The Importance of CRM Systems in Higher Education

CRM Systems: At present, it is impossible to imagine any educational institution without the use of various kinds of information technologies. The requirements for informatization of the educational space force us to move away from the old principles of conducting our activities, to increase the efficiency of business processes, which positively affects the quality of training.

In addition, thanks to information technology, you have the opportunity to use college writing services. If you are interested in more detail on why CRM systems are important for higher education, read this article.

General Information

The acronym CRM may be deciphered as follows: Customer Relationship Management. If we consider a similar direction from the point of view of educational institutions, then the word "client" here seems strange and completely inappropriate. In educational institutions, the word “client” can be replaced by the following words: student, undergraduate, graduate student, entrant, teacher, employee, intern, partner, etc.

A modern CRM system in any educational institution will help develop relations with students and future students, their parents will also be able to help build relationships with partners in any educational institution.

The Presence of CRM Systems in Educational Institutions of the Country

Most of the educational institutions in our country have already acquired LCD monitors, projectors, and other technical equipment, as well as various software tools, but, unfortunately, projects that work on the technology of CRM systems introduce a small number of institutions in the field of educational services.

Perhaps this is due to a lack of financial resources, qualified personnel, or a lack of understanding of why such software technologies are needed in an educational institution. It’s easier for some employees of educational institutions to work according to the proven old scheme than to spend time and learn new technologies.

Advantages of CRM Systems

If an educational institution uses modern CRM technologies, it will have the following number of advantages over the others:

• 1) collection and storage of information about students and employees of the educational institution in a single database;
• 2) operational use of various communication channels with them - telephone numbers, electronic mail (e-mail), etc .;
• 3) analysis of the information collected according to certain criteria;
• 4) automation of the data entry process and reporting on the specified criteria;
• 5) when using a CRM system with an applicant, feedback is established. For example, leaving his/her coordinates, he/she gets the opportunity to subscribe to the newsletter (if there is an email address) regarding the conditions for admission, the schedule of entrance exams, the opening of new specialties, changes in the cost of training, etc.

Through the use of software products that work on CRM technology, in any educational institution, there is the possibility of developing its specific strategy. Modern CRM-systems will allow you to build a unified environment within the educational process, there is the possibility of conducting personal files of students, teachers, and employees of the educational institution, the ability to segment various kinds of information and automate the workflow of the educational institution.

Also, thanks to the use of CRM technology, it is possible to track the payment of students, undergraduates, or graduate students who did not enter the budget in educational institutions, to analyze and forecast financial receipts, etc.

In addition, a significant effect can bring the integration of CRM technology with other information systems that are available in a particular educational institution.

For example, the integration of a CRM system and telephony, that is, when calling a school administration, a card for a particular student automatically appears; integration of the CRM system and accounting, i.e., in the CRM system there is the possibility of fixing the tuition fees for students, and there will no longer be the need to use various kinds of receipts; integration with the website of the educational institution, i.e. there will be a certain opportunity for students, parents, the staff of educational institutions and their guests to register independently for various events of the institution.

These are far from all examples of the integration of modern CRM systems; there are quite a lot of them.

Summing up

The possibility of obtaining a competitive advantage by a higher educational institution in the long term depends to a large extent on how it builds relationships with participants in educational services and labor markets and other business partners. In this regard, higher education institutions are faced with the task of understanding the theoretical principles of relationship marketing and mastering the methods and tools for using them in real practice.

Formed on the basis of relationship marketing, a customer relationship management system is a combination of concept, strategy, and technology. It allows you to reorient the organization to maximize customer satisfaction. The use of CRM systems in the field of higher education will provide an individual approach to everyone who wants to enter a university, get a second higher or additional education.