Focus on: Reaching your students through SMS
In business, communication is key, and this is just as much the case when it comes to international students studying at your schools. Be it to notify them of any last minute changes to their classes or schedules, or to communicate with them in an emergency situation, or even to save time on sending and waiting for email, SMS is definitely the way forward.
When using top-level CRM systems such as Intrinsiq, reaching out to your students through SMS is as easy as clicking a button. If, for example, you need to make sure that your students are OK in case of an emergency situation, you can simply create a short text and send it out to the group of students you want to send it to. For example, let’s say that it’s the winter season and there is a heavy storm, and you want to ensure that all your students staying in a particular area (which has been affected by the storm) are fine. All you have to do is enter a text such as “Hello there has been a storm last night. Text YES to say you are okay” into the system and send it out to the group of students staying in that particular area. This can save you a lot of time chasing students and worrying about their wellbeing.
Another scenario is a last minute change before the lesson starts. This is especially convenient if the class that is going to be changed is taking place in another building. A simple SMS to the students will notify them of the change and update them on where they need to go without having any members of staff running from one building to the next looking for students.
Why is integrated SMS the way forward?
The answer is pretty simple. All students have a mobile device and SMS’s cost close to nothing even when sent in bulk. When the SMS feature is integrated within the CRM this becomes even more efficient and cost-effective.
Students do not need an internet connection to access their SMS, unlike other forms of communication such as email.
SMS texts are also an interactive form of communication where students can reply directly and their correspondence can be stored against the student record. If you want to send your students their pick-up details at the end of their stay, for example, you do not need to worry about whether they have received or even seen the update or not because you can simply tell them to text “OK” to confirm.
Another advantage is that students themselves feel safer communicating by SMS because it is a feature that many are used to using even back home. So they do not need to learn to use a new app or get accustomed to communicating in a brand new manner...it’s just like being at home. And students love that! In fact, schools who are already using this feature have told us that they have noticed a better response to end-of-course questionnaires And not only that! Their feedback has improved heaps!
Contact us to find out more about how you too can have an efficient SMS system integrated into your CRM.