Sure, they were getting enrolment inquiries.

And on the surface, everything looked good.

Lots of "engagement" on Facebook. ✅

Increased traffic to their website. ✅

15€-20€ leads from a course landing page. ✅

Dozens of Facebook messenger inquiries. ✅

And much more...

In fact, I just talked to the Marketing Officer of a language school last week.

She seemed really happy with their marketing agency for over a year.

It was all rainbows and roses, until I started asking her about the KPIs that mattered:

How many enrolment applications did she receive?

What was the monthly revenue of these enrolments?

I felt guilty for bursting her bubble. 🎈

She realized she had been paying 20€ for leads that never replied or didn’t convert into sales.

Those who messaged on Facebook asked for information…and then ghosted her. 👻

Another education business owner who spent 5,000€ getting 400 enquiries didn't make a single (trackable) sale. 😱

Upon looking at the landing page, I discovered that not only did they have multiple Call-To-Actions on the page, they even had a pop-up offering a visa guide…which has little to no relevance for someone’s DESIRE to take a course.

Which brings me to my key question: what are you really in the business of?

The truth is, you should be concerned about the number of students ENROLLED. ✏️

Of course, the number of enrolment inquiries is a lead KPI of actual enrolments, but if all your marketing agency does is to get you inquiries, that’s just solving one problem and giving you another.

Instead, you should hold them responsible to BOTH enrollment inquiries AND enrolled students. 🔗

The first step is enrollment inquiries, but the next step is about nurturing those leads to increase the likelihood of picking up the phone call or going online to enroll.

Only when these inquiries are properly handed over to your admissions team should you consider the marketing agency’s job done.

The good news is, more and more agencies today are taking steps like this to get closer to the sale and differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack.