The admissions process has typically followed a straightforward path. Families initiated contact with schools signaling their interest, which provided admission teams instant visibility into potential applicants.
As competition for private school admission intensifies, standing out is no longer about waiting for families to come to you — it’s about actively meeting them where they are.
The Rise of the Self-Guided Prospect
With the wealth of information available online, today’s prospective families are more self-sufficient than ever. They can independently research schools, gathering information without ever interacting with an admissions officer.
Virtual tours, social media, testimonials, blog posts, and school rankings are all available at their fingertips, empowering them to evaluate and compare schools. While this provides families with autonomy, it introduces new challenges for admission directors: potential students may be assessing — and even dismissing — your school without you ever knowing.
“Prospects these days can easily find all the information they need about independent schools online and narrow down options without ever speaking to an admission department,” says Kate Auger-Campbell, ISM Executive Director of Sales and Marketing. “Many of these ‘stealth candidates’ make it to the application phase without admission professionals even knowing they exist.”
Why Does This Matter?
Every time a family visits your website or engages with your content, they are expressing interest in your school, but these micro-interactions often go unnoticed. Families may review your tuition and fees, read about your academic programs, or even explore extracurricular offerings.
However, without direct engagement, you may never have the opportunity to nurture these prospective families or address any concerns they might have. If they don’t reach out or fill out an inquiry form, your team may lose out on a great fit simply because the family made a quiet exit.
The Implications for Admissions Teams
The days of waiting for inquiries to come in or form submissions to be completed are over.
Imagine knowing who your visitors are, what they’re looking for, and being able to follow up with targeted, personalized communication. By collecting data, admission offices can create tailored experiences for families, delivering the right content at the right time.
Enter UnboundDiscover From ISM
UnboundDiscover transforms anonymous website visitors into identified, actionable prospects for engagement.
UnboundDiscover empowers schools, bringing previously hidden data into the light and making it truly actionable.
“Never before have schools had access to this type of actionable data,” says Jesse Roberts, ISM Unbound Brand Manager. “Schools will know who visits their website, what they are looking at, what matters to them, how they fit into the school’s strategic enrollment plan, and how to start a conversation with them. UnboundDiscover is an industry-changing tool and we are excited for how it will revolutionize enrollment.”
This data empowers admission teams to do the following.
- Engage with prospective families without relying on them to self-identify through an inquiry form
- Customize their engagement with prospective families as they learn more about your school
- Optimize their school’s website based on popular web pages, what content visitors are interested in, how long they stay, and what paths they take through your site
“We’ve built a platform to use publicly available data. Not just make the data digestible and accessible, but also easy to act on. UnboundDiscover aggregates multiple data sources and provides schools with a clear view of their market and unprecedented insight into their future. Having all this data in one place brings tremendous value to schools,” says Jesse Roberts.
Need to grow your funnel with more prospects or want to convert more of the prospects you're already driving to your website? No matter which (or both) of these you want, we can help. Email unbound@isminc.com or schedule a meeting with our School Success team.
