How Marketing Automation helped increase engagement & applications for genU Training

When genU Training approached us, they had a mission: to understand their potential leads better, fine-tune their contact records, and ultimately, convert these prospects into applicants. So, Student Garden was enlisted to use their existing Salesforce Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) system to create some marketing automation magic.

Our key objective was to forge a nurturing journey so personalised that it would be akin to a guidance counsellor sitting down with each prospect. The end game? Motivating them to press ‘submit’ on that application form. We integrated cutting-edge Salesforce Account Engagement automation strategies to streamline genU Training’s lead-nurturing process.

By doing so, not only did we bring in over 69 profile submissions to the landing page, but we also succeeded in attracting three direct applications. And the cherry on top? We positively influenced another 20 applications, providing genU Training with a diverse and highly motivated talent pool for their courses.

Within weeks, we took genU Training from MA puzzlement to a flourishing automated ecosystem. So, if you’re counting, that’s more profiles, more applications, and more success.

63.68%

Click-to-open rate in our best-performing email

69+

Profile submissions

150+

Applications

47+

Enrolments confirmed

The Team

Chamalee Karunanayake | Account Director Sasa Atienza | Account Executive Sam Gossage | Head of Marketing Automation Gyweneth Katigbak | Marketing Automation Nicholas Failla | Copywriter Dana Wu | Designer

It’s all in the nurture

In our robust marketing automation strategy for genU Training, we crafted four distinct nurture campaigns, each designed to address unique goals and challenges. Here’s a closer look at what each nurture aims to achieve:

1. Welcome nurture

Goal: To warmly welcome new prospects to the genU Training community, and initiate their educational journey.

Key Features: Personalised greetings, study area suggestions, and location-based training options to help prospects plan their journey effectively.

2. Profile nurture

Goal: To gather in-depth information about each lead, making their contact records more valuable and better understood.

Key Features: Targeted questionnaires, surveys, or interactive content aimed at learning more about the prospects, such as their interests, professional goals, and educational background.

3. Application nurture

Goal: To guide B2C leads through the application process by supplying them with all the information they need to make a decision.

Key Features: Engaging content like course guides, how-to videos on completing an application, FAQs, and other resources that simplify the application process.

4. Industry nurture

Goal: To nurture B2B leads by offering them actionable insights and information tailored to their industry needs.

Key Features: Content focusing on short courses, professional development opportunities, and qualifications that can help elevate the staff’s skill sets, complete with details on how and why to apply.

Profiling and personalisation

Our strategic approach was two-pronged for genU Training: profiling and personalisation.

We first delved deep into lead preferences and the existing level of interest in genU Training. This meticulous profiling helped us split our contact list into B2C and B2B categories, which set the stage for a more targeted strategy. From there, we orchestrated a series of personalised emails for each group, armed with content that not only piqued their interest but aligned with their specific needs.

What’s more? Email cadence was tailored according to how recipients interacted with our messages, ensuring an organic, engaging dialogue that felt more like a conversation than a sales pitch.

As for the channels we used, email marketing was our weapon of choice. It allowed us to deliver highly customised content right to the inbox of each B2C and B2B lead, respecting their unique needs and preferences. Complementing this was our nurturing approach, which focused on maintaining a dynamic and compelling line of communication.

The tempo of these nurture campaigns was carefully calibrated based on each lead’s interaction with our emails. This ensured that we were not just hitting touchpoints but making meaningful connections, creating a seamless experience for both B2B and B2C audiences.

“We started working with Student Garden because we had limited technical capability inside the organisation… we were using Salesforce, but we weren’t using it well. Now, what we’re doing together has grown so much because of the expertise they’re able to offer. Our lead volume has grown so much since we started using Student Garden that our customer service team couldn’t keep up!”

— Raelene Woods

 Marketing Manager, genU Training

Sound good?

Is a lead-nurture journey something your team is lacking?
Here’s a peek at what we created for genU Training — and we can do the same for you if you get in touch via the form below!

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