West Suffolk College

West Suffolk College is a leading provider of further education, higher education and adult learning based in Bury St Edmunds.

"Throughout the project, itineris were really professional. They did what they said they would do within the agreed deadlines and targets. It has been please working with them, and I would have no hesitation in recommending them."

- Emmanuelle Durand, Sales and Marketing Manager

80% increase

in year-on-year traffic

500% increase

in page views

36% email

click through rate

Challenge

College websites generally need to provide a wide range of information for a variety of different audiences. Achieving the right balance requires a considerable amount of strategic planning at the early stages and a flexible content management system to support the infrastructure of a modern further education institution.

We were briefed to develop a website solution which achieved the following key objectives:

- Simplification of the user journey.
- Better engagement with current and potential students.
- Increased visitor numbers, with a particular focus on attracting people looking for full-time and service-to-business courses

Design

It was important that the website design solution communicated key messages appropriately to each audience, while maintaining a consistent and coherent brand identity. Therefore, our creative team took the time to thoroughly understand the College's target audiences and brand values. The final design solution combined clarity and simplicity with a highly engaging user journey.

The large scrolling banner catches the imagination of the visitor immediately. It gives a visual insight into life at college, while also promoting key messages and driving traffic through to other areas of the website.

Build

The new website was built on our award-winning content management system, i.content®, enabling West Suffolk College to have complete control over their online marketing activity. Modules were created to simplify changes to areas that need frequent updating, including home page promotional items, videos, news, events and case studies.

Integrating the website with Unite, the College’s student record and course management system, was a key part of the project. The website provides students with a number of different options to find the course they are interested in or discover what courses are available by career. Course records are fed directly into the website, students can enrol or apply online and their information is captured within the student record system, avoiding the need for multiple form filling and reducing administration costs.

Email marketing

Creating a superb new website was only part of the challenge. Driving relevant traffic to the site was also a key objective. Working in partnership with West Suffolk College, we designed and implemented targeted email marketing campaigns to engage various audiences.

There has been an 80% increase year-on-year in visitors to the West Suffolk College website, as well as an amazing 500% increase in page views.

The targeted email campaigns have achieved a 36% 'click-through' rate and an 'open' rate of 70%.

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