For colleges and universities in the public sector, the average annual cost of raising money ranges from million to million, according to a chart produced by Malcolm King, chief marketing officer at the Association of University and Colleges Businesses (AUCBO). In the United States alone, an estimated $13.5 billion to $15.3 billion is spent annually on marketing and fundraising.

Similarly, fundraising is an integral part of educating students, and it yields an estimated $12.8 billion to $13.9 billion in fees.

The issue is that most college presidents don’t know how much the fundraising and marketing process actually costs.

The College Board recently published a survey, which found that 57 percent of private-college presidents would not know how much it cost to raise $250,000 if they were asked. Some 71 percent said they had low confidence in their own ability to match their fundraising skills to their institutional needs.

As it turns out, a good understanding of who really makes the money, when the money gets made, and what drives the university’s fundraising and marketing decisions isn’t that difficult to do, especially if you can use search marketing automation—marketing automation software—as part of a marketing team. And marketing automation is gaining importance in many U.S. colleges and universities.

The Task

A marketing automation platform pulls in data from many disparate sources and serves as a liaison between the general purpose, online and social media, search engine optimization, and other marketing channels. It enables your marketing team to collect and understand the data needed to develop effective strategies and plans for growth, and train staff on these strategies.

You must also develop robust sales management capabilities and a strong customer success strategy, which will ultimately drive sales results. Marketing automation provides a powerful first line of customer engagement. It builds a strong pipeline, which is critically important to successful fundraising. It also ensures that you’re meeting your objectives and achieving your goals. Marketing automation makes it easier to find future leads. It also ensures your unique message reaches the right people, which is critical to driving qualified revenue.

Institutions, B-to-B and C-to-C businesses, especially those without in-house expertise, benefit from investing in marketing automation. The gains they realize are numerous:

Enhanced sales efforts and revenue.

Increased revenue and the ability to analyze your financial performance.

Increased engagement from alumni, donors, and current and potential students.

Increased employee engagement.

Increased returns for your IT investments.

Institutions also benefit from cutting-edge technology. Some of the leading automation tools include Mascus Inc., Eloqua, Blue Fountain Media, Marketo, and Vubiquity.