PeopleSoft Enterprise Marketing is a jewel for the Gemological Institute of America: GIA wanted a better view of its customers, to track the results from its marketing campaigns, and to turn more prospects into students

University Business, Oct, 2004

The Carlsbad, CA-based Gemological Institute of America (GIA)--the world's largest and most respected nonprofit institute of gemological research and learning--knows a thing or two about value. GIA is the creator of the International Diamond Grading Systeml[TM] based on the 4Cs of diamond value: color, clarity, cut, and carat weight. Internationally, the institute is the preeminent source of gemological knowledge and professionalism.

But the core of GIA's activities is education. Often called the Harvard of gemology, the institute offers the prestigious Graduate Gemologist diploma as well as other on-campus and online diploma programs such as Graduate Jeweler, Jewelry Design, Accredited Jewelry Professional, and Jewelry Business Management.

Turning Prospects into Students

To attract new students each year, GIA employs a marketing strategy that includes public relations, advertising, direct marketing, and word of mouth throughout the industry. According to Susan Petrich, general manager of Marketing Operations, "In many cases, the student doesn't come in with a commitment to the full program. In our distance education program, for example, students sign up for the diploma program, but we probably have just as many who sign up for one course at a time. We want to help them enroll in new courses and gain all the advantages of completing their gemology or jewelry business education."

To accomplish this goal, GIA wanted to get a better view of its customers and to discover what their needs were. At the same time, the institute wanted to track the results from its marketing campaigns, make adjustments, and turn more prospects into students.

GIA implemented PeopleSoft Enterprise Marketing to help get the most out of its marketing investments. "Our goal was to have a better view of our customer," says Kallya Shenoy, director of Information Technology. "PeopleSoft Enterprise Marketing will give us the ability to make better decisions for print advertising and direct marketing and helped us focus on out best opportunities. We were able to create a baseline, and, based on that data, we can make intelligent decisions."

PeopleSoft Enterprise Marketing streamlines the marketing process while enabling the institute to focus its resources on the most promising prospects. "PeopleSoft Enterprise Marketing gives us a tool for managing marketing campaigns more strategically," adds Petrich. "It enables us to bring in customer information from all angles, create targeted campaigns, and, using the information we collected, improve our response rates."

"It's smarter marketing," states Lisa Voytilla, marketing analyst. "Our baseline data, supplied through the PeopleSoft application, shows that the number of prospects has increased in the past year by more than 75 percent."

Improved Collaboration

By integrating PeopleSoft Enterprise Marketing with PeopleSoft Enterprise Student Administration, GIA is able to reach a higher level of collaboration in working with the Admissions department. "We really improved communications between the Marketing and Admissions departments," says Petrich. "We're finding out more about the students from the people who talk to them directly."

As a result of the Marketing department's positive experience with this system, other departments, such as the Institute Development and the Alumni Association, are also considering using PeopleSoft Enterprise Marketing. For the Marketing department, plans for the future include adding PeopleSoft Enterprise Online Marketing to create more personal interactions with prospects. They also will be implementing PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM Warehouse.