Tropical Tigers Take a ‘Bite’ out of the Alumni Association

The UNBC Alumni Association is looking for ways to connect with as many Alumni in the most meaningful (and cheap!) way possible.

Did you know 50 million people check their email by 11:30am every day?  This is an on-demand lifestyle we are engaged in and there is no cheaper, more effective channel to share information with an audience than email.  But…before sending out mass emails, it’s important to capture the focus and attention of the reader.  So, instead of addressing every communication directly to all alumni, there may be ways to ensure the communication is meaningful to individual readers.

5 key roles of e-mail:

Drive awareness. So in the case of the Alumni Assoc., we want to provide a prelude that creates a ‘want’ to look further – what’s in it for them?

Create ongoing engagement.  Relevant e-newsletters, regular alumni events, and sharing ‘who’s doing what’ from your graduating class – pictures add value as well.

Consideration.  How do we get them to actively participate in the UNBC community?  Alumni members may need to be lured.  Discounts at the NSC?  Bookstore?  GC’s to the Thirsty Moose?  Let’s get them to the campus and keep them engaged!

Drive purchasing.  This is your hardcore, ‘buy it message’.   Hmmmm, what are we selling?  A community, connections, opportunities, networking – in this case the customers should already know and (hopefully!) trust the ‘brand’. 

Retention and Cross-sell.  Focus on customer service, we need to make members feel important, not just another email to spam so make sure it is targeted.  Things like a considerate response email or personalized thank-you’s for participation.  Also, getting feedback to learn more about what worked and what didn’t to assist with future planning.

Additionally, segmenting your e-mail list to take advantage of social media interactions and the collective influence the email recipient has on others to get involved – the multiplier effect.

Finally, get creative!