{"id":4644,"date":"2018-02-28T09:30:02","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T15:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/?p=4644"},"modified":"2018-02-28T09:30:02","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T15:30:02","slug":"bad-news-beware-buying-education-lead-vendors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/bad-news-beware-buying-education-lead-vendors\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad News \u2013 Beware of Buying Education Leads from Vendors"},"content":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m not sure when lead vendors surfaced in the educational vertical. Was it before or after insurance and mortgage? Or was it around the same time when \u201ccredit repair\u201d and \u201cwork from home\u201d offers started surfacing. Maybe it was in the late \u201890s after Google and search engines gained traction. At any rate, their inception and early years aren\u2019t important. It\u2019s what they do today that bothers me. And apparently I\u2019m not the only one who is troubled by lead vendors, as both the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Finance Protection Bureau along with state regulators have started watching their activities<\/a>. And last year the Department of Education issued warnings reminding lead-generation firms that they cannot use Department logos.<\/a><\/p>\n In similar fashion, Veterans Education Success has published a lengthy report in an effort to help veterans “understand misleading websites and lead generators.<\/a>”<\/p>\n I wonder if 2000+ Leads Con attendees in New York last week even know what goes on?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Even more recently, an article published at Inside Higher Ed<\/a> examined the increasing use of \u201csecret shoppers\u201d to review the performance and practices of third-party lead vendors. At Norton Norris, we\u2019ve been a national leader in providing mystery shopping and assessment services to schools across the country for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n And, how do I know the real truth? Good question. I own and operate a mystery shopping firm \u2013 and we shop lead vendors. I bet that after reading this blog you\u2019ll want to shop your vendors, or you may just want to stop using lead vendors altogether.<\/p>\n For the uninformed reader, here\u2019s how it works: Lead vendors sell inquiries to schools on a pay-for-performance model. Over the past several years many schools abandoned their traditional advertising (TV, radio, outdoor) and moved to the lead-vendor diet. Although contact rates are low \u2013 normally under 50 percent \u2013 and the conversions from inquiry to new student are abysmally low and average just 2 or 3 percent at most institutions, the attractive feature of scalability and paying only for what you get hooked many schools. At first it was just another tool in the marketing toolbox. But then the savvy operators discovered that coupling a call center with pay per leads (PPLs) would yield predictable numbers that could be \u201cmodeled\u201d and the race was on. Once they perfected the model they could add more PPLs to the mix, increase call center staffing and grow enrollments \u2013 especially in the online learning environment. It was magic. But many enrollment managers never knew what was really happening. And they still don\u2019t.<\/p>\n From the student\u2019s perspective, using an education<\/a> matching system could seem like a good idea. I mean, if you aren\u2019t sure where you want to attend but you know you want to pursue <\/a>additional training, then browsing the web and finding a solution that matches you to schools \u2013 or lets you pick from a few select schools might make sense. And that\u2019s how many of these services work \u2013 or are supposed to work.<\/p>\n The prospective student often begins their inquiry journey by simply entering their zip code in response to the offer to \u201cfind schools in your area.\u201d The less scrupulous vendors may be trolling with a scholarship or sweepstakes offer \u2013 but we\u2019ll talk about that later. After entering their zip code and\/or address, the prospective student is taken through a few questions:<\/p>\n The slick sites always insert some sort of teaser along the way\u2026 \u201cjust 2 more questions and we\u2019ll match you with schools that meet your needs.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And then \u201cpoof!\u201d after hitting submit, the website reveals schools that are a match. It sounds logical and makes sense. Or does it? You see, the search engine driving the selection of schools isn\u2019t a search engine at all. The website isn\u2019t selecting from the universe of schools at all. Instead it\u2019s serving up suggestions of schools that have contracted for leads. So the listing isn\u2019t inclusive. It\u2019s limited to a short list of institutions that have agreed to buy inquiries. But how would the student know that? They wouldn\u2019t. And that\u2019s just one problem with this product line.<\/p>\n But there is one more wrinkle. It sounds innocent enough too, and even well intentioned. After the student selects a school from the list to learn more about and hits \u201csubmit\u201d, the next screen \u00a0is typically something to the effect of: \u201cVince, students who\u00a0research and inquire to more than one school make better and more informed decisions. We\u2019ve also matched you with these schools in your area or that offer online instruction. You may also get information from them by clicking \u201cyes\u201d below.\u201d<\/p>\nWhy Pay Per Lead (PPLs)?<\/span><\/h3>\n
How it works for a prospective student<\/span><\/h3>\n
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