TargetX Releases New CRM Tool for College Recruiters
Higher education company TargetX has introduced the latest version of its CRM tool for college admissions.
The Spring '12 release of new features and functions makes the Student Recruitment Manager (SRM) more flexible and powerful, according to CEO Brian Niles.
"The SRM has emerged as the clear choice for schools looking to recruit more efficiently and effectively," Niles said. "This latest release provides even more capabilities in such areas as reporting, travel management, email broadcasting, workflows, telemarketing, and social engagement."
The Recruitment Manager already provides integration with the social networks that students use most, giving colleges the ability to combine personal data about their prospects with the conversations that are taking place on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Now, admissions officers will also be able to engage students via YouTube, and they can track the social profiles of schools as well as students.
Many of the enhancements to the SRM coincide with the latest release of the world's leading CRM platform from Salesforce.com. The SRM is built on the Force.com platform, which means TargetX can pass along to clients any of the improvements that Salesforce makes to its cloud-based CRM system.
"This is a great example of the benefits of our connection with Salesforce," Niles said. "We're delivering an environment that provides automatic upgrades to our clients whether the developments come from us or from Salesforce."
This latest group of enhancements from Salesforce, called the Spring '12 release, reflects a continuing emphasis on social engagement.
New developments in SRM include the following:
- Live Agent, which enables the admissions staff to chat with students and parents in a customized console, on demand, right from the college's Web site. That conversation can then be saved within the student's record.
- A new Form Assembly tool that makes it simple for schools to create their own drag-and-drop inquiry forms, "quick apps," event registration forms, and other online forms, all integrated with the CRM system.
- An online application that provides more flexibility regarding whether application payments are allowed and required.
- A new parent communication feature that gives colleges the choice of sending email broadcasts to students, parents, or both with the simple click of a checkbox.
- The ability to create and track recruitment travel activities like college fairs, high school visits, and corporate events.
- access to Salesforce's Chatter internal social media collaboration tool to keep staff members in contact with each other and on top of all relevant information, even when they're on the road.
Among the strengths of the SRM are its built-in electronic communication tools, including the leading email broadcasting and online chat tools in higher education, and a fully-integrated event management tool.