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Victoria University of Wellington increases out-of-country conversion rates using RightNow Marketing

Announcement posted by RightNow 09 Aug 2006

New Zealand based University uses RightNow to buck the trend in a declining education market
RightNow Technologies today announced that New Zealands Victoria University has increased its overseas enrolments, despite a general decline in the number of international students in New Zealand, since implementing RightNows on demand marketing solutions. Victoria University has seen a significant increase in conversion rates for particular Asia Pacific regions where conversion rates had previously been low. The school has also used RightNow to increase enrolment in its post-graduate programs.
Traditional advertising mechanisms are not practical for reaching a highly diverse range of prospects across multiple countries and continents. In addition, the information the University has to provide prospects during the course of their enrolment decisions is too rich and complex for conventional media. Using RightNow, however, both the University and its overseas contractor-partners can maintain an ongoing, content-rich conversation with prospects across multiple communication channelssignificantly increasing the likelihood that anyone considering Victoria University will ultimately choose it.
Charles Brooks, Victoria Universitys emarketing coordinator, said, RightNow CRM provides Victoria University with the advanced emarketing and contact centre capabilities we need to create a superior experience for our prospects around the world, while allowing us to avoid the significant overhead associated with ownership of complex business applications. Our engagement with RightNow is delivering very high return-on-investment and helping us achieve strategic institutional goals that are critical to our long-term success in an increasingly competitive global market."
RightNow automates the delivery of highly targeted information to all prospects based on their individual interests and attributes. Thus, for example, a prospective undergraduate science student from India making an initial inquiry receives very different information from a prospective post-graduate business student from Denmark who has to make a final decision within two weeks.
RightNow also gives the University complete flexibility to mix-and-match content to create highly individualised messages that touch on each prospects likely concerns. A message may therefore combine information about curriculum, housing and financial aid if the RightNow database indicates that those issues could all impact the prospects decision.
In addition to providing insight into individual prospects, RightNow has helped the University better understand the differences between the various geographic markets it serves. Students from certain countries, for example, may be more concerned about housing and student lifewhile others may be more focused on post-graduation employment opportunities. By providing visibility into these market characteristics, RightNow is enabling the University to deliver a higher-quality student experience from first touch through enrolment, thereby enhancing conversion rates by as much as 40 percent and strengthening the Universitys post-graduate admissions efforts.
RightNow is being widely deployed by universities and colleges around the world to communicate more effectively with students, prospects, alumni, and other critical constituencies via both traditional and Internet channels.
Alison Higgins-Miller, RightNows vice president Asia-Pacific said, In the globally competitive world of higher education, effective multi-channel communication is essential for attracting, retaining and serving a high-quality student body. RightNows advanced knowledge foundation and proven ability to automate content-rich, multi-channel conversations make it an extremely powerful solution for public and private institutions seeking to excel in this communication-intensive market environment.
About Victoria University
Victoria University was founded through an Act of Parliament in 1897, the year of Queen Victorias Diamond Jubilee celebration, and named in her honour. It is home to more than 19,000 students distributed across four major campuses located in the centre of Wellington, New Zealands capital. The University offers academic programs in more than 90 subjects at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. For more information, visit www.victoria-international.ac.nz.
About RightNow Technologies
RightNow (NASDAQ: RNOW) is leading the industry beyond CRM to high-impact Customer Experience Management solutions. More than 1,500 companies around the world turn to RightNow to drive a superior customer experience across the frontlines of their business. As a win-on-service strategy becomes a business imperative, Customer Experience Management solutions have become essential for business success. Founded in 1997, RightNow is headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, with additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For further information, please visit www.rightnow.com.
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