Daniel Cohen and his father, Marcel, founded Graduway in 2009, which builds branded alumni networking and mentoring platforms to help institutions stay in touch with their alumni. Prior to that, Cohen worked with Merck & Co., serving most recently as its regional commercial and finance director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Marcel Cohen was the director of Imperial College's distance learning MBA program. The combined experience of father and son in education and finance helped the Cohens form Graduway. Daniel Cohen is the author of The Alumni Revolution: Re-Thinking Alumni Relations in a Digital World.
What is the biggest mistake universities make in engaging alumni?
They don't answer the "What's in it for me?" question. Often institutions don't actually think about what value they are giving to their alumni—they just communicate what the institution needs. Colleges need to be better about asking, "What do our alumni really want? What do we do for our alumni that no one else can do?" Alumni relations is a relationship, and there are two sides to a relationship.
So what can universities offer alumni that no one else can?
One is access to professional networking. Not so long ago, "It's not what you know—it's who you know" was a popular maxim. LinkedIn came around, and suddenly everyone is connected to 450 million people. So now it's not about what you know or who you know, it's about: How willing is your network to help? That's where universities have power. Alumni have a sincerity and willingness to help one another because of a shared affinity to the institution. That is a massive value proposition. We see this trend all over with the growth of career services for alumni.
The second value proposition is continuous education. Giving alumni ongoing access to learning opportunities—access to great research, online courses—is a huge benefit that can create a lifelong relationship.
You've said that many alumni relations offices do things in the wrong order. What do you mean by that?
We ask alumni for things before they are fully engaged. Do your alumni's hearts rise or sink when they see an email from your institution? Do your alumni say, "Ooh, good! I can't wait to open this email!" or do they think, "Oh, God, my alma mater is asking me for something else."
Imagine having 1,000 alumni in a room partying away. That's the time when you can promote things—posters on the wall, information at the tables. You can even pick up a microphone and thank everyone for coming and tell them about the new fundraising campaign or whatever. But you have to get them to the party first. Once they're at the party, they're a willing audience.
Many alumni associations are dropping membership fees. Should they still be charging?
You should be able to charge if you want to. You should offer events and opportunities that alumni are willing to pay for. Is it worth it to them? If they have to put their hands in their pockets, would they? Answering those questions is a great way to assess your programs.
What is the power of a university's brand when it comes to engaging alumni?
Put an institution on a list with major corporate brands and ask alumni of that college to rank the brands from most to least trusted. I guarantee you every single institution would rank higher for those alumni than the biggest commercial brands. The reason is that universities are transformational in people's lives. They have that emotional connection that brands like Procter & Gamble would die for.