Organizations are shifting from broad outreach strategies toward more intentional engagement built around learner behavior and demonstrated interest. Success increasingly depends on identifying intent early, combining data and automation with human connection, and helping prospective learners gain the confidence needed to take the next step.
The EvoLLLution (Evo): How are institutions using behavioral signal and engagement data to replace more of those broad recruitment campaigns with something that’s a lot more targeted and focused on conversion?
Karen Hamilton (KH): There is a clear shift across the industry from volume-based outreach to intent-based engagement. The broad, one-size-fits-all outreach just isn’t as effective in today’s competitive environment. What we’re seeing is more success from intentional, data-informed engagement.
We use our CRM to identify behavioral signals that indicate interest—things like email opens, clicks, website page views and event registrations. Based on those signals, we created a scoring model to identify high-intent prospects and invite them to a short, one-on-one conversation with a student information specialist to answer questions and reduce uncertainty.
What we found was that engagement increased dramatically. Email open rates grew from 44% to 78%, showing there was real interest in those conversations. One of our biggest learnings was that it’s not about creating more interactions but about reaching people at the right moment with a supportive, human touchpoint that improves both engagement and conversion. We also learned that at this stage, many adult learners don’t need more information. They need more confidence. By the time someone is repeatedly visiting program pages or attending events, they’re often trying to validate a decision rather than exploring options. That’s when the shift occurs from promoting programs to helping learners move forward with self-assurance.
Evo: What does effective personalization in enrollment marketing look like when students are expecting communications that are tailored to their needs, the intent when they want it and the stage they’re at?
KH: Personalization has become an expectation, not a differentiator. While you can’t understand every individual need upfront, you can use data to identify where people are in their journey and what support is most relevant at that moment. Effective personalization goes beyond adding someone’s name to an email. It’s about understanding the decisions they’re trying to make and responding accordingly.
For us, that means identifying high-intent prospects and creating opportunities for one-on-one conversations. Those conversations enable a much deeper level of personalization than any marketing message can. Adult learners are looking for clarity and reassurance that they’re making the right decision and that their education will help them achieve their goals while fitting into their busy lives. The human element helps reduce friction and makes support feel personal, not promotional.
Evo: How can enrollment teams balance automation with human connection, especially when scaling personalized outreach across different populations with different students with different needs?
KH: It’s not an either/or situation anymore. Automation is here to stay. The way I think about it is that automation scales, but the human connection converts. Automation helps with segmentation, engagement tracking and identifying who is most likely to benefit from a conversation. It helps you reach people at the right time and prioritize where your team should focus its efforts.
What automation can’t do is build trust. That’s where the human interaction comes in. It removes barriers, creates clarity and helps address the nuances that only come through person-to-person conversations. We saw that firsthand. When we added personalized conversations for a group we had identified as high-intent learners, conversion rates increased from 25% to 43%. For adult learners making significant life and career decisions, those conversations provide the confidence they need to move forward. As automation and AI become more common across higher education, trust becomes even more valuable. The institutions that succeed won’t necessarily be the ones sending the most communications. They will be the ones creating connection and building confidence at key decision points in the learner journey.
Evo: How can behavior-driven communications help institutions identify high-intent students early enough to make sure they’re getting them at the right moment to keep them engaged and make outreach more effective?
KH: When it comes to enrollment, the earlier you can identify high-intent learners, the better opportunity you have to engage and convert them. It starts with looking at the signals people are already giving you—repeat visits to program pages, event attendance and inquiry activity. We’ve also brought together our marketing and student information services teams to get a more complete picture of engagement. We found the greatest impact comes when those functions work together around the learner journey. Combining engagement data with frontline conversations gives us a much clearer understanding of learner intent and the barriers preventing someone from enrolling.
One of our biggest insights was that it wasn’t a lack of interest causing people to drop off but a lack of clarity and confidence. Traditional models tend to be reactive and often engage too late. By identifying intent earlier, institutions can proactively remove barriers, answer questions and build trust. For adult learners especially, early support can make all the difference in both the learner experience and conversion outcomes.
Evo: What separates a meaningful personalized engagement from a message that feels very automated?
KH: The difference comes down to whether the interaction is helpful or simply transactional. Just because you have data and can personalize a message doesn’t make it meaningful. You can still end up with something that feels templated and automated. For us, the data helps identify whom to engage and when to engage, but the human element is what builds trust and empathy. We’re very intentional about using a clear, low-pressure approach in our communications and conversations. It’s less about delivering information and more about answering the questions that matter most to that individual.
Ultimately, it’s not just a shift from broad marketing to targeted marketing. It’s a shift from high-volume outreach to high-value, human-centered engagement. The engagement stops feeling like a message being sent and becomes an experience in which learners feel supported and gain the confidence to move forward.
Evo: Is there anything you’d like to add?
KH: For institutions looking to get started, my advice is to start small. You don’t need a sophisticated CRM or a major investment. Most institutions already have valuable engagement data. They just need to identify where they can use it. What we found is that success was less about technology and more about shifting from a reactive mindset to a proactive one. Once you start testing and learning, these efforts can scale naturally and become part of your day-to-day operations without significant resource or cost barriers.
The future of enrollment marketing isn’t about generating more leads but about identifying intent earlier and helping learners overcome uncertainty. Institutions that combine data, automation and meaningful human support will be best positioned to serve today’s learners.
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