Minnesota State University, Mankato – a regional comprehensive university located in southern Minnesota – wanted to take their enrollment marketing communications to the next level. While the school has a print shop and designers available on campus, they were lacking the enrollment marketing knowledge to expand on communication campaigns and put their strategies into action.

“Our internal team is great, but they are not enrollment marketing experts. We needed a partner that could provide not only the technology but also the expertise needed to enhance our enrollment marketing efforts,” explained Brian Jones, Director of Admissions for Minnesota State Mankato.

With both software and service capabilities for admission cycle transformation, Enrollment Marketing by Liaison was selected to achieve Minnesota State Mankato’s partnership needs. Since then, a distinctive combination of teamwork and consultation has helped foster a wide range of Minnesota State Mankato enrollment advancements, including a projected first-year enrollment increase of over 20% from 2021 to 2022.

Big Impact: A True Partnership

Jones worked closely with Liaison’s Enrollment Marketing team to develop a plan for more segmented, personalized communications based on factors such as student type, funnel stage, location, and major. For instance, as a regional comprehensive university, Minnesota State Mankato has many different student types, such as first year, transfer, and dual enrollment.

By collaborating with Liaison Client Success experts, who have extensive knowledge in enrollment marketing growth strategies, Jones was able to gain meaningful insight on how to leverage Liaison’s Enrollment Marketing Platform (EMP) to effectively segment student communications for different campaigns.

Jones shared, “Liaison has become a strong, critical partner for us because we now have a team of experts who work with higher education intuitions across different regions. They can provide recommendations and best practices to successfully engage with our wide range of students in unique, innovative ways. It’s not just us on our own anymore trying to figure it out.”

Jones noted that he regularly collaborates, brainstorms, and shares ideas with his designated Client Success team to ensure the EMP is customized for Minnesota State Mankato’s specific enrollment marketing goals.

In addition to the ongoing enrollment marketing support he receives from Client Success experts, Jones values having highly skilled designers, writers, and variable programming professionals who specialize in the creative and fulfillment side of enrollment marketing for print materials.

“Even though we have the capability to do the creative in house, Liaison’s creative team adds the immediacy, personalization, and expertise we were missing – which is essential,” Jones said.

Jones attributes much of Minnesota State Mankato’s success in achieving consistently high enrollment rates, which remain the highest in the region, to his nearly decade-long collaboration and partnership with Liaison’s Enrollment Marketing team.

Outcomes

• A projected first-year enrollment increase of over 20% from 2021 to 2022
• Consistently high enrollment rates, surpassing other schools in the region
• Segment-specific communications developed with the help of Client Success experts who specialize in enrollment marketing growth strategies
• Quality, personalized communication materials crafted by an award-winning creative team
• The ability to track student interest through an engagement scoring feature in EMP

ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO
Minnesota State University, Mankato is a regional comprehensive university located in southern Minnesota offering 130 undergraduate programs and more than 85 graduate programs. Minnesota State Mankato has been working with Liaison for nearly a decade.