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The enrollment cliff is looming for regional schools like the University of Akron. These institutions are among the most vulnerable, competing with big state schools for students and dwindling enrollments.   Steve McKellips, Vice Provost of Enrollment Management has worked tirelessly to reverse that trend, analyzing finance, retention, affordability, student experience, and enrollments.   Tune in to our conversation with an inspiring leader who is finding traction through revenue-focused enrollment management.  

With all the noise flooding today's B2B sales channels, even the savviest marketing teams struggle to connect with their best-fit accounts. Tune into this episode of Test. Learn. Grow to hear from our CMO guests on how Account-based Marketing (ABM) allows businesses to get more targeted in how they engage their dream accounts. By coordinating marketing and sales teams to focus on the accounts that matter most, companies can have more relevant and impactful connections. Taking an ABM approach has helped streamline processes, boost efficiency, and build stronger relationships between company and customer.  ABM is a process that takes time to pay dividends. Hear how to get organizational buy-in and manage long sales cycles while you wait for revenue to follow. Our guests share tips to refine your ABM approach. You’ll understand how to measure results and effectively connect marketing activities to pipeline impact.  Make your ABM strategy more than just tech. Coordinate your outreach to bring those key accounts into your fold. 

If you’re an executive implementing generative AI tools at your organization, congratulations! You’re ahead of most leaders, for now. The latest episode of the Test. Learn. Grow. podcast features a discussion with two leaders who are futher along than most — Tesa Burg is CTO at Mod Op, and Patrick Patterson, our own CEO at Level.    They’ve both embraced generative AI as a part of their ways of working, and they’re not afraid to share their enthusiasm, advice, hot takes, and cautionary tales.  Listen in for insights about:  What generative AI is, and what it isn’t How to get organizational buy-in from the top down Where to apply AI tools to create the most efficiency and value Why security is critically important (but shouldn’t stop your team from experimenting)  

At Level, our Test. Learn. Grow. philosophy underpins everything we do. What exactly do we mean by this, and what makes it so effective? In short: it helps us find opportunity, focus our creativity and curiosity, and quickly adapt when needed.    Hear from three of our leaders as they illustrate ways that this methodology improves business outcomes, yields insights, and keeps us agile and learning in a changing marketplace. 

For Chris Brussalis, President of Point Park University, it’s time to re-think higher ed. For him, this means program expansion to reach nontraditional students, especially adult learners. It means applying the university’s mission to its downtown Pittsburgh location, and involving students in the cultural life of its community. And finally, finding like-minded leaders who are ready to support a bold vision.  Basically, it means embracing experimentation and change that will ultimately enable institutions to do more than they ever could before. Test. Learn. Grow, right?  Listen to our conversation on ways that innovative higher education institutions can adapt and grow in a time when many are facing dwindling enrollments and stiff competition.  

In this episode of Test. Learn. Grow., we're joined by Joshua Berry to unpack the concepts featured in his new book, "Dare to Be Naïve: How to Find Your True Self in a Noisy World". Berry dismantles the notion that naiveté is a weakness in business, arguing instead for its power in driving innovative, impactful change. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity, authenticity, and optimism in creating business strategies that are not only profitable but also socially responsible. Drawing from his book, Berry shares how embracing a mindset of chosen naiveté can lead to a more fulfilled life and successful business, backed by real-world examples. This episode offers valuable perspectives for leaders and individuals alike, illustrating how daring to be naïve can be a strategic tool for generating positive returns and profound impacts in today's evolving business world.

It’s no secret that higher education institutions face an onslaught of challenges. Shifting demographics, hybrid learning models, shrinking budgets, and even a lack of trust in the education space overall. It’s time for a reimagining with a focus on access and affordability. What’s stopping you? Oftentimes, it’s the pressure to keep up with larger, more traditional institutions rather than emphasizing your own unique offerings and how they serve your communities.  Dr. Melik Khoury, President and CEO of Unity Environmental University, gives the lowdown on lowering barriers, expanding educational options, and inviting in new technologies and approaches to keep schools, and their students, on the cutting edge. This episode is sponsored by CompleteU Education. To learn more about CompleteU, visit their website at completeueducation.com

In this episode, guest Jenna Bluedorn, Team Lead at Level Agency and Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Media and Communications Studies, joins us to explore insights around today’s video content trends and strategies. User generated content and short-form vertical videos are dominating social platforms right now. Consumer trust in polished ads is declining. Authentic, raw videos shot on phones now build deeper relationships with audiences. If you’re struggling to cut through and connect with audiences, the perspectives outlined in this episode can help take your approach to content creation up a notch.

In this episode of Test. Learn. Grow., host Dave Babst is joined by John Meyer, CEO and Founder of CompleteU, to discuss strategies for engaging and supporting adult learners pursuing higher education. As more adults return to school to upskill, finish a degree, or pivot careers, colleges and universities have a tremendous opportunity to meet their unique needs. Dave and John explore common barriers adult learners face and how institutions can evolve to create a more welcoming, flexible, and supportive environment. Listeners will learn strategies for marketing, admissions, academic programming, student services, and more. The goal is to give higher ed marketers and leaders actionable insights to improve enrollment, retention, and graduation rates among this growing demographic.

This episode explores why B2B marketing teams need to shift their success metrics from leads and MQLs to tracking real revenue impact and ROI. B2B marketing experts at Level explain how marketing and sales misalignment happens when teams have separate goals and metrics. They discuss why marketers need to analyze the full customer journey through hybrid attribution to demonstrate how their programs influence pipeline and closed-won deals. Start embracing shared goals with sales and focus on revenue-based metrics to optimize spending and prove marketing’s value.

In this episode, our experts in higher education marketing share their insights on how getting beyond email into a dynamic, multichannel lead nurturing effort can make a huge impact on your enrollment rates.  Key insights from the episode: You want to be where your students are. Test into channels like social, video, and text messaging.Personalized experiences are crucial. Use segmentation and personalization tools to cater to unique buyer challenges and needs.Have clear goals for success, but know what bad performance looks like, too. You'll know when to pull the plug. Marketing is not a lone wolf. Build consensus with your admissions teams and agency partners to avoid any missteps. Don't set it and forget it with your lead nurturing campaigns. You're probably leaving enrollments - and long term relationships with great students - on the table. 

On this episode of Test. Learn. Grow. we dive deep into feed management and optimization, and its important role in the world of Ecommerce marketing. Starting off with a foundational understanding, we tackle the common pitfalls that businesses unknowingly step into, highlighting the ramifications on their performance. Special guest Jeff Bordeaux, Strategic Account Director at Feedonomics, joined us to shed light on their holistic approach to feed optimization, enriching the conversation with real-world success stories.