Discover how to optimize your enrollment journey and enhance communication by fully leveraging your CRM and SIS integration. This webinar will explore strategies to boost lead conversion, streamline operations, and maintain compliance across your institution. Leverage the power of unified reporting and drive productivity through extensive automation to ensure a seamless student journey.
Points of Discussion:
- Get practical advice on how to streamline your data management with CRM and SIS integration, reducing the hassle and increasing productivity.
- Explore how personalized microsites can enhance student decision-making, leading to increased lead conversions.
- Learn how automation can cut administrative tasks in half, allowing your team to focus on what matters most.
- Gain tips on optimizing your current systems to ensure you’re getting the most out of your investments.
- Discover the power of integrated data from CRM and SIS, to create a robust foundation for student success and institutional growth.
Breaking Down Silos
One of the key themes emphasized throughout the webinar was the importance of breaking down information silos between departments. As Douglas Carlson, who leads Business Development and Partnerships at LeadSquared, explained:
“Having disconnected systems can be really tough because if you have to go back to another system, that can be time and effort that could be used better elsewhere.”
By integrating CRM and SIS platforms, institutions can ensure that the right information is available to the right people at the right time. This seamless flow of data enables staff across admissions, financial aid, academics, and student success to work together more effectively in supporting students.
LeadSquared’s higher education CRM is designed to integrate smoothly with leading SIS providers, creating a unified ecosystem that eliminates manual data entry and provides real-time visibility across the student lifecycle.
Creating Exciting Enrollment Experience
A robust CRM-SIS integration can dramatically improve the enrollment process for both students and staff. The benefits include:
1. Admissions teams can easily access a prospective student’s full history of interactions, allowing for more personalized outreach.
2. By automatically transferring student information from the CRM to the SIS, financial aid officers can begin packaging aid more quickly.
3. Identifying students who may be struggling with parts of the enrollment process (like FAFSA completion) becomes easier, allowing for targeted intervention.
4. Institutions can track the entire student journey from initial lead source through enrollment, providing valuable insights for marketing and recruitment strategies.
LeadSquared’s enrollment management solution leverages these integration capabilities to provide a seamless experience for admissions teams. From automated communication workflows to real-time analytics on enrollment funnel performance, the platform is designed to drive efficiency and results.
Supporting Student Success
The benefits of CRM-SIS integration extend far beyond the initial enrollment process. As Alan Garber, VP and GM of Diamond SIS, noted:
“The SIS can talk back to the CRM in a full integration scenario and enhance that pull-through… Those workflows can be developed within the CRM to enhance that student lifecycle all the way through graduation and placement.”
Some innovative ways institutions are leveraging this two-way data flow include:
1. Early warning systems: Pulling attendance data or test scores from the SIS into the CRM to flag at-risk students for proactive outreach.
2. Celebration of milestones: Automatically triggering congratulatory messages when students hit key academic achievements.
3. Streamlined advising: Giving advisors a holistic view of each student’s academic progress, financial aid status, and past interactions to inform more meaningful conversations.
4. Alumni engagement: Maintaining communication with graduates to support job placement efforts and cultivate a strong alumni network.
LeadSquared’s student success modules are built to capitalize on this bi-directional data flow, providing institutions with the tools they need to support students at every stage of their academic journey.
The Human Touch in a Digital World
While much of the discussion focused on technology, the webinar panelists emphasized that the goal of these integrations is ultimately to enhance human connections. As Lauren Ellison of LeadSquared noted:
“People remember the relationship they build with their admissions advisor… The fact that they built such a strong relationship and encourage them – if you have that system integration, you have the ability to kind of keep up with the student during their career and keep that relationship going.”
By automating routine tasks and providing staff with a complete picture of each student’s journey, CRM-SIS integrations free up time for more meaningful interactions. This human-centric approach is at the core of LeadSquared’s philosophy, with the platform designed to augment rather than replace the critical personal connections that drive student success.
Overcoming Implementation Challenges
For institutions considering a CRM-SIS integration, the following points can be kept in mind while navigating the process:
1. Before evaluating specific solutions, clearly define your goals and ideal workflows.
2. Determine at what point in the student journey you want information to flow between systems.
3. all information needs to be shared between CRM and SIS – focus on what’s most critical for each team’s functions.
4. Prioritize API-based integrations. As Douglas Carlson advised, “If a system does not have an API, run. That’s my very strong opinion.”
5. Work closely with your CRM and SIS providers to design an integration that meets your specific needs.
LeadSquared’s team of higher education experts offers comprehensive support throughout the implementation process, from initial strategy discussions through technical setup and ongoing optimization.
The Power of End-to-End Reporting
One of the most compelling benefits of a well-executed CRM-SIS integration is the ability to gain a truly holistic view of the student journey. As Douglas Carlson explained:
“There is nothing more powerful than having the end-to-end – and I truly mean end-to-end, like first time you ever hear about this student as a lead all the way out through actual placement – having that entire journey is incredibly powerful.”
This comprehensive data allows institutions to:
1. Identify bottlenecks in the student journey
2. Optimize marketing and recruitment spend
3. Improve student outcomes through data-driven interventions
4. Demonstrate program effectiveness to accreditors and regulators
Alan Garber provided a concrete example of how this data can drive strategic decision-making:
“You get a lead and you have lead sources… Is there a relationship between that source and graduation? And only if you have the integration can you identify that… Now you know that, then you can start looking at that and look at ad number two and how successful it was and in the timeframe that it was successful.”
LeadSquared’s robust reporting and analytics capabilities are designed to unlock these valuable insights, providing institutions with actionable intelligence to drive continuous improvement.
Choosing the Right Solution
Is it better to choose an all-in-one platform that combines CRM and SIS functionality, or to integrate best-of-breed solutions for each?
While acknowledging that there can be benefits to an all-in-one approach for very small institutions or those just starting with technology adoption, the panelists generally advocated for a best-of-breed strategy. As Douglas Carlson explained:
“These systems are really powerful and do very specific things… The world in which you start taking those two like very different worlds and systems and start combining them, all of a sudden you have to be very thoughtful about how you’re giving access to your admission reps versus your FA versus etc.”
Alan Garber added:
“When you try to be everything to everybody, I think there’s some of those edges that Doug was referring to that just don’t give you the best possible solution.”
The key, they emphasized, is finding best-in-class solutions for both CRM and SIS that offer robust integration capabilities. This approach allows institutions to leverage the unique strengths of each system while still maintaining a seamless flow of information.
LeadSquared’s higher education CRM is built on this philosophy, offering deep expertise in enrollment management and student engagement while also providing flexible integration options with leading SIS providers.
Conclusion: Empowering Student and Institutional Success
As the higher education landscape continues to evolve, institutions that can provide a truly seamless and supportive student experience will have a significant competitive advantage. By breaking down data silos and enabling more proactive, personalized support, CRM-SIS integrations have the power to transform both operational efficiency and student outcomes.
As Douglas Carlson noted in his closing remarks:
“This is completely doable, this isn’t a Herculean effort… Come talk to the experts, not just us, and we can show you how it’s done.”
For institutions ready to take the next step in optimizing their student journey, LeadSquared offers a comprehensive suite of CRM solutions tailored specifically for higher education. From streamlined admissions processes to data-driven retention strategies, LeadSquared empowers institutions to support student success at every stage.
To learn more about how LeadSquared can help your institution leverage the power of CRM-SIS integration, schedule a personalized demo today.
Allen Garber
Vice President & General Manager, Diamond
Douglas A.J. Carlson
Head – Business Development & Partnerships, LeadSquared
Loren Ellison
Expert – Enrollment Technology, LeadSquared
