Marquette University Perceptions Online Survey

[GGGG]

Chicos, this is exactly why it is a completely overated statistic.  There is no dollar requirement.

See, this is why USN&WR does a terrible disservice with their rankings.  One of the other stats they mess with is the "exclusivity" rankings...the percentage of applicants they except with the lower % being better.  Washington University in St. Louis is particularly aggressive in recruiting marginally qualified students (by their standards) in hopes that they will apply and turn them down.  They sent my son a fully completed application at one point...all he had to do was sign the form and mail it in a business reply envelope.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Chicos, this is exactly why it is a completely overated statistic.  There is no dollar requirement.

See, this is why USN&WR does a terrible disservice with their rankings.  One of the other stats they mess with is the "exclusivity" rankings...the percentage of applicants they except with the lower % being better.  Washington University in St. Louis is particularly aggressive in recruiting marginally qualified students (by their standards) in hopes that they will apply and turn them down.  They sent my son a fully completed application at one point...all he had to do was sign the form and mail it in a business reply envelope.

Interesting.  Well, if this is a key component of the USNWR ratings and we tout those as significant in our recruitment of students, we should play into them as much as possible.  I'm sure MU and others do already, but why not drive a truck through it.

Why not solicit donation requests to alumni calling out for a $1 donation...that by donating only $1, it counts toward this vital statistic that will help our ratings in this crazy system?  You get the idea.  Seems to me there are a lot of ways to play this to MU's advantage.

[GGGG]

It is easier for organizations to play with the denominator since that is the factor actually under their control.  Calling every alum to donate $1 isn't going to work.  And while I think it we should play into those rankings somewhat, it is simply "better" to solicit every alum and to make sure to find lost alumni for all sorts of reasons.

[mugrad2006]

I filled out the survey.  Biggest issue I see with MU in getting to the 'next level' with respect to reputation and prestige is that it's still what I call a 'high beta' school with respect to the ability and achievement of graduates.  

Some of the most brilliant people I know were MU grads, and I spent two years in a top 5 grad program that was not MU.  But, for each brilliant or high achieving person I know from MU, there's 3 knuckleheads that didn't take advantage of what MU has to offer and are just coasting by, or worse are a detriment to the school.

I think it's been trending in the right direction, but continue to hope that MU get's students that buy into the mission and contribute after they graduate.

[ChicosBailBonds]

It is easier for organizations to play with the denominator since that is the factor actually under their control.  Calling every alum to donate $1 isn't going to work.  And while I think it we should play into those rankings somewhat, it is simply "better" to solicit every alum and to make sure to find lost alumni for all sorts of reasons.

I agree that it's better to control the denominator.  I do this all the time with our marketing.  We run very deep propensity to purchase models and the like, that way I'm not wasting money on marketing to people that aren't ever going to purchase.

That being said, if MU's tact is to go after every alum, then I would appeal to the alumni base in a different fashion then they are.  Obviously you don't want to leave any money on the table and encourage people to only donate $1, but there is no reason why MU couldn't do what we or a lot of other marketing organizations do by provisioning different communications to different groups.  For the 50% that have never given MU a damn thing in the last 10 years, hit them with a $1 only donation offer.  If you get 10% of them to take you up, you've done extremely well and added to your numbers.  For those that have given something in the last 10 years, you cultivate them with a different offer.  For those that are giving every year, you obviously take a different approach with them.

Using a one size fits all approach is a marketing approach that is extremely antiquated. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Is there a link to this survey?

[mugrad2006]

Is there a link to this survey?

You should have gotten an email from Simpson Scarborough.  

link removed

Here's the link I had.

Edit:  These links are targeted and single-use only.  You can't give the link to someone else.

[GGGG]

That being said, if MU's tact is to go after every alum, then I would appeal to the alumni base in a different fashion then they are.  Obviously you don't want to leave any money on the table and encourage people to only donate $1, but there is no reason why MU couldn't do what we or a lot of other marketing organizations do by provisioning different communications to different groups.  For the 50% that have never given MU a damn thing in the last 10 years, hit them with a $1 only donation offer.  If you get 10% of them to take you up, you've done extremely well and added to your numbers.  For those that have given something in the last 10 years, you cultivate them with a different offer.  For those that are giving every year, you obviously take a different approach with them.

Using a one size fits all approach is a marketing approach that is extremely antiquated. 

Chicos, I do this crap for a living.   It's better that MU ignores that 50% entirely.  They'll never give much less bother with filling out a check for $10 or so.  They don't care about MU and most certainly will not care what their USN&WR ranking is.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Chicos, I do this crap for a living.   It's better that MU ignores that 50% entirely.  They'll never give much less bother with filling out a check for $10 or so.  They don't care about MU and most certainly will not care what their USN&WR ranking is.

I know you do.  I guess what I've learned in our business is that we had customers that never bought certain products for years.  We took a different approach with them and have hit a home run with different offers for those groups.  My team and I were recently honored with a SAMY Award for our efforts and moving sales to over $2 Billion (with a B), a nice chunk of it coming from customers who "would never buy those products", or so the conventional wisdom stated.  My point is simply that sometimes it requires looking at different segments that you have all but given up on in a different light.  It has worked for me for more than a decade now in several different businesses.  Might be worth a try.