TargetX Launches Social CRM for College Admissions
Student recruiting firm TargetX has announced a series of enhancements to its CRM tool for college admissions. The Student Recruitment Manager (SRM), first introduced in 2008, now makes it possible to connect with prospective students like never before, according to TargetX CEO Brian Niles.
"The SRM provides integration with the social networks that students use most," Niles said, "so schools now have the ability to combine personal data about their prospects with the conversations that are taking place on Facebook and Twitter. Admissions people are always saying they want everything about a prospective student in one place, and now they can have it, including what students are saying and thinking."
Many of the enhancements to the SRM, including the ability to track social interaction, coincide with the latest release of the CRM platform from Salesforce.com. The SRM is built on Salesforce's 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 Winter '12 release, reflects an emphasis on social engagement.
Included in the new version are the following:
- The ability to import lists from the most popular sources of college-bound students: SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, NRCCUA, CAPPEX, TOEFL, the Common App, Recruitment PLUS, and the Student Search Service.
- Social Contacts, a new capability from Salesforce that will allow TargetX clients to create a "social profile" of prospective students, combining personal information like SAT scores with social web activity.
- A more powerful and user-friendly event management tool.
- A new Admissions Travel component that will enable recruiters to create and track travel plans, like high school visits and college fairs, and to communicate with students based on their schedules.
- Improvements in speed and capacity.
- Greater flexibility for schools in setting up their online applications.
"We are constantly working to enhance the Student Recruitment Manager," Niles said. "But this release is especially gratifying because of the major improvements and add-ons. We believe it further establishes the SRM as the leading CRM tool for college admissions."