The Challenge
ESD-U is a program operated by ESD 112 that provides alternative routes to teacher certification in Washington. Established in 2018, the program has consistently served 40-60 candidates per year; however, with the full PESB approval in late 2022, the program was ready to expand across the entire state. In preparation for that, the team really needed a system (in addition to a dedicated website) to better manage and communicate with prospective candidates. Yes! We can do that!
Where to begin? Research!
Where do you go when you need to figure out an affordable solution to a problem? Google usually comes in handy. In this case, we searched “customer relationship management” or “CRM” and HubSpot came up quite a bit. And, better yet, they had a free plan to try their system out. So we signed up for the free version and started playing around with its features.
What is a CRM?
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a system or software designed to track and manage information and interactions between your company and its customers.
Testing the waters
In order to make sure that HubSpot would work for ESD-U, we needed to test out its features to make sure that it could provide the following:
Information session sign-up and interest forms
Background
ESD-U had been using Google Forms to collect information for prospective candidates interested in both their initial teacher certification and PEP programs. Even though these submissions were being saved into a google spreadsheet, it was hard to keep track of across the team. And the team had to manually send out emails before each session to remind candidates that they’d signed up.
Findings
HubSpot provides the ability to create as many forms as needed to be able to collect user information, which is then saved into a contacts database. Any time a person submits another form on the website (with the same email address) the customer record is simply updated with that additional information, whereas before, there could be multiple records for the same person.
Custom applications with the ability to upload documents
Background
In previous years, ESD-U relied on the HR department to create job postings on the ESD 112 jobs website for candidates to apply via the application system. Candidates were required to setup accounts and apply similar to applying for a job – this was confusing to many. In addition, ESD-U did not have insight into how many applications had been submitted until HR could review and share with them. This really delayed the process for both the applicant and the ESD-U team.
Findings
With HubSpot, we are able to simplify the process and embed custom applications into pages on the website. Users are not required to create accounts and can submit their information in two easy steps. ESD-U can check whenever they want to see how many applications have been submitted and for which endorsements. This allows them to focus marketing efforts on endorsements that might be lower in applicants.
Auto-response emails
Background
ESD-U was very limited in any emails that were automatically sent after submitting an inquiry form or application. In most cases, emails had to be sent manually – usually not in bulk. This was a very time consuming task for ESD-U.
Findings
HubSpot allows you to set up automatic emails after every form submission. And not just one email – you could set up multiple emails to deploy over a period of time (also known as drip email campaigns).
Marketing email campaigns
Background
ESD-U did their best to send bulk emails, when possible. But it was all very manual (including finding and adding email addresses) and they could only send plain text emails from outlook without any branding.
Findings
HubSpot allows you to design your own branded emails to send to anyone in the database who meets a set of criteria. For example, if we want to just send an email to applicants who haven’t submitted their documents yet, we could do so by setting the filters. Bonus: We can see which emails every contact receives – it tracks everything including interaction with the communications. Yes!
Overall, the free version provided most of this functionality but had some limitations – for example, we could only create a limited number of custom fields needed on the applications. We decided that it was necessary to sign up for the starter plan to be able to set up the application forms with all of the necessary fields. But for around $300 per year, it really made sense for ESD-U.
Implementation
Another bonus that we discovered during the research phase was that HubSpot integrates seamlessly with WordPress – we simply had to install a plugin to connect the website with HubSpot. It was magic! Once connected, we could enable many features including a chat and “call to action” pop-ups. Plus any user interaction with the website is also captured in the contacts database of HubSpot.
Forms & Applications
In HubSpot, we developed and integrated the following forms:
- General sign up form
- ESD-U Interest Survey form
- PEP Interest Survey form
- ESD-U Information Session sign-up
- PEP Information Session sign-up
- Teacher Certification Application & Uploads (2 steps)
- Adding an Endorsement Application & Uploads (2 steps)
- PEP with Bachelor’s Application & Uploads (2 steps)
- PEP without Bachelor’s Application & Uploads (2 steps)
We simply added the code provided by HubSpot to embed each of these in various spots on the website. Any changes that were made to the forms in HubSpot were automatically applied to the website. Magic!
Marketing emails
We’ve been able to set up and schedule emails for the following types of sends – each sending to a dynamic list of recipients based on a set of filters. These types of emails include:
- Informational Session reminders & follow-ups
- Emails specific to a certain program of interest
- Scholarship and grant announcements
- Application deadline reminders
- Applicant reminders to upload documents
And if you happen to be interested in becoming a teacher or adding an endorsement, you can check out how this all works on the ESD-U website by submitting one of the many forms!
Auto-response emails
One of the main reasons for choosing HubSpot was the ability to send automated emails after form submission. Each form will automatically send as many emails that we want to set up for over a period of time. For example, when a user signs up for the general sign up form, we automatically send information about ESD-U and a general overview of its programs. A week later, we’ve set it to send a second email with additional information. A week later, another email is sent, and so-on.
We also use automated emails to convey specific information to the user. For example, after completing the first part of the application, the user receives an email with a link to the second step where they can upload their documents.
These automatic emails keep the users engaged and, in many cases, users click through and complete another form on the website. The open rate of the initial email when submitting the general sign-up form is almost 60% while the click-through rate is almost 30%! Those results are remarkable!
Data & Results
By having all of the data in one spot, ESD-U has access to data they’ve never had in the past. In addition to being able to see how many applications are in progress and completed, ESD-U can now easily check how many people are interested in a particular endorsement area or program, how emails are performing and being interacted with, and so much more!
But that’s not all!
This new marketing engine runs year-round which means that new contacts are constantly being added to the database for next year’s recruitment cycle. At this rate, ESD-U is on track to becoming the premier provider of non-traditional teacher certification and professional development in Washington state.
Client satisfaction at its best!
We recently had the most ESD-U applications submitted for ANY cohort, thanks in large part to the work you have done with us to build an entirely new, FANTASTIC website linked with our first ever CRM system! The work you do isn’t just wonderful because it’s creative, smart and eye-catching… you also do it with a smile and the kind of attentiveness that truly feels like our projects are a priority that you care about.
Want to learn more about integrating HubSpot into your marketing strategy?
(We did not receive any incentives from HubSpot for this post; We just really love how well it works for ESD-U!)