Over the last 2 years, Bisk has added new efficiency tools that have transformed our communication strategy throughout the student journey. The goal of these new tools is to increase operational efficiencies and assist prospective and current students in understanding their choices and opportunities. Typically, students are considering multiple institutions, and this technology allows Bisk to effectively connect with prospective students to deliver meaningful program and school information. It also enhances the student experience by supplying real time updates on critical milestones such as registration deadlines, application updates and classroom reminders. Below we will highlight some of the impacts and the tools.
Improved Contact Rates
With all the different communication formats today, allowing for flexibility and convenience is important. One of the ways we have incorporated this is by onboarding Calendly to schedule informational calls with our teams. Calendly is a modern scheduling platform that provides our students with a quick and effortless way to find availability with their Bisk Student Success Representative. It eliminates the hassle of back-and-forth emails or phone calls and provides the student with the ability to find a time that works best with their schedule. Additionally, it supplies options for custom reminders through email or text which aid both the student and representative in ensuring a prompt and effective conversation. The results: Calendly has increased contact rates with our students between 10-20% across our partner institutions and allowed for a better overall experience.
Flexibility and Experience
In addition to improving contact rates, we have partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to utilize one of their tools (Amazon Connect) to create better experiences. Amazon Connect is an easy-to-use omnichannel cloud contact center service, powered by AWS, a leader in cloud innovations. This tool provides Bisk with automated dialing technology and helps connect live prospects or students at the appropriate time with an available representative. Many prospects or students want immediate contact when inquiring about a program or needing assistance. In addition to a better experience, the Amazon Connect contact center improves representative productivity by eliminating repetitive tasks, provides real time sentiment analysis, automated scheduling campaigns and helps representatives prioritize their follow-up tasks. The advanced interactive voice response (IVR) options provide students with a better experience by allowing the choice to instantly connect with an available representative. Allowing prospects and students the ability to connect efficiently and have choices continues to improve the student experience.
Over One Million SMS Messages and Counting
360 SMS is an app native to Salesforce text messaging solution that allows one-to-one texting between prospective and current students with their Student Success Representative. The implementation of 360 SMS has provided students with a quick and effortless way to interact with their representatives and receive real time updates on their program or classes. The system also supplies options for automated messaging and students will automatically receive messages such as registration links, application reminders, congratulatory messaging, classroom welcome messages and critical deadline reminders. The inclusion of text messaging into the student journey has quickly become one of the most popular options with our students and over one million text messages have been sent or received since the implementation at the end of 2020.
As prospects and students continue to develop different habits and as technology evolves, it will be important for schools to adapt these technologies and processes that allow for better and more efficient student experiences.
To learn more about Bisk and how these innovative tools can support your education journey, click here for more information.
