Loyalty Doesn’t Graduate It Evolves
Most loyalty programs are designed to reward existing customers, students currently enrolled in a course, members attending events, or parents making tuition payments. But what happens after graduation? For educational institutions, the most overlooked segment in their loyalty strategy is the one with the most latent value: alumni.
In an era where digital touchpoints and AI-powered personalization define competitive advantage, traditional loyalty models fall short. It's time to rethink loyalty not as a finite relationship ending at graduation, but as a continuum that transforms former students into lifelong brand advocates, referrers, and partners in institutional growth.
Alumni represent a unique customer segment: they’ve completed a full customer journey, are emotionally invested in the brand, and—if properly nurtured—can evolve into long-term contributors. According to a 2023 Salesforce Education Cloud report, institutions that actively engage alumni see a 26% increase in lifetime engagement metrics, including referrals, event participation, and donations.
Moreover, alumni tend to be trusted voices within their communities. A former student’s endorsement carries far more weight than institutional advertising when influencing potential enrollees. This is particularly crucial in Southeast Asia, where family and community opinions play a major role in decision-making for education.
Referral marketing in education often focuses on parents or influencers. Yet former students, especially recent alumni, are in a prime position to advocate for their learning experience. Unlike other acquisition channels, referral programs require minimal cost and yield high-intent leads. Studies from Nielsen suggest that referred students are 4x more likely to convert and 37% more likely to complete their programs compared to those from paid media.
A strategic alumni referral program is not just a marketing campaign it is a trust distribution mechanism. Platforms like Ourgreenfish’s Loyalty Hub can automate these workflows while ensuring seamless integration with CRMs such as HubSpot, creating a clear line of sight from alumni engagement to new student acquisition.
Segment Alumni by Behavioral Intent, Not Just Graduation Year
Rather than grouping alumni by batch or graduation year, institutions should consider psychographic and behavioral segmentation. For instance:
Using AI-powered segmentation tools in Ourgreenfish’s Loyalty Hub, these personas can be mapped and engaged with customized messaging, rewards, and timing.
Traditional loyalty programs tend to offer monetary or transactional incentives. Alumni loyalty programs, however, benefit more from identity-based incentives. Examples include:
Such recognition doesn’t just reward alumni it aligns their professional identity with the institutional brand, reinforcing long-term loyalty.
Ourgreenfish’s Loyalty Hub isn't just another rewards engine, it's a full-stack loyalty ecosystem built with educational institutions in mind. Here’s how it supports alumni loyalty transformation:
By integrating HubSpot CRM with LINE CRM, institutions can stay connected with alumni on platforms they use daily. Communications can be tailored based on alumni behavior, preferences, and past engagements. For example, an alumnus who opened a career services email but didn’t register can be retargeted with a follow-up offer via LINE.
No team can manually manage loyalty efforts at scale. The Loyalty Hub allows schools to
Educational institutions can measure not just the activity but the impact of alumni loyalty efforts. Dashboards provide insights such as
This enables continuous improvement of the loyalty program and demonstrates clear ROI to stakeholders.
A mid-sized language school in Bangkok implemented Ourgreenfish’s Loyalty Hub, targeting recent graduates from their English Proficiency Program. By offering
…the school saw a 44% increase in new enrollments via alumni referrals within four months, and 12% of former students returned for advanced certifications.
This created a flywheel effect: alumni brought in new students, who then became alumni and continued the cycle amplifying the school’s growth with minimal ad spend.
To truly unlock alumni potential, institutions must shift from transactional mindsets to relationship-centric models. Loyalty isn’t about discounts or gifts—it’s about relevance, recognition, and reciprocal value over time.
Schools that build a strong alumni loyalty infrastructure today will become more resilient tomorrow. In an educational landscape shaped by digital disruption, rising costs, and shifting expectations, those who cultivate lifelong advocates—not just students—will define the next era of sustainable growth.
References :
HubSpot. (2025). State of Marketing Report. Retrieved from https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
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