Magnifying the power of communication

1. Magnifying the powerofcommunication Amy Sikes Assistant Director William & Mary

2. Know Your Customers • Who are you serving? • Students • Millennials • Parents • “Helicopter parents” • “Stealth fighter parents” • “Snow plow parents” • Other offices • Community • What do they expect? • How will you provide it? • How can you improve your service?

3. Who are you serving?Millennial students • Entitled • Instant gratification • “Fix it for me NOW.” • Used to being protected/sheltered • Time has been managed by others • Often feel highly pressured • Very confident • They’ve never lost – everybody “wins” • Tech-savvy • Do community service

4. Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students Typical characteristics: • Involved • Protective • Concerned • College educated • Demanding • Often tech-savvy

5. Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students • “Helicopter parents” • Generally Boomers • Hover over the student • Feel the need to “save” the student from impending harm, real or imagined • Are afraid that any bad experience will damage the student permanently • Want to protect student from the bad things they experienced as children (“latchkey kids”) • Take care of things for the student when the student is “too busy” • Create students who are unable to problem-solve for themselves and who expect college staff to act in loco parentis (as do the parents)

6. Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students • “Stealth fighter parents” • Generally Gen-Xers • Choose when and where to attack • Rush in with guns blazing to “save” the student from impending harm, real or imagined • “Not with my child, you don’t!” • Constant surveillance • Take care of things for the student when the student is “too busy” • Create students who are unable to problem-solve for themselves and who expect college staff to act in loco parentis (as do the parents) • Higher expectation of value for their money

7. Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students • “Snow Plow parents” – helicopter and stealth fighter combined! • Boomer or Gen-Xers • Clear a path for their student, running over anyone and anything standing in the way • “Help” student with assignments • Write college application essays for the student and/or hire a company to do it • Frequently the wealthier parents • Constant surveillance • Want to protect student from the bad things they experienced as children (“latchkey kids”) • Feel the need to “save” the student from impending harm, real or imagined • Take care of things for the student when the student is “too busy”

8. Who are you serving?Parents of Millennial students • Consumer mentality • Expect immediate response • Fast action to solve problems • Threaten lawsuits • Pull the student from school/withdraw admission acceptance • Contact the school’s president • Contact a Congressperson • Expect perfection from schools/staff • Judge their own success by the student’s success • Highly protective and proactive • Often circumvent a student’s attempt to solve a problem

9. Challenges • Providing adequate information and data • Providing transparency • Explaining worsening financial aid situations in the face of this economy • Helping students learn how to become adults • Helping parents understand that it’s time for them to let go • FERPA issues • Learning how to listen and respond sympathetically

10. Finally…Communicating with Your Customers • Strive for transparency • Make website as customer-friendly as possible • “Contact us” button • Interactive forms: http://www.formsite.com/ • Communicate the same information in multiple ways/places • Website • Email • Newsletters • Blogs • Facebook • Twitter • Text messaging • YouTube • Handouts • Posters • Table tents

11. Communicating with Your Customers • Provide links to other pertinent departments in your electronic communications • Be aware of “Financial Aid Speak” • Consider having a student or parent focus group • Remember that we all now have shortened attention spans – about 5 minutes • When speaking in person • Use active listening skills • Empathize • Show respect • Recognize that the person may need to tell his/her story • Try to offer at least two solutions to the problem

12. Communicating with Your Customers BLOGS • “Web log” • Can be part of your website • Can link to your blog from your website if you can’t post directly on your website • Regular entries on pertinent items • Readers can leave comments • Many options • WordPress • Blogger • Blogspot

13. Communicating with Your Customers

14. Communicating with Your Customers Facebook groups and fan pages • Similar to a club • Easy to create and personalize • Easy to send email to entire group • Administrators can control membership • Can be difficult to gain members/fans

15. Communicating with Your Customers How Financial Aid offices can use FB • Create a group or fan page • Add links to the “about/info” page • Website • Deadlines • Events • Forms • Financial literacy • Promote via email lists, posters, table tents • Can repeat posts for additional attention

16. Communicating with Your Customers

17. Communicating with Your Customers

18. Communicating with Your Customers Twitter • Short info blasts of up to 140 characters • Web links • Deadlines • Event announcements • Financial literacy info • Items appear user’s profile page • # items can “go viral” • Can repeat tweets for additional attention • Can be hard to gain members

19. Communicating with Your Customers

20. Communicating with Your Customers YouTube • Search on “financial aid” for examples • Can create and upload explanatory videos • Financial aid basics • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM4wiAuGI0k • FAFSA filing • Importance of deadlines • How to complete forms • Financial literacy sessions

21. Questions? • Feel free to contact me! • Amy Sikes • amy@wm.edu • 757-221-2422