Lake Forest Graduate School of Management »
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (LFGSM) has provided business education from business leaders to Chicago-area MBA candidates since 1946. From its beginning as a single campus in Lake Forest, IL, the school has grown to include campuses in downtown Chicago and Schaumburg.
LFGSM has extended that growth by delivering its MBA program at Lake Forest Hospital in Grayslake and on-site at Chicago-area corporations such as Allstate and BlueCross BlueShield Association.
LFGSM engaged Duo to enhance the user experience of its web site while improving data security and the existing information architecture. LFGSM’s marketing team wanted to update the site’s look-and-feel to be more professional and to capture the vibrancy of both the MBA program and the school’s greatest assets – its students, alumni, and faculty.
LFGSM’s alumni team wanted its own web site to showcase their activities and initiatives, enhance their brand presence, and to interact more effectively with their alumni e-newsletter.
Problems
- LFGSM's admissions team wanted a user-friendly site that would allow prospective students to quickly and easily take the next step in the admissions process. LFGSM’s marketers wanted a web site that would bring the school’s customer intimacy and brand personality to life through the use of original photography and student success stories.
- The LFGSM alumni team wanted a new, cohesive architecture to call its own and showcase alumni news and success stories, promote alumni events, and solicit feedback on new and ongoing alumni initiatives. Due to the school’s increased alumni initiatives, the content of the alumni section of the existing web site had outgrown its infrastructure and was creating usability confusion.
Solution
- Duo created a streamlined web site that addressed the most pressing needs of its specific audiences. The redesigned site looks much more professional and is much better aligned with the school’s brand image. It features prominent callouts across the entire site that allow prospective students to instantly take the next step in the admissions process, e.g. request information, RSVP to an event, ask an admissions counselor a questions, or start an online application. The new site also allows applicants to “save and return” to their online application, a significant enhancement to the previous site’s functionality. Additionally, all forms on the site are secure; the previous site had only two secure forms.
- Duo created a separate and distinct alumni web site to accommodate the growth of alumni initiatives and to give alumni a better place to stay connected to the school. The alumni site features alumni news and achievements, networking events, a new student referral form, and a variety of surveys for providing feedback on current and future alumni resources and benefits.
- Duo introduced dynamic content on the home pages of both sites that features a variety of photos and quotes from students and alumni about the benefits of a Lake Forest MBA degree and the benefits of staying connected to the school. Each home page also has an editable news and events section to spotlight important dates and information specific to each audience.
- To facilitate quick and easy content management, Duo implemented the Sitecore Content Management System. Sitecore’s workflow feature allows the alumni team to update and create their own content, therefore improving the cycle time of keeping the web content current. Sitecore also provides creation of easy to remember “vanity URL” web page link names, which have been used to great success in alumni e-newsletters and in offline marketing communications for both alumni and MBA.
Results
- LFGSM’s combined business results for new students, continuing students, and MBA revenue are at a three-year high. The new MBA and alumni web sites have been strong contributors to these results.
- Prospective students continue to compliment the new MBA site, particularly regarding the ease with which they can find information and quickly take their desired actions. They appreciate having a secure web site and are intrigued by the testimonials and success stories, brought to life through the new dynamic content and original photography. They also praise LFGSM’s admissions process and customer intimacy practices, and have responded to the new MBA web site in kind.
- MBA and Alumni events continue to be a critical part of the school’s success, and are growing via online registration through the new web sites.
- Alumni users have also responded positively to their new web site. They like the enhanced, more professional look and feel, particularly the dynamic content and the home page news and events section. The alumni team appreciates having a web site of their own that helps them solicit support for the school, acknowledge donors more professionally, and promote volunteer opportunities. They also appreciate the improved interactivity of the site and having a sharper venue for showcasing the success that LFGSM alumni have enjoyed.
