magnifying the power of communication
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Magnifying the power of communication. Amy Sikes Assistant Director William & Mary. Know Your Customers. Who are you serving? Students Millennials Parents “Helicopter parents” “Stealth fighter parents” “Snow plow parents” Other offices Community What do they expect? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
MAGNIFYING THE POWEROF
COMMUNICATION
Amy SikesAssistant Director
William & Mary
Know Your Customers Who are you serving?
StudentsMillennials
Parents“Helicopter parents”“Stealth fighter parents”“Snow plow parents”
Other offices Community
What do they expect? How will you provide it? How can you improve your service?
Who are you serving?Millennial students
Entitled Instant gratification
“Fix it for me NOW.” Used to being protected/sheltered
Time has been managed by others Often feel highly pressured Very confident
They’ve never lost – everybody “wins” Tech-savvy Do community service
Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students
Typical characteristics: Involved Protective Concerned College educated Demanding Often tech-savvy
Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students
“Helicopter parents” Generally Boomers Hover over the student Feel the need to “save” the student from impending
harm, real or imagined Are afraid that any bad experience will damage the
student permanently Want to protect student from the bad things they
experienced as children (“latchkey kids”) Take care of things for the student when the student is
“too busy” Create students who are unable to problem-solve for
themselves and who expect college staff to act in loco parentis (as do the parents)
Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students
“Stealth fighter parents” Generally Gen-Xers Choose when and where to attack Rush in with guns blazing to “save” the student from
impending harm, real or imagined “Not with my child, you don’t!” Constant surveillance Take care of things for the student when the student
is “too busy” Create students who are unable to problem-solve for
themselves and who expect college staff to act in loco parentis (as do the parents)
Higher expectation of value for their money
Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students
“Snow Plow parents” – helicopter and stealth fighter combined! Boomer or Gen-Xers Clear a path for their student, running over anyone and anything
standing in the way “Help” student with assignments Write college application essays for the student and/or hire a
company to do it Frequently the wealthier parents Constant surveillance Want to protect student from the bad things they experienced as
children (“latchkey kids”) Feel the need to “save” the student from impending harm, real or
imagined Take care of things for the student when the student is “too busy”
Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students
Consumer mentality Expect immediate response Fast action to solve problems
Threaten lawsuits Pull the student from school/withdraw admission
acceptance Contact the school’s president Contact a Congressperson
Expect perfection from schools/staff Judge their own success by the student’s success Highly protective and proactive
Often circumvent a student’s attempt to solve a problem
Challenges Providing adequate information and data Providing transparency Explaining worsening financial aid situations
in the face of this economy Helping students learn how to become adults Helping parents understand that it’s time for
them to let go FERPA issues Learning how to listen and respond
sympathetically
Finally…Communicating with Your Customers
Strive for transparency Make website as customer-friendly as possible
“Contact us” button Interactive forms: http://www.formsite.com/
Communicate the same information in multiple ways/places Website Email Newsletters Blogs Facebook Twitter Text messaging YouTube Handouts Posters Table tents
Communicating with Your Customers
Provide links to other pertinent departments in your electronic communications
Be aware of “Financial Aid Speak” Consider having a student or parent focus group
Remember that we all now have shortened attention spans – about 5 minutes
When speaking in person Use active listening skills Empathize Show respect Recognize that the person may need to tell his/her story Try to offer at least two solutions to the problem
Communicating with Your Customers
BLOGS “Web log” Can be part of your website Can link to your blog from your website if you
can’t post directly on your website Regular entries on pertinent items Readers can leave comments Many options
WordPress Blogger Blogspot
Communicating with Your Customers
Communicating with Your Customers
Facebook groups and fan pages
Similar to a club Easy to create and personalize Easy to send email to entire group Administrators can control membership Can be difficult to gain members/fans
Communicating with Your Customers
How Financial Aid offices can use FB Create a group or fan page Add links to the “about/info” page
Website Deadlines Events Forms Financial literacy
Promote via email lists, posters, table tents Can repeat posts for additional attention
Communicating with Your Customers
Communicating with Your Customers
Communicating with Your Customers
Twitter Short info blasts of up to 140 characters
Web links Deadlines Event announcements Financial literacy info
Items appear user’s profile page # items can “go viral” Can repeat tweets for additional attention Can be hard to gain members
Communicating with Your Customers
Communicating with Your Customers
YouTube Search on “financial aid” for examples Can create and upload explanatory
videos Financial aid basics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM4wiAuGI0k FAFSA filing Importance of deadlines How to complete forms Financial literacy sessions
