By nearly all accounts, the Web has overwhelmingly become the primary resource for prospective students to research potential college choices. Using this medium, however, prospects are able to do their research independently and privately, without having to contact the institution via phone, mail or email to make a formal inquiry. Consequently, many potential inquiries, applicants and students are nameless, faceless web visitors whom recruitment personnel generally have no way of contacting or pursuing with their typical follow-up process. Using Groopz e-commerce software, recruitment staff can overcome this disadvantage by monitoring usage of their web sites and proactively or reactively contacting web visitors. Using this “instant message”-style communication tool, they are able to take online customer service to new levels. In many cases, it allows a staff member to engage in conversation with a casual passer-by, resulting in new recruitment opportunities. Since implementing Groopz on the Philadelphia Biblical University web site, countless visitors, who otherwise may have remained nameless and faceless, have turned into formal inquiries, applicants and students.
