{"id":12081,"date":"2021-03-30T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T07:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/?p=12081"},"modified":"2023-02-24T14:25:41","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T14:25:41","slug":"why-data-is-crucial-to-your-alumni-relations-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aluminati.net\/why-data-is-crucial-to-your-alumni-relations-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Data is Crucial to your Alumni Relations Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cData is at the core of everything we do.\u00a0 It helps us make strategic decisions, it informs our messaging and outreach and it often helps us to tell our story\u201d TJ Rawlinson, Director of Development & Alumni Relations, Cardiff University, UK.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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What to Measure<\/h3>\n

When asking the question of what is a measure of success in alumni relations, the department\u2019s strategy and the institution\u2019s goals as a whole should be considered.\u00a0 Is \u2018engagement\u2019 the right measure?\u00a0 Is it a goal?\u00a0 How is engagement measured?\u00a0 Is it volunteer hours or event attendance?\u00a0 What about email open rates or donations?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Whilst these are all important metrics to consider, an institution must first define what it wants from its alumni.\u00a0 Fundraising departments will use metrics like the number of meetings held and the amount of money raised, but measuring engagement is probably the most effective product that an alumni relations team can generate to add value to the rest of the university.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Christian Propper, Head of Development – Marketing and Insights at the University of Oxford, UK argued that telling a story, demonstrating progress and showing how alumni are getting more engaged are factors institutions can use and can help prioritise ways of generating yet further engagement.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Gethin James, Head of Strategic CRM at UCL, UK noted that engagement is usually portrayed as a counter to an income metric but argued that it is more often not the opposite, but more a means towards an end, or in fact, many different ends. An institution may have goals focussed on marketing, recruitment, campaigns and research and these are all things that one can drive engagement towards.\u00a0 So the first question an institution can ask itself is, \u2018What are we trying to achieve?\u2019 and \u2018How will we know if it is successful?’<\/span><\/p>\n

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Which comes first? The data or the action?<\/h3>\n

Data from Cardiff University showed that the institution saw most engagement from younger alumni, which suggested that their planned regular giving campaign may not be as effective as hoped due to the lower engagement in older age groups.\u00a0 This is an example of where having the data first can help form ideas and plan outcomes effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gethin argued that data sets are rarely a clear cut scenario and that if an institution does not have the data, the most important next step is to start off small, run test campaigns and make incremental changes accordingly as fresh data is generated.\u00a0 \u201cInterrogate what you think you know is true.\u00a0 Don\u2019t assume that event attendees or volunteers will automatically become donors\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christian Propper shared some data from a grammar school in New Zealand. They gave 20 years worth of fundraising data to a data analyst to calculate the influence of each engagement variable on the likelihood of someone to donate. The results showed that the likelihood of becoming a donor increased by:<\/span><\/p>\n