Communications
Strategy Lab

Build a Clear, Engaging and Data-Informed

Communication Flow in One Day

Students and families don’t just need information—they need connection. The most effective communication strategies aren’t just about what you say, but how and when you say it.

That’s where Comms Strategy Lab comes in.

In this hands-on workshop, we’ll help you create a clear, student-centered messaging flow that meets your audience where they are—so they get the right message, at the right time, in the right way.

How It Works

Build a Communication Flow That Works— in Just One Day

In just one day, this workshop will help you create a clear, engaging, and student-centered communication flow that meets your audience where they are.

By the end of this workshop, you will have:

✅ A fully mapped communication flow designed around your selected audience’s real needs (e.g., high school juniors, senior inquiries, admitted students, parents).
✅ A structured messaging calendar with key touchpoints and well-timed outreach that guides, not overwhelms.
✅ A segmentation and personalization plan to ensure messages feel relevant and meaningful.
✅ Creative, high-impact content ideas that engage students and families in ways that build trust and connection.
✅ An actionable, ready-to-implement strategy that brings empathy, clarity, and effectiveness to your institution’s communication.

Walk away with a complete communication plan, including a comm flow template and audience segmentation strategies—all designed to increase student engagement.

The Right Message at the Right Time Changes Everything

Students sit on steps and work on their laptops

Today’s students and families are bombarded with information. They don’t just need deadlines and facts—they need messages that make them feel seen, heard and understood.

With a communication strategy rooted in empathy, you can:
✅ Anticipate what students and families need at their stage of the journey.
✅ Use messaging that feels personal and human, not transactional.
✅ Balance information with connection, so your outreach builds trust.
✅ Communicate in ways that reduce stress and uncertainty, rather than adding to it.

Empathetic messaging isn’t just good communication—it’s enrollment strategy.

A clear, intentional messaging flow means better student experiences, stronger connections and increased enrollment success.

Let's Do It!

The Comms Strategy Lab Framework

We designed the Comms Strategy Lab as a structured, collaborative process that takes you from understanding your current communications to building a strategic, data-informed plan you can implement right away.

Discovery

Before we meet, we take time to understand where you are today and what opportunities exist for improvement.

✔ Messaging Review – We assess your current communications to identify strengths and gaps.

✔ Data Review (if applicable) – If you use Slate or another system, we’ll review how your past comms have performed and how to best support your communication flow.

✔ (Optional) Audience Insight Survey – Get real feedback from your students and families to guide messaging decisions. This step ensures that your Strategy Lab experience is tailored to your institution’s needs from the start. It requires at least one month scheduling in advance.

The Strategy Lab

A highly interactive, hands-on session where we don’t just map out when to send messages—but align it with how students feel at every stage.

✔ Step Into Their Shoes – What questions, concerns, and emotions are they experiencing? We identify key behaviors and engagement patterns.

✔ Map the Student Journey – Build a structured messaging flow.

✔ Strategic Content Planning – Create messaging that is clear, timely, empathetic and personalized.

✔ Segmentation & Personalization – Shift from information-pushing to engagement-building – How do we make communication feel personal, not automated?

By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a fully developed communication strategy that aligns with your enrollment goals.

Delivery

After the workshop, you’ll receive a fully documented, digital communication strategy that includes:

✔ Your Finalized Messaging Flow – A structured, strategic plan outlining audience segments, key touchpoints and messaging timelines.

✔ A Communication Flow Template – A clear, organized framework that your team can easily reference and implement.

✔ Personalized Recommendations – Insights on how to maximize your communication impact.

From start to finish, we help you create a strategic, research-backed messaging flow that enhances engagement and resonates.

Book a Strategy Lab

Optional Post-Workshop Consulting Support

If you need additional custom support, we offer optional post-workshop services to help bring your strategy to life:

✔ Tier 1: Strategic Support (4-6 hours per month)
Ideal for teams that need light ongoing guidance as they implement their plan.

Monthly strategy check-ins
Messaging flow reviews
Personalized recommendations

✔ Tier 2: Strategy + Content (Approx. 10-12 hours per month)
Perfect for teams that need hands-on help crafting messaging and refining their flow.

Everything in Tier 1 PLUS
Email & text content development
Messaging personalization & segmentation strategy

✔ Tier 3: Full Implementation Support (Approx. 18-20 hours per month)
Best for teams that want hands-on execution & automation support.

Everything in Tier 2 PLUS
Slate implementation of messaging flow
Population and rules setup
Troubleshooting & optimization

Who is this for?

The Comms Strategy Lab is designed for higher education teams that want to improve their communication strategy and build more intentional, engaging messaging flows.

Universities & Small Institutions – For teams with limited staff and resources who need a streamlined, scalable approach.

Graduate & Professional Programs – Specialized messaging strategies for health schools, MBA programs, and graduate enrollment.

Departments & Divisions – Ideal for schools of business, nursing, engineering, or continuing education that need an independent communication plan.

Who On Your Team Should Attend?

📌 Admissions & Enrollment Offices → You’re responsible for guiding students, but does your communication feel personalized—or just automated noise?

📌 Marketing & Communications Teams → You craft messages, but are they actually connecting with students—or just getting lost in their inbox?

📌 CRM & Slate Managers → You handle the technology, but are messages being used strategically—or just scheduled without impact?

Secure Your Spot

Your Workshop, Your Way

On-Campus Workshop
(One Full Day, In Person)

✔ Our facilitator comes to your campus for a highly interactive, full-day session.

✔ Collaborate in person, map out your messaging and get real-time expert feedback.

✔ Perfect for teams who want an immersive, hands-on experience with deep strategy development.

Virtual Strategy Lab
(Two Half-Days, Remote)

✔ Join a live, interactive virtual workshop with guided strategy-building sessions.

✔ Use digital whiteboarding tools to map out your communication flow in real-time.

✔ Ideal for remote or hybrid teams who need a flexible and efficient way to refine their strategy.

Meet Your Workshop Leader

Laura Rudolph, M.S.

Founder & CEO, Square One Consulting, LLC

With more than 15 years in enrollment marketing, Laura Rudolph has helped institutions recruit students across undergraduate, graduate, student affairs and athletics offices. As the Founder & CEO of Square One Consulting, she specializes in understanding consumer behavior—what students want, how they make decisions and how to craft messages that resonate.

📌 Join Laura in the Comms Strategy Lab and build an enrollment marketing strategy that actually drives engagement and decisions.

Ready to Transform Your Communication Strategy?

Stop sending disconnected messages and start delivering the right content to the right audience at the right time.

The Comms Strategy Lab gives your team the structure, strategy and tools to create a high-impact communication plan that drives engagement and enrollment.

Your prospective students and families deserve a seamless experience. Let’s build it.

📆 Don’t wait to improve your strategy—get started today!

Communications Strategy Lab