ELS Malaysia (Marketing)

Client Story

At A Glance

43x

Boost in Organic Traffic

102%

Increase in Leads for a 102% Return on Investment (ROI)

16%

Increase in Average Monthly Revenue

Client Testimonial

Backstory

Backstory

ELS Malaysia is a franchise of the world-renowned US-based ELS Language Centres. They have close to three decades in the country and offer a model of English learning study locations in Subang Jaya, Johor Bahru and at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Their programs include advanced writing programme (secondary school), Certified Intensive English Programme (CIEP), International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Test Preparation and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for university students.

Challenge

Challenge

ELS Malaysia primarily uses a website as the main lead generation tool. They have a simple sales process on the platform where they provide comprehensive information about their programmes.

The idea is to captivate the interest of students visiting the site and drive them into the sales funnel through a contact form. The institution has also invested in live-chat as part of lead generation, and students can find more about programmes offered through this feature.

While this seems like a foolproof strategy, ELS Malaysia continued suffering poor conversion rates. As a premier English training programme, the poor conversion rates remained a great concern. With all the investment in sales and marketing, there was little to show in the form of quantifiable ROI.

In one conversion survey, the number of potential students inquiring about ELS programs stood at 185. However, the enrolment rate was poor, as only 11 students enrolled.

At one point, the conversion rate was as low as 5%. For such a large institution, some drastic action was overdue to reverse the decline.

Solution

ELS Malaysia contracted us to reverse the fortunes of their marketing campaign. Our lead generation team got to work and opted for the HubSpot suite of marketing and sales tools to increase organic traffic and drive new leads.

The first thing we did was work closely with the ELS team to understand their business, challenges and target audience.

We created buyer personas to get an intense understanding of the students our client should be targeting to help us develop suitable content for lead generation.

After extensive research, we found the ideal target customers for ELS Malaysia included:

  • Local students (16 to 18-year-olds) seeking to refine their spoken and written English or who have upcoming IELTS and, or TOEFL tests
  • Overseas students (16 to 18-year-olds): The are mainly from Muslim countries who like the country’s familiarity in terms of religion and culture
  • Professionals: The English language is in high demand at the workplace and professionals in the country want to refine their skills for career progression

Here are the steps we undertook to help ELS Malaysia get closer to their organic traffic and lead generation goals.

1. Redesigned the website and optimized it for SEO

While conducting an audit, we realized that one of the biggest reasons for poor organic traffic and conversions could be attributed to their unoptimized and cluttered website. Their website lacked a focussed strategy and would often leave visitors confused.

It served as an informational portal but failed to communicate effectively and did not encourage users to engage with it.

ELS Malaysia website (pre-Brew Interactive)

On analyzing the situation, we proposed a website redesign that included optimizing it for SEO and conversions. The objective was to create a responsive, conversion-focused website with SEO as a primary focus during the redesign process.

Based on our experience with creating website design strategies, we revamped the copy and imagery to make it more action-oriented and relatable.

We suggested the placement of clear and concise call-to-action buttons across key, high-visibility areas to boost conversions. A responsive web design made the website easily accessible across devices, thereby offering a seamless user experience.

Redesigned website

To increase organic visibility and attract traffic to their redesigned website, we needed to get them ranked for the right mix of short-tail and long-tail keywords.

We conducted a comprehensive keyword and search intent research to uncover keywords that would enable the ELS Malaysia website to rank well.

We also implemented a strategic internal link building strategy to build site architecture and boost link equity.

Keywords the ELS Malaysia website got ranked for

2. Automated the lead generation and nurturing process using Workflows

Next, we used HubSpot’s workflows tool to automate the process of lead nurturing and cater to every new lead generated.

Here’s an example of a workflow we created for people who showed interest in the client’s flagship intensive full-day program.

Once a lead met these criteria, a deal was created and an automated email (Email 1) was sent.

Email 1 introduced the program while enlisting how students will benefit from it. It also threw light on the program schedule and mentioned the next steps on how students can register themselves for the program.

Email 1

Further below in the workflow, we added another email trigger which was sent after one day, to those who did not take action after receiving Email 1.

Email 2 explained what makes the client’s training center different from its competitors, reiterating the
highlights of their program and encouraging enrollments. Email 2 was sent to stop the problem of leads dropping out after the 1st stage of the sales process.

Email 2

Another email trigger (Email 3) was added and sent to people who opened Emails 1 and 2 but took no action. Email 3 included testimonials from past students. It was sent to foster trust and convert leads in the process.

Email 3

The final email (Email 4) was sent to all those who did not take action in spite of opening all three emails. The fact that certain people were still not convinced meant that they still had some apprehensions. Email 4 was meant to be the final push and included a FAQ, addressing common concerns.

Email 4

Results

Our strategy of designing an SEO-optimized website and scaling lead nurturing efforts using HubSpot’s tools turned out to be hugely successful in driving organic traffic and generating qualified leads.

In a short span of five months, the ELS Malaysia website saw a 43x boost in organic traffic. Not only did the optimized website attract relevant prospects but also generated interest, encouraging them to engage with the website and share their details.

By capturing leads through the enquiry forms and sending them timely follow-up emails, ELS saw an increase in leads generated and conversions for a 102% ROI.

They also saw an increase in average monthly revenue. Before we started working with ELS, their monthly revenues averaged $119,492.46. After implementing HubSpot tools, ELS witnessed a 16% jump to $138,206.

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