I’m probably dating myself through this post’s title. I’ve always interpreted the phrase to mean putting forth the necessary effort to get something done. And I’ve just experienced first-hand how colleges are getting it done when it comes to understanding their audiences.

This weekend was the culmination of the college selection process in our house; we dropped-off our youngest at college.

Everything about the process, up to and including the move-in, was orchestrated with a demonstrated understanding of all of the stakeholders. The university was adept at aligning messaging and delivery channels with the intended targets. They engaged our son through lots of video posts, invitations to partcipate in a freshman social networking site, e-mail, direct mail that had a distinct edge to it and mobile text messages. Much of the information was intended to help incoming students begin assuming responsibilty for their actions as well as framing expectations.

As parents, my wife and I were encouraged to sign-up for a parent portal that also has a social networking component. In addition, we received specific communications that helped us prepare ourselves and our Son for this new journey. They used excellent data gathering techniques to learn about our specific situation (our Son is our second and last child to go away to school, etc.) and then tailored additonal messaging that reflected that understanding.

The move-in day was designed to help everyone have a positive experience and it concluded with an artfully managed parent send-off. They scheduled the student orientation program to begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of student/parent assembly. In other words Mom & Dad, it’s time to go.

Let’s face it … colleges are in the marketing business. How else can you explain why so many of us are willing to pay what it costs for our kids’ undergraduate education these days? They understand their various audiences, how to create demand for the product from each of those audiences and then close the sale.

As I’ve stated in previous posts, higher marketing ROI awaits all of us if we will take the time and devote the resources to fully understanding our audience and communuicating with them on their terms.