What is Cost Per Inquiry (CPI) in Higher Ed Marketing?
January 5th, 2024 by
Key Insights
- Cost per inquiry is the most important metric to measure and drive the efficiency of campaigns.
- Cost per inquiry is most frequently tracked as a KPI for digital marketing channels (i.e., CPI from paid search or CPI from organic), and it can also measure the effectiveness of digital marketing spend across all platforms.
- Search Influence and UPCEA’s 2024 research established a reliable industry benchmark for cost per inquiry and cost per enrolled student in online and continuing education.
- The joint study found a strong link between metric tracking capabilities and overall campaign performance satisfaction.
As the education sector evolves and marketing programs — especially to adult learners — become more complex, understanding and harnessing the power of cost per inquiry (CPI) is essential for staying competitive and achieving your institution’s goals.
CPI is the definitive key performance indicator for higher education marketers to track advertising campaign success. Serving as a dual compass, this metric guides your higher education marketing endeavors toward optimal campaign performance and strategic budget spending. It also empowers you to gauge your efficiency, optimize your ad spend, and make data-driven decisions.
For far too long, higher education digital advertisers haven’t had a benchmark for this critical metric, and certainly not one specific to professional, continuing, and online (PCO) education.
That’s why Search Influence and our higher education partners at UPCEA (the leading online and professional education association) collaborated to establish the first industry-wide benchmark for CPI — to the tune of $140.
In our 2024 study, “Search Influence and UPCEA Higher Ed Marketing Metrics Research Report: What Gets Measured Gets Managed,” we took a look at the state of CPI tracking among PCO units and what marketers need to know to get the most value from their budget spend.
Before you dive into the research, here’s what to know about CPI in digital marketing, how it’s calculated, and why it should be your school’s top tracking priority.
What is Cost Per Inquiry in Higher Education Marketing? How Do You Calculate Cost Per Inquiry?
Cost per inquiry is a fundamental metric that plays a pivotal role in higher education marketing. CPI measures the financial investment required to generate a single inquiry or lead.
CPI = Cost / Inquiry
In the context of higher education digital marketing, an “inquiry” refers to a prospective student expressing interest in your institution’s programs, courses, or services. This expression of interest could manifest as filling out a contact form, requesting a brochure, or making direct inquiries via email or phone.
The “cost” in the calculation depends on what marketing campaigns you are trying to measure, your marketing mix, and tracking technology (for example — are you able to track an inquiry back to the source?).
Cost per inquiry is most frequently tracked as a KPI for:
- Digital marketing channels (i.e., CPI from paid search or CPI from organic)
- Digital marketing spend across all platforms
Some may look at it:
- CPI per program
- Organic CPI (leads from organic search visitors)
- Overall CPI across all marketing expenses
Different ways to calculate CPI in marketing
In our CPI worksheet, we provide two foundational calculations to help you get started:
- Digital Advertising Media Spend ÷ # of Inquiries Attributed to Digital Advertising = Digital Advertising Cost Per Inquiry
- Marketing Expenses ÷ Total Inquiries (All Sources) = Overall Cost Per Inquiry
This industry-standard cost per inquiry calculation creates an “apples-to-apples” comparison, helping institutions like yours know the real cost and payoff of your marketing efforts.
Why Measure Cost Per Inquiry in Higher Education Marketing?
The significance of measuring CPI cannot be understated for marketers.
CPI in advertising is THE most important metric for campaign efficiency.
Once you know your CPI, you can begin to optimize your efficiency!
When you consistently measure cost per inquiry in your higher ed marketing campaigns, you can:
- Have confidence that you’re driving an appropriate amount of inquiries and yielding the desired results
- Evaluate your outcomes against broader industry standards
- Project your marketing results and how quickly you can generate necessary inquiries
- Judge if the promises from third-party vendors are realistic
Research Numbers at a Glance
In our 2024 Marketing Metric Research Study, we examined not only whether PCO units tracked cost per inquiry but also their level of campaign performance satisfaction. Our findings yielded a strong correlation between CPI tracking and perceived campaign success — thus bringing to life the old adage, “What gets measured gets managed.”
Key Research Findings:
- Less than half of PCO units track cost per inquiry (46%) and cost per enrolled student (43%).
- Nearly one out of five (17%) higher ed marketers do not track the source of their inquiries, nor CPI or cost per enrolled student.
- Among the PCO units that track cost per inquiry, the average CPI is $140, with a median of $106 and a range of $29.03 to $450.
- 92% of those satisfied with their tracking capabilities also express satisfaction or strong satisfaction with the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.
For further insights into CPI, how it works, and why it works, be sure to check out our full research study. For more tactics to improve your marketing results, take a look at our Higher Education Marketing Resources & Guides.
Learn More About CPI in Higher Education Marketing
Search Influence and UPCEA are committed to elevating strategy standards in higher education marketing. We hope that, with this industry-wide benchmark for measuring cost per inquiry, you can implement practical strategies for achieving efficient ad spend.
And, in a world where nearly one in five dollars of programmatic advertising goes to waste, this pivot to efficiency is much needed.
Ready to see how you measure up to others in the sector? Download the Marketing Metrics Research Study today to take the guesswork out of CPI in advertising.
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