To remember
- The sector is becoming more competitive. A school must adopt an approach that focuses on acquisition and ROI, not just academically.
- A clear funnel (Ads → Landing pages → Nurturing → Conversion) is a direct driver of growth. The continuous optimization of the steps greatly improves the results.
- Combining Google Ads and Meta makes it possible to increase the reach and capture different segments of prospects.
- Using HubSpot to track, segment, and relaunch leads is key to turning interest into real signups.
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Challenge
Scaling student recruitment through performance-driven digital strategy
The French higher education market is splitting into two camps: large academic groups and niche specialist schools. Sitting between them, BSB needed to get more commercial in how it recruited students. Digital acquisition was becoming the main battleground, and they needed outside support to move faster than their internal team could alone.
The immediate target was to match the 1,100 new students enrolled in 2023, with an ultimate goal of reaching that number, representing a 27% increase over their baseline.
Strategy
Full-funnel setup, paid campaigns and conversion optimization aligned with sales
- Built a shared sales funnel with both the marketing and sales teams involved from the start.
- Ran Google and Meta ad campaigns targeting prospective students across France.
- Used HubSpot to manage leads and run nurturing sequences that kept prospects engaged through a long decision cycle.
- Built, tested, and iterated on landing pages and funnels to improve conversion at each stage.
- Refined the value proposition by program, audience segment, and content type, distinguishing between what parents respond to versus what students respond to.
- Produced content and campaigns around specific programs, open days, brochures, and lead magnets.
- Improved the underlying marketing and sales operations to reduce drop-off between lead and enrolled student.
Results
Strong revenue growth, lead volume and sales activity scaling
- +30% revenue
- x7 sales appointments
- +220% leads generated
