We live in a world where most buying decisions are made based on reviews and customer experience.
Choosing a university is a considered purchase and takes a lot more time and effort because, for a student, a poor choice can result in consequences.
Student applications for the next academic year will be in full swing. Students will be receiving offers or declines from the universities they initially applied to and will soon be deciding on their firm and insurance choice university.
Having had the privilege of working at UCAS for over a decade, it is fair to say that the majority of choice lies in the hands of the students with multiple routes to choose from including:
- Traditional acceptance of their firm or insurance choice
- Applying through Clearing (late applying or not meeting the terms of their conditional offers)
- Self releasing from their offers after results day if they get better-than-expected grades
So with control firmly in the student’s hands, how do you make sure your institution is top of their list?
Student perspective
With over 300 higher education institutions in the UK, choosing a university can be quite an overwhelming task. We have all been in situations where we know we need to buy a particular product, but there are so many options, all with different features - how do we know what is the right one?
What we really want is a guide to help us understand what we want and remove the options which don’t fit our needs until we have an easy-to-choose-from shortlist.
The same principle applies to students facing the biggest decision of their lives so far. And who better to guide them than their peers?
The power of student reviews
Peer reviews are the perfect online guide for students as they can gain a wealth of insight about the university from facilities and clubs through to physical support and safety.
Letting your existing students sell your institution to the next generation could quite possibly be your most effective marketing tool if utilised well.
We should also consider that not all applicants will have access to in-person open days and reviews really are the next best thing (e.g. international students). They tap into the emotional buying side where students can hear the perspective of other students who they liken themselves to and imagine the experience as if they were in their shoes.
According to this UCAS survey, reviews are the 3rd most important tool students are using to decide on a university, with the UCAS Hub and open days holding the top two positions.
StudentCrowd - the essential decision-making tool
StudentCrowd offers multiple decision-making tools conveniently in one place. We are also the only specialist higher education review community and are therefore the preferred choice for students choosing their university and accommodation.
All universities are ranked within our league table too, so the more time you invest in reviews and brand reputation, the more likely you are to rank highly and increase engagement on your profile page.
Whilst there are a number of highly regarded university league tables such as QS, Complete University Guide and Times Higher Education, there are very few alternatives review aggregators. But how does StudentCrowd compare to those available?
Users seek out StudentCrowd because they are able to trust the authentic and unbiased voices of students as well as all of the other influential information we provide around reviews including accommodation - one of the biggest influencers of where a student chooses to study.
We use an algorithm to determine league table positions, so it’s not all about ratings. We also take into consideration recency, volume and authenticity.
So why is a steady flow of reviews beneficial for your institution?
- It’s a buyers (the students) market
- Students need and want a guide to help make big decisions become easy decisions
- Reviews are the third most important resource students use when choosing a university
- Not everyone, including international students, can attend university open days
- Peer-to-peer reviews offer unbiased information and experience applicants can relate to
- Generating reviews little and often is more authentic and trusted than infrequent surges
- Students are your most effective marketing tool
- Your reviews will tell you a lot about how your students view your institution, so the more reviews you have, the greater the intel to drive improvements - it's effectively free market research!
In short, reviews are an essential decision making tool for students and can support your institution's desire to continuously improve your offering for future students.
And lastly, don’t forget about your accommodation reviews, as the cost of living and perceived value for money are huge influencers for students choosing where to study.
If you would like to find out more about boosting reviews and enhancing your profile on StudentCrowd please contact our Higher Education Lead roxanne.muller@studentcrowd.com
