The challenge
Applications were arriving late in the cycle, cost per lead was rising through the season, and counsellors were reaching only part of the enquiry list on the day it came in.
What we did
Programme-level campaigns targeted to CAT and XAT cohorts, a five-channel nurture journey from enquiry to fee payment, and counsellor SLAs tracked in the CRM.
The situation
The institution ran a strong PGDM programme with healthy enquiry volume, but the enquiries were not converting to applications fast enough. Counsellors worked from a spreadsheet exported each morning, so an enquiry submitted at noon was often contacted the following day — by which time the applicant had already engaged with two competing institutes.
What we changed
Campaigns were rebuilt by programme rather than by channel, and targeted against CAT and XAT cohorts with messaging matched to each exam's timeline. Every enquiry triggered an immediate WhatsApp acknowledgement with the brochure, then a branching journey across email, SMS, push and voice that continued until the application was submitted or the lead opted out.
Counsellor assignment moved into the CRM with an SLA clock, so a lead untouched after the agreed window escalated to the team lead automatically.
The result
Cost per application fell by 34% against the previous cycle on comparable spend, median first response dropped from several hours to under a minute, and the intake closed ahead of the application deadline.
Figures are drawn from the platform and the client's admission system for the stated cycle; the client name is withheld until logo and quote approval is confirmed.
“Every enquiry gets an answer before the student closes the tab. That single change did more for our intake than any budget increase.”
Director – Admissions (name withheld pending approval)