Overview
What is an Inquiry?
Historically, an Inquiry is an email or a phone call from a parent wanting to know more about your school. Today, it is often a simple online form for prospective families to provide contact information.
The Decline of the Inquiry
With more and more families doing their research online, Admissions teams across the country have seen a sharp decline in inquiry submissions. Nowadays, there is little need or incentive for a parent to call or give out their information. More often, the first contact a family makes with a school is when they submit the application, after they have already made their decision.
Lost Opportunity
This is problematic for Admissions Offices because they are losing the opportunity to collect valuable data, connect with a family, get them on campus, and help them see their place in the story of the school. They are losing that early and critical relationship. They may even be losing interested candidates that don’t end up submitting an application before they have ever had a chance to connect.
Reverse the Trend
So what do you do? It’s easy to turn this around when we rethink the purpose of an inquiry form. Of course, in Admissions, we want parents to submit an inquiry so we can start marketing to them. However, it is critical that parents have a good reason to inquire. Ask yourself this question: What’s in it for them?
A parent will fill out an inquiry form if there’s a good reason for it such as:
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To RSVP to a scheduled Admissions Event (e.g. Tour, Open House, Shadow Day).
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To ask a specific question about the admissions process.
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To get help navigating the financial aid process.
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