THE BOX MODEL

After presenting the Box Model at a recent conference, someone asked the inevitable question:

“That’s great in theory, but how can I make it happen in practice?”

Specifically, they cited a bad information system, a limited budget, and a preset communication plan.

I guess I have a confession to make

At the University of Rochester, even though I built our information system, it doesn’t support the Box Model.  That’s because I wrote it almost 4 years ago.

But even if your budget is small, your comm plan is a concrete slab, and your database doesn’t know the difference between a prospect and a poodle, you can still use the Box Model to recruit better.

For example, here are 4 simple ways to make your next communication as effective as possible (even in the most restrictive environment):

Four Ways to Improve Your Message

1. Eviscerate any attempts to push students through stages.
2. Identify the milestone decision students are facing.
3. Create at least one recruitment path to that decision.
4. Remove at least one obstacle along that path.

Let’s create a fictional search campaign as an example.

Remind yourself that your goal is not to get a certain number of responders.  That’s pushing, a short-term recruitment approach that leads to inflated and diluted cohorts.  Don’t do it!

Instead, back off and take the students’ perspective.  Their milestone decision at this point is whether or not to apply, so let that be your focus.

That doesn’t mean pushing an application, or even necessarily mentioning the word “apply” anywhere in your communications.  It means identifying and removing obstacles to applying, so students can take that step whenever they’re ready.

Since you don’t know which cohort (low, medium, or high) your prospects belong to, you’ll need to identify and remove a lot of obstacles to applying, maybe 1 per message.  Here are a few to get you started:

• do you offer what I’m interested in?
• can I afford your education?
• will I be lonely?
• will I get a job when I graduate?

Finally, if your information system is just an expensive icon on your desktop, you’ll have to rely on your experience to determine theoretical transition criteria.  Use these criteria to create satisfaction paths between wherever the student exists in the college search process and the application.  The more paths you make (and the more obstacles you remove), the more likely the students will reach the end (apply).

For example, if you think an interview with one of your counselors is a common step on the path to applying, then identify and remove as many obstacles to interviewing as possible.

Remember

The Box Model is just a theory.  But so was the Enrollment Funnel when it was first introduced.  It took our actions to make it real.