Emily Gustafson, Assistant Director, Digital Marketing at Cornell University, is one of the 12 presenters of the 2020 Higher Ed Analytics Conference.
In this 4-question interview, Emily tells us about higher ed analytics in 2020, a success story, a data analysis technique and what higher ed leaders really need to understand about analytics.
1) What’s next in 2020 for higher ed analytics?
2020 should bring a focus on data hygiene and integration in higher education.
Stanford’s way ahead of the curve. They’ve been working to simplify and clean up their data and analytics processes for a while now, and that should be everyone’s goal. A lot of larger schools are moving towards using marketing automation and CRM – the only way that can be done is with great data hygiene and solid reporting processes already in place.
2) Tell us about your biggest analytics success story!
We’re currently finishing up a simple way to automatically break down demographic and giving data for a specific audience. This means we can spend less time measuring KPIs and create definitions for success in all of our engagement campaigns. By creating simple reporting techniques, we can empower event planners and marketers to incorporate these standards and insights throughout every step of a campaign.
3) What’s the data analysis technique (or trick) you’ve found the most helpful?
This isn’t so much of a trick but a tip – don’t overthink it.
There is nothing wrong with easy math as long as it gets the job done. If something seems too complicated, that means it’s too complicated. There’s going to be an easier way to accomplish your goals, and simple tools are so effective. I’m in Excel every day – no shame.
Alternatively, if your technology is proving to be a barrier to gleaning actionable insights from your data, there’s going to be something out there that fits your budget and skill level to get the job done.
4) What are the top 3 points higher ed leaders should “get” about analytics?
Higher education has always been and will always be a consumer industry – whether or not we like how that sounds. Higher ed leaders should understand that, as a consumer industry:
- We’re competing for attention, enrollment, and gifts, and not just with other institutions. Every company and cause contacting our constituents eats up their limited attention span.
- If everyone except higher ed uses advanced analytics to drive their marketing and communication toward our constituents, that’s actively harming our growth and sustainability.
- The greatest way to be a viable competitor for the attention of our potential students, alumni, and donors, is by creating a data-driven culture in our everyday work.
A conference focusing on higher ed analytics?
The 2020 Higher Ed Analytics Conference (#HEA20) is a must-attend event for higher ed marketing professionals and teams looking for inspiration, ideas and best practices to step up their analytics and measurement game in 2020
Read below what your higher ed colleagues who attended the past editions of the Higher Ed Analytics Conference said about their experience.
Tags: HEA20, Higher Ed News