 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:44.400 had to you know, put together a wicked side or something like that, 390 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:48.759 and then you know, create a QR code and put the flyers up to 391 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:52.599 advertise your website around the school. And so when I tell people that, 392 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:56.680 I tell them gen Z is coming to your website, thinking could I have 393 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:00.559 done a better job than this? Because probably could, or they probably did 394 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:04.480 in their in their elementary class. And so it's so important sometimes when we 395 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:11.000 forget that customization, that that lens of the importance of really understanding the generation 396 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:15.200 because they're coming at it from a different perspective. And the other piece of 397 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:22.240 that gen Z world, especially for traditional undergraduate population, is the gen Z 398 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:29.519 student has to be attracted to as to Asbury or to your university, but 399 00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:36.160 you also have to attract the gen X parent or the millennial parent, the 400 00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:41.160 older millennial parent parent. But I don't know if you've recognized. If you're 401 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:45.559 in admissions, you'll see it every day that gen Z has a large number 402 00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:52.799 of grandparents that are raising gen Z students. So we're also working with a 403 00:31:52.920 --> 00:32:00.240 lot of baby boomers as the grandparent that is actually raising that student. And 404 00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:07.039 so we have to be very good connecting with each one of those audiences and 405 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:14.440 and being able to get our differentiation and our value across in a short eight 406 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:19.240 second world, but then connect to each one of those people in the way 407 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:22.640 they want to be communicated with. I'll add to that, Jennifer, just 408 00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:24.920 for the sake of the audience. You already know this too. But as 409 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:30.079 the as the minority populations grow and more and more of our students are going 410 00:32:30.119 --> 00:32:35.880 to be coming from Hispanic or other other cultures, that, um, there's 411 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:40.279 a lot more emphasis on the decision making for the entire generational household. So 412 00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:44.960 I've worked with a couple of colleges that really needed to focus on the on 413 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.880 the Hispanic market, and for that market, you know, mom and dad 414 00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:53.039 and grandma and grandpa weighing into that decision and weighing into that is a very 415 00:32:53.039 --> 00:32:55.720 big part of their culture. And and I think that you know, there's 416 00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:59.599 certainly experts that could talk a lot more about this than I can. But 417 00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:01.480 I think that goes back to what you're saying here, is that not only 418 00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:05.160 is that the way it's been in certain cultures, but now it's becoming kind 419 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:08.119 of the the typical for everybody, just because of the way the generations are. 420 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:14.440 When I'm training our staff and we we've had a couple of people come 421 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:19.400 in and train our staff and our marketing teams on the different generations and how 422 00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:23.640 you really talk to them up and down the line. We're we focus on 423 00:33:23.640 --> 00:33:28.400 one word per generation and this helps, It really helps. So there's, 424 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:30.720 as you know, lots of training out there, right, but if you 425 00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:36.279 can think about these words, this just helps. So here's a little nugget, 426 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:43.559 okay for free. So gen Z is customized. They want that customized 427 00:33:43.559 --> 00:33:46.279 experience. We already talked about that. Millennials, which is the next generation 428 00:33:46.599 --> 00:33:51.079 a little bit older than the Gen Z, they really want to impact the 429 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:54.240 world. So if we can show them how they can impact the world doing 430 00:33:54.279 --> 00:34:00.599 what they're doing right now, that impact is the buzzword that catches their attention, 431 00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:04.599 that they know that you know them. Gen X my generation, the 432 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:10.519 smallest generation alive today. Right, we're between two big barbels you can think 433 00:34:10.519 --> 00:34:15.360 of it's like a bar between two big barbell wait, the boomers on one 434 00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:19.400 end and millennials on the other, and then we kind of have to be 435 00:34:19.480 --> 00:34:23.559 great at at both generations. But Jen gen X wants to level up. 436 00:34:24.280 --> 00:34:30.559 So how can I show that parent that this education is going to help their 437 00:34:30.679 --> 00:34:37.599 student move to the next level? And that level word is a buzzword for 438 00:34:37.719 --> 00:34:43.559 gen X and for a baby boomer, they're really wanting to leave a legacy. 439 00:34:43.639 --> 00:34:50.920 So for them, as a grandparent or a board member or um someone 440 00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:58.320 speaking into that student's education, how does this education help their student and help 441 00:34:58.519 --> 00:35:02.719 them leave a like to see for their student or for their grandchildren that they 442 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:06.920 will be able to move forward. And in our case, we have a 443 00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:14.280 lot of grandparents and alumni that want to ensure that the legacy of Asbury is 444 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:17.800 that we're we are telling the story of Christ and we are sharing that, 445 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:23.159 we are sharing Jesus across the world. So they're really wanting to speak into 446 00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:29.360 that so that their legacy is that they know Asbury is going to stay true 447 00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:32.599 to the missed mission and build disciples for the world. I did want to 448 00:35:32.639 --> 00:35:36.519 ask you just one thing in the pre interview. You talked little bit about 449 00:35:36.519 --> 00:35:39.760 this idea of connection versus perfection. Unpack that a little bit for us. 450 00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:47.199 Absolutely, So we have um a lot of competition. We have a lot 451 00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:53.679 of generations. We have technology that changes by the day, and different vendors 452 00:35:53.679 --> 00:36:00.320 and different partners and different tools that that we can use that will guess to 453 00:36:00.360 --> 00:36:05.199 the next level or that can change the trajectory. Right, And so if 454 00:36:05.280 --> 00:36:08.760 we get caught up in all of that, we lose the customer, we 455 00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:13.960 lose the student, we lose what we're doing day in and day out. 456 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:17.800 There are places for that strategy and for those partners and for those tools, 457 00:36:17.840 --> 00:36:22.239 and we wouldn't we wouldn't be able to be in the place we are right 458 00:36:22.280 --> 00:36:27.599 now, in such a great place with without some of those partners. But 459 00:36:27.639 --> 00:36:30.039 if we get caught up in the next great thing or the next technology or 460 00:36:30.119 --> 00:36:35.519 the next social media tool, my goodness, talk about someone changing every day. 461 00:36:35.679 --> 00:36:39.480 Right, Oh gosh, is today TikTok or Instagram? Or are we 462 00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:44.440 snapchatting today or are we tick talking today? Like? Right, we can 463 00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:52.320 really get unfocused. So my team is being challenged every single conversation, whether 464 00:36:52.360 --> 00:36:57.239 it's through our social media accounts or through our face to face account face to 465 00:36:57.320 --> 00:37:02.039 face conversations is just connect. It's connection versus perfection. So if you think 466 00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:08.800 about perfection, perfection is all about me. So is is my presentation perfect 467 00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:14.119 or my slides perfect? Did that? Did that image on that social media 468 00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:16.599 post? Look exactly right? That's all about me. It's all about me. 469 00:37:17.880 --> 00:37:23.199 The our customers and our audience don't need perfection. They want to know 470 00:37:23.239 --> 00:37:28.679 that they're valued and that we are connecting to them and that we know them 471 00:37:29.119 --> 00:37:32.599 and that they have a pain and we can solve it. So that is 472 00:37:32.760 --> 00:37:38.719 the mantra across campus is connect. Just connect to our audiences and we can 473 00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:44.719 use these other tools to continue that connection and continue that relationship. But in 474 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:50.519 order to build the relationship, it's connection versus perfection. We appreciate everything that 475 00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:54.320 you've shared today, Jennifer, and we love ending our episodes with this final 476 00:37:54.440 --> 00:37:59.039 question of if there is a tip board, a piece of advice that you 477 00:37:59.079 --> 00:38:05.840 could offer that could be implemented rather quickly, what would that be. Well, 478 00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:08.239 I think it goes back to connection versus perfection. So in order to 479 00:38:08.400 --> 00:38:12.519 do that, sometimes that sounds a little bit harder than it really is. 480 00:38:13.199 --> 00:38:15.639 But if you answer these three questions, you'll connect with your audience every single 481 00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:20.679 time. So I would encourage our audience to think about who's going to be 482 00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:22.639 in front of you in the next hour, who are you meeting with in 483 00:38:22.679 --> 00:38:27.840 the next hour, who's the next presentation, and to ask yourself these three 484 00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:35.119 questions. One who is my customer? Two? What is important to them? 485 00:38:35.159 --> 00:38:37.760 And three how do I want to make them feel when we're finished? 486 00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:45.079 If you can, if you can answer those three questions and just take thirty 487 00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:49.760 seconds and stop before you answer that phone or before you walk into that meeting, 488 00:38:50.159 --> 00:38:54.159 and answer who is my customer, what is important to them? And 489 00:38:54.199 --> 00:39:00.440 how do I want them to feel? You've connected to that audience. Thank 490 00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:02.920 you, Jennifer, and I'm quite confident you have connected with our audience. 491 00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:09.079 We appreciate your time and the wisdom that you've conveyed today. And for those 492 00:39:09.159 --> 00:39:15.000 that you have connected with that may want to reach out and find out more 493 00:39:15.159 --> 00:39:17.800 from you, what would be the best way for them to connect with you. 494 00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:22.159 They can just reach me at my Asbury email. And my last name 495 00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:27.559 is a little strange, so it's Jennifer dot McCord and that is spelled m 496 00:39:27.639 --> 00:39:32.000 c c h O R d at Asbury dot E d U. Thank you, 497 00:39:32.079 --> 00:39:37.960 Jennifer. I've enjoyed our conversation. Well, thank you so much. 498 00:39:37.239 --> 00:39:43.440 We've appreciated both our initial conversations with you and this one that will be public. 499 00:39:44.199 --> 00:39:45.880 Bart. Do you have any final thoughts that you would like to share. 500 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:49.320 I just want to kind of highlight a few things that Jennifer said. 501 00:39:49.320 --> 00:39:52.199 This is such a wonderful podcast, and again I would encourage everybody to rewind 502 00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:55.800 some of this, but I mean we started with what she learned recently with 503 00:39:55.800 --> 00:40:00.519 with the eight seconds of attention and the five generations, and we've talked a 504 00:40:00.519 --> 00:40:02.239 lot about that, and that's wonderful. And I love the fact that the 505 00:40:02.480 --> 00:40:07.599 whole conversation revolved around kind of his bookended by two different words differentiate at the 506 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:12.079 very beginning and then connect at the very end. And I think if you 507 00:40:12.119 --> 00:40:15.119 did nothing else in this whole podcast but figured out how could you differentiate your 508 00:40:15.320 --> 00:40:20.719 higher end marketing and how can you better connect your higher end marketing, I 509 00:40:20.760 --> 00:40:22.960 think that that would summarize a ton of things that you could be doing for 510 00:40:23.000 --> 00:40:27.639 the next six months. But then even beyond that, I think we really 511 00:40:27.639 --> 00:40:31.159 got into some great details about corporate culture. We got into even just those 512 00:40:31.199 --> 00:40:36.599 words for each generation, the idea of of of customizing for Generation Z, 513 00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:40.440 the impacting for millennials, leveling up for X, and then legacy for for 514 00:40:40.519 --> 00:40:45.719 those boomers. What a wonderful you know, snapshot to be able to take 515 00:40:45.760 --> 00:40:49.079 away again, grab a piece of paper and your sharpie, write that down, 516 00:40:49.159 --> 00:40:51.719 stick it on your board right now. So I think that was extremely 517 00:40:51.800 --> 00:40:54.760 valuable. And then even this the last you know, leaving thought about you 518 00:40:54.800 --> 00:40:58.360 know, you're getting ready to meet with somebody, or even just when you 519 00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:01.960 think about how do I to do that call to action on on the website? 520 00:41:02.320 --> 00:41:06.519 You know who's gonna come. So who is that audience that I'm getting 521 00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:08.880 ready to talk to or that I'm getting ready to present this information to? 522 00:41:09.559 --> 00:41:13.400 What's important to them? You know, so many times we think that, 523 00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:15.519 oh we have to, you know, have the called actions apply. Now, 524 00:41:16.079 --> 00:41:19.880 you need a few more wooing before you get to apply. Now let's 525 00:41:19.880 --> 00:41:23.199 talk about requesting more information, maybe visiting and things like that. So you've 526 00:41:23.199 --> 00:41:25.079 got to figure out who it is, you know, who you're talking to, 527 00:41:25.199 --> 00:41:28.800 what is it they're looking for, what's important to them? And then 528 00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:31.519 how do you want them to feel and I love those. The simplicity of 529 00:41:31.559 --> 00:41:35.199 that. I would add a fourth if it's okay, Jennifer, is what 530 00:41:35.239 --> 00:41:37.280 do you want them to do next? And so you know, many times 531 00:41:37.320 --> 00:41:40.440 it's it's you know, if you're an emissions counselor, it's asking for the 532 00:41:40.519 --> 00:41:44.440 next step. Hey, would you mind sitting with me and starting your application? 533 00:41:44.960 --> 00:41:47.480 It might be on a website. Hey, thank you for filling out 534 00:41:47.519 --> 00:41:51.000 this form. This is what to expect next, this is what you can 535 00:41:51.039 --> 00:41:52.800 do while you wait for that. So just a lot of really good things 536 00:41:52.800 --> 00:41:57.440 today, Jennifer, This is a wonderful, wonderful conversation. So thanks again 537 00:41:57.480 --> 00:42:00.119 so much for being on the show. Absolutely, thank you for having me. 538 00:42:02.039 --> 00:42:07.960 The Hired Marketer podcast is sponsored by Kaylor Solutions and Education marketing and branding 539 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:14.599 agency. Also by Ring Digital, a marketing firm that specializes in boosting lifting 540 00:42:14.639 --> 00:42:20.280 yield for higher ED with unique, targeted and accurate digital marketing campaigns, and 541 00:42:20.360 --> 00:42:25.400 by Thing Patented, a marketing execution company combining direct mail and unique digital stacks 542 00:42:25.519 --> 00:42:30.000 for higher ED outreach success. On behalf of bart Kaylor my co host, 543 00:42:30.280 --> 00:42:37.239 I'm Troy Singer. Thank you for listening. You've been listening to the higher 544 00:42:37.360 --> 00:42:40.440 ed marketer. To ensure that you never miss an episode, subscribe to the 545 00:42:40.440 --> 00:42:45.400 show in your favorite podcast player. If you're listening with Apple Podcasts, we'd 546 00:42:45.440 --> 00:42:49.760 love for you to leave a quick rating of the show. Simply tap the 547 00:42:49.840 --> 00:42:52.480 number of stars do you think the podcast deserves. Until next time,