<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Square One Consulting LLC]]></title><description><![CDATA[From Strategy to Slate: Enrollment Communications and Marketing Solutions for Higher Ed]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2026 06:13:51 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.squareoneky.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Does Segmentation Really Matter? Here’s One Real-Life Example.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Does segmentation really matter? In this real-life Preview Day campaign, a personal counselor-style email and two sentences of tailored academic content were followed by a 21% increase in registrations.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/does-segmentation-really-matter-here-s-one-real-life-example</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6ab2ac12703293e421746d2c</guid><category><![CDATA[Case Study]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Campus Events]]></category><category><![CDATA[Email Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2026 02:06:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a64dc7_a8402f4824654fa58aed4fe63071b266~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_683,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trader Joe’s knows exactly who it is. Does your college?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Trader Joe’s has built remarkable customer loyalty by doing something many colleges struggle to do: being exceptionally clear about who it is, who it serves and what kind of experience it wants to create. Here are five lessons higher education enrollment marketing teams can borrow, from ruthless curation and emotional differentiation to surprise-and-delight moments and genuinely human interactions.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/trader-joes-knows-exactly-who-it-is</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a9f0fc9b373966c3b5e6aad</guid><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Brand]]></category><category><![CDATA[Campus Visit]]></category><category><![CDATA[Territory Management]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 20:02:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_158d93ebbb80482a910b1890e46976fe~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Higher Ed Can Learn from Betabrand: Building Feedback Loops That Work]]></title><description><![CDATA[We say we build for students. But when do we actually build with them? A clothing brand's surprisingly brilliant strategy might be the most useful framework enrollment and marketing leaders haven't tried yet.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/what-higher-ed-can-learn-from-betabrand-building-feedback-loops-that-work</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69cf3aa4f59112f11d9e9e1e</guid><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Student Engagement]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:15:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_74b099cfc130415c84da51ec1bb1faa8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Case Study: How a Team of One Filled a New Pharmacy School in a Shrinking Applicant Market]]></title><description><![CDATA[A new, rural pharmacy school had 80 seats to fill, no established reputation and a recruitment team of one. Two cycles later, the class was full. Here’s how a data-led, relationship-driven enrollment operation made it happen in a shrinking market.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/case-study-filling-a-new-pharmacy-school-to-capacity-with-a-team-of-one</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a617dacf054ca40eb02feff</guid><category><![CDATA[Case Study]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Campus Events]]></category><category><![CDATA[Application]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:28:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a64dc7_58379f58cda74acfa5a27cf272b29988~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to Write Email Subject Lines That Students Open]]></title><description><![CDATA[In enrollment email, the subject line is not a hook. It is a promise. And students — especially Gen Z — are increasingly good at knowing when that promise isn't going to be kept.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/how-to-write-email-subject-lines-that-students-open</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d6a3be4424ffa457c255c9</guid><category><![CDATA[Email Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:30:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_3c968d5193274a80bc03c4bde13ce91e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Enrollment Communications Audit: A Step-by-Step Guide Before You Build Your Next Cycle]]></title><description><![CDATA[If something worked last year, it is tempting to reset it and run it again. But students change. Generations shift. And a comm flow that performed well in 2022 may be doing something very different in 2027. Here is how to find out before you build.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/enrollment-communication-flow-audit-what-to-pull-ask-and-fix-before-you-build</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d68e8f4424ffa457c223aa</guid><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Email Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Text Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Cycle Planning]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 11:00:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_8582ac0f40ad49d7b1f3af7d55a6d1b2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[One Question That Changed How I Build Communication Flows]]></title><description><![CDATA[The first time I sat in a room to build a communication flow, someone asked: "What do we want students to know?" I raised my hand and said: "shouldn't we be asking what they want to know?" Nobody had an answer. Because nobody had asked.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/one-question-that-changed-how-i-build-communication-flows</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d67a215f4a19f844e54c11</guid><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Email Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:00:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_8aeae63d6eb44b4583c3d8c5fbabae17~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Audit: 5 Student Audiences Your Admissions Website is Probably  Ignoring]]></title><description><![CDATA[Most admissions websites are built for one student: the traditional freshman with college-educated parents who knows what a FAFSA is. After auditing more than 100 admissions sites, a clear pattern emerged: five student populations that are either missing entirely or handled as an afterthought, from first-gen students getting retention content instead of recruitment help to a homeschool pipeline that has doubled with almost no institutional response.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/the-audit-5-student-audiences-your-admissions-website-is-probably-ignoring</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69cf3af9f59112f11d9e9e2f</guid><category><![CDATA[College Website]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[First-Generation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:00:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e13e6a230c4492ca3a6c8b7b195d587.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Late Depositors: How to Keep Your Undecided Pool Engaged After May 1]]></title><description><![CDATA[May 1 has come and gone. For a lot of enrollment teams, the class still isn't settled. Students are taking longer to commit than ever before — and the communication strategies that worked during yield season are not the ones that will move them now.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/late-depositors-and-summer-melt-how-to-keep-your-undecided-pool-engaged-after-may-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a15eb1bb22ef328630d9380</guid><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Yield]]></category><category><![CDATA[Student Engagement]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Parents]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 28 May 2026 11:15:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a64dc7_e13aacf7d61c4c3bb213133d4f276b7d~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_821,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Audit: What Your Parent &#38; Family Page Is Really Saying to Families]]></title><description><![CDATA[I audited nearly 40 college and university Parent &#38; Family pages. What I found was consistent across almost all of them: a page built to check a box, not to speak to a parent.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/the-audit-what-your-parent-family-page-is-really-saying-to-families</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b385a9d0cd2535b527a5cd</guid><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Parents]]></category><category><![CDATA[College Website]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2026 11:30:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_65c1f9f8e6924d4f947c9160a482b910~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Brand, Marketing, &#38; the Messy Middle - Part 3: Finding Your Best-fit Governance Model]]></title><description><![CDATA[Once institutions understand that brand, marketing, and communications need unified governance, the next question is what that should look like. Part 3 breaks down how to move the conversation from preferences and personalities to evidence, benchmarking, decision rights, and the leadership questions that reveal whether your structure is built for clarity — or just inherited complexity.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/brand-marketing-the-messy-middle-part-3-finding-your-best-fit-governance-model</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a10a415b883334b04e39622</guid><category><![CDATA[Brand Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Brand]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a64dc7_3e3ece29160943ca8ae42ade6407d9ad~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_941,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Behavioral Economics Can Teach Us About Financial Aid Packages]]></title><description><![CDATA[Loss aversion — the Nobel Prize-winning insight that losses hurt twice as much as equivalent gains feel good — is reshaping how families read your financial aid package. Here's why that matters, and what you can do about it.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/what-behavioral-economics-can-teach-us-about-financial-aid-packages</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d4846bd142869289e9a92e</guid><category><![CDATA[Financial Aid]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Parents]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Yield]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2026 11:45:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a64dc7_4592f1566b694b7fbd127b2593fd46f9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_792,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Outcomes Become the Only Outcome]]></title><description><![CDATA[If earnings become the primary measure of a degree's worth, what happens to the programs built around calling instead of compensation?]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/when-outcomes-become-the-only-outcome</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e42a760c8d230c9e911858</guid><category><![CDATA[Value and ROI]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 14:27:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5bb82d4a799849efa1a5cacda245f8fd.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Leadership, Are You Listening? The Case for a Reverse Town Hall This Summer]]></title><description><![CDATA[This one is for the cabinet. Every enrollment and marketing team has people on staff who know exactly what's broken. The information exists. It just doesn't travel. Summer is the window to change that — before the next cycle starts carrying the same weight the last one did. ]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/leadership-are-you-listening-the-case-for-a-reverse-town-hall-this-summer</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e57a115e3a88e8e09e4cb2</guid><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Cycle Planning]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:53:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_e41e4a60e758402ca1d3b15c9ecc7017~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Scarcity, Urgency and Trust: How Deposit Deadline Emails Can Backfire]]></title><description><![CDATA[Every yield season, someone writes a 'Last Chance to Secure Your Spot' email. But urgency applied to an undecided student doesn't create a decision — it creates pressure.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/scarcity-urgency-and-trust-how-deposit-deadline-emails-can-backfire</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b38e3aecfce39c49ab82fb</guid><category><![CDATA[Yield]]></category><category><![CDATA[Email Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:15:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5234c1e37af46b28e7944114ea4ce49.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[HB 307: Kentucky Just Changed the Rules on Admissions. Is Your Team Ready?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Kentucky’s proactive admissions law is officially on the books — and it raises questions that go well beyond policy. Who’s already in your pipeline? How do you sort a new population you’ve never recruited before? And is your CRM actually ready? Here’s where to start.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/hb-307-kentucky-just-changed-the-rules-on-admissions-is-your-team-ready</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69dbaf7c602a28f53088be9a</guid><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[First-Generation]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Brand Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Student Engagement]]></category><category><![CDATA[Cycle Planning]]></category><category><![CDATA[Application]]></category><category><![CDATA[Direct Admission]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 17:16:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_addc735dbbfb43f9846a7eb440cbcdde~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Case Study: How a Reengagement Campaign Brought 120+ Silent Prospective Students Back Into the Funnel]]></title><description><![CDATA[An outside agency ran its application generation campaigns. The emails ran out. And then nothing. Square One built a reengagement campaign that reached students months into a decision they hadn't yet made, and brought 120+ of them back into the funnel.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/how-a-reengagement-campaign-brought-120-silent-prospective-students-back-into-the-funnel</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69eba185b502c05c43b3e4e8</guid><category><![CDATA[Case Study]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:16:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a64dc7_0861f671c3844affb338ecbcc422e464~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Brand, Marketing, &#38; the Messy Middle - Part 2: Goodwill Is Not a Governance Model]]></title><description><![CDATA[The org chart is never just the org chart. Higher ed institutions can say brand is strategic and marketing is essential, but without clear authority, access, and decision rights, the strategy is mostly decorative. This second post in the series looks at centralization, decentralization, hybrid models, and why goodwill alone cannot carry the weight of brand governance.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/brand-marketing-the-messy-middle-part-2-goodwill-is-not-a-governance-model</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0e7f43dd66a932defad6a2</guid><category><![CDATA[Brand Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[College Website]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a64dc7_dd2e97e91b224a1bbe346398aef11ea9~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_941,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What the Hotel Industry Knows About Yield That We Don't]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hotels solved the 'almost booked' problem years ago. Here's what enrollment teams can steal from hospitality to move students toward “yes”.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/what-the-hotel-industry-knows-about-yield-that-we-don-t</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b38cf7d0cd2535b527b361</guid><category><![CDATA[Yield]]></category><category><![CDATA[Content Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Strategy]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:29:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_5630167dc08040e681c9e90434e698de~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cognitive Dissonance in Higher Ed Marketing: Why Students Don’t Believe What You Say]]></title><description><![CDATA[You can say you’re affordable, inclusive and supportive. But if what students see doesn’t match, they won’t believe you. That disconnect is cognitive dissonance—and it’s quietly driving students away. Here’s how enrollment marketers can align messaging, experience, and behavior to build trust and keep students engaged.]]></description><link>https://www.squareoneky.com/post/cognitive-dissonance-in-higher-ed-marketing-why-students-dont-believe-what-you-say</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6958775a08cb4324d68e2e67</guid><category><![CDATA[Campus Visit]]></category><category><![CDATA[Enrollment Marketing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Value and ROI]]></category><category><![CDATA[Campus Events]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:40:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_573151d39a864787b3bbad75f3b85c6d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Laura Rudolph</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>