5 Easy Ways to Boost Your Inquiries and Applications from Military Veterans
1. Understand Current Lead Flow
Before broadening your lead flow for new students, you must fully understand your existing population. Verify how they are coming to you and track important data points for your strategy going forward.
Identify current military veteran students by being more intentional with your identification and tracking of their application processes.
Align with your institution's financial aid office and ask them to pull statistical data for students utilizing VA benefits.
Know your VA Certifying Official who can become an ally in connecting personal relationships to current enrollment.
Cross-reference students using benefits with marketing lead sources.
Assess where current veteran students are coming into the funnel and whether any current efforts are jumping out.
2. Dig Deeper Into Enrollment Numbers
Now that you have gotten into the basic details of your application and admissions tracking, it's time to go even deeper. What critical information can your existing students provide you? Organize systems to gather and record this evidence.
Review your current application questions thoroughly and determine if additional questions could be added to provide critical information.
Host focus groups of student veterans to ask deeper questions and glean personal, anecdotal insights.
Send out a survey to existing student veterans for their feedback (either anonymously or by name).
3. Go Beyond Digital: Engage in On-Installation Marketing
Military installations are perfect settings to enhance your presence with physical marketing materials. What visual statement can you make? How might visiting in person for key marketing strategies boost your visibility and relational presence?
Invest in physical marketing products like banners or posters to place on military installations where potential students abound.
Consider event sponsorship opportunities by connecting with the installation Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) office.
4. Create an Asset to Help Students Connect the Dots
Not only will creating marketing assets help student veterans see the connections to their military specialty and potential programs of study, but it will also help your institution clarify some of the specific values your programs offer.
Understand that military veterans have a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) that could tie a future degree or certificate program to a civilian career.
Generate digital assets to showcase existing programs that align with various MOS/career options.
5. Activate Current Students to Build Out Critical Services
One of your most valuable resources lies in your existing veteran population. Don't hesitate to tap them for personal anecdotes of best practices and deploy them as living, breathing marketers.
Harness the word-of-mouth factor from current students who will evangelize about your institution.
Offer free institutional marketing merchandise like t-shirts, decals, and hats to incentivize student veterans to advertise their military affiliation and show school pride.
Build relationships with current students to help improve critical veteran services that you advertise to help justify your claims as a veteran-friendly institution.