An end-to-end digitalization model that increased lead conversion by 30%, reduced commercial response times by 40%, and centralized the student experience with Zoho CRM, Desk, Marketing Automation, and WhatsApp solutions.
A Latin American university, founded almost 20 years ago, with 2 campuses in Peru, more than 500 students and an academic offering of 8 undergraduate programs in fields such as Accounting, Law, Engineering, Business Administration, and Health Sciences, transformed its student recruitment and service process through the implementation of Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Marketing Automation and a WhatsApp chatbot.
Thanks to this comprehensive solution, the management of leads was centralized, commercial follow-up was optimized, mass communication with students was automated, and the support experience for current students was significantly improved.
A recruitment process without traceability, a marketing strategy without analysis or control, and student service without structure
Before the implementation, the university managed its prospective and current students through various disconnected channels, with scattered information and no traceability.
The sales team did not have a system to structurally accompany prospects from the first contact to enrollment, and the support area lacked a formal platform to resolve inquiries from enrolled students.
There was also no tool to manage different campaigns or execute marketing strategies with dynamic segmentation, nor metrics to help understand which actions worked best and which needed adjustments.
Additionally, web forms were not integrated with the management system, making it difficult to immediately convert prospects.
Zoho CRM, Desk, Marketing Automation and WhatsApp: an integrated solution for recruitment, support and communication
Zoho CRM was implemented as the central platform for lead management, Zoho Desk for servicing current students, and Zoho Marketing Automation as the main tool for executing email marketing campaigns.
Mass communications to students are carried out mainly via email, but are strategically complemented with WhatsApp, sending personalized reminders to those who have not opened the emails or have not completed an expected action.
Additionally, WhatsApp also operates as an automated channel through a chatbot, which intelligently classifies whether the contact is a potential student or a current student, collects the necessary data for identification, and automatically routes them to CRM or Desk as appropriate.
Thanks to this integration, the institution managed to unify its communication channels, improve the response rate, and provide a more consistent and effective experience at every stage of the student journey.
Zoho CRM: Student recruitment with traceability and automation
The CRM enabled the establishment of a digital flow for converting leads into enrolled students:
- Data centralization: All lead information coming from forms, WhatsApp, Facebook (including Facebook Ads forms), and referrals is automatically captured in the “Potential Clients” module.
- Guided follow-up: Leads progress automatically through stages such as “Qualified Contacts” and “Sales Stages,” with real-time visibility for coordinators.
- Task automation: The system assigns leads by program (undergraduate/postgraduate), sends automated welcome messages, and alerts users about pending tasks.
- Activity management: Each record stores calls, emails, messages, visits, and tasks, consolidating a 360° view of the lead.
Zoho Desk: Professionalized student support
Post-enrollment management was organized and optimized using Zoho Desk:
- Automated ticketing: Student inquiries arrive from the institutional chatbot, classified by type and priority.
- Automatic ticket assignment: Cases are automatically assigned to available agents, according to rules configured by type of inquiry or channel of origin.
- SLA and alerts: Maximum response times were defined, and alerts notify supervisors when a ticket has not been addressed within the expected timeframe.
- CRM integration: Advisors can view the complete history of the student, including their commercial journey.
- Transition to sales: If a student submits an admission-related inquiry by mistake, the ticket is automatically transferred to the sales team in CRM.
- Monitoring and metrics: The system enables measuring response times, workloads per advisor, and ticket resolution efficiency.
Zoho Marketing Automation: Scalable, segmented, and automated communication
Zoho Marketing Automation enabled the automation of segmented email campaigns and maintained effective communication throughout the entire admission process.
- Automated email marketing: Personalized campaigns were designed by student stage, automatically sent at key moments in the journey.
- Dynamic segmentation: Lists are updated in real time based on program, lead status, or previous behavior (opens, clicks, etc.).
- Integrated forms: Forms manageable from Marketing Automation were created for publication on web pages, directly connected to the CRM to generate leads.
- WhatsApp reinforcement: Automated WhatsApp reminders were sent to those who did not open emails, improving the response rate.
- Results analysis: The platform allows measurement of opens, clicks, conversions, and performance by campaign, facilitating data-driven decision-making.
WhatsApp Chatbot: A single conversational entry point
- Intelligent flow: The chatbot collects user data, identifies whether they are a student or a prospect, and requests the necessary information for system registration.
- Automatic lead creation: If the user is interested in undergraduate or postgraduate programs, a lead is created in Zoho CRM.
- Automatic ticket creation: If the user is a student, a ticket is created in Zoho Desk.
- Campaign reinforcement: It is also used to send automated reminders from Marketing Automation, based on unopened email campaigns.
- Multichannel capability: The chatbot operates not only on WhatsApp but also on Facebook and other social networks.
- 24/7 availability: It offers immediate and personalized attention at any time.
Results achieved after implementing the Zoho ecosystem
📈 +30% in the conversion rate from leads to enrolled students
⏱️ 40% reduction in commercial response times
🤖 90% automation of initial contacts via WhatsApp
📊 Full traceability of the student lifecycle
✅ Significant improvement in user experience, both in admissions and support
The institution consolidated its recruitment and support process with a fully integrated Zoho solution. The coordinated use of Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Marketing Automation and WhatsApp made it possible to digitize key processes, optimize team productivity and provide more personalized, efficient and measurable service. This transformation represents an exemplary case of institutional modernization in the education sector.
If you’re looking to implement a similar solution or want to optimize your institution’s or company’s processes, our team can help you. Contact us and discover how Zoho can transform your operations end to end.
