5 Ways To Improve Student Retention and Loyalty
By now, you probably already know that the key to growing your course business is by retaining existing students and giving them a great customer experience.
This is especially relevant for course providers who provide courses that need to be renewed on a regular annual basis. [Examples include CPD learning or driver CPC training.]
We've come up with a handy list of ideas to help you improve customer loyalty and retention for your students.
1. Make sure the expectations you set are accurate.
If you avoid setting expectations your students can quite quickly feel like they are not getting value for that they paid for. They might have a predefined notion of what a course might be like or what's included in the package you sell them - so always be sure to dispel any myths from the outset by setting clear expectations.
You can start this process by reviewing your current website and sales collateral and ask yourself if it sets out an accurate portrayal of the REAL student experience.
2. Show your students how much progress they have made!
Students are more likely to continue in their studies when they are motivated and doing well. If you can run a report from your Learning Management System that shows your students how much progress they are making then it is much less likely they will drop out of their course.
CourseCo has a number of easy to use tools that allow course providers to share metrics and detailed reports and assessments with students.
3. Ask your students for feedback so that you can improve.
You can't build better loyalty and retention without first understanding what your students don't like about your courses and overall learning offering. It's only once you know the reasons why certain students drop out of courses that you can properly work on fixing issues and preventing churn.
Via the CourseCo Learning Management System you can create fun and interactive surveys and feedback forms. They can be shared with individuals in your CRM database for instance or a specific class or segment. Identifying and addressing issues as early as possible will help you to prevent student churn. You don't want those valuable students to end up in the hands of a competitor!
4. Give your learners a consistent customer experience.
Consistency builds trust with students. And let's face it... when you're under pressure and studying you need to feel like you can trust the people around you.
If you can offer your learners a website, mobile site, learning management system and app that looks well and is secure... then you're on to a winner! Without a good degree of consistency, students become unsure and don't quite know where to look to for help. Take a look at the websites of some of our clients and you'll see how our websites and apps were built with students in mind.
5. Record past problems.
Sometimes making a record of problems that certain students encounter and experience can go a long way towards ensuring that these students do not feel aggrieved further down the line.
If you have a CRM system (CourseCo has an in-built one) you can effectively store notes about ongoing issues and personal preferences for each individual student. With detailed notes and a complete history of your student relationships, your staff are always ready to give each student the care and individual attention they need.
At CourseCo we want to help course providers run their business more efficiently and cost effectively. Our platform features and in-built tools can help reduce your costs and grow your learner base. If you’re interested in learning more please connect with us on social media or call our product team on +353 61 513 030 today! We can’t wait to hear from you!
