How Alumni Drive Revenue
We spoke to 1500 people about their former employers and how they'd feel about doing business with them. Here's what they told us.
We’ve long known that corporate alumni can add value to your business as boomerang hires and brand ambassadors, but our latest research shows that they are also a key way to drive revenue for your business.
We surveyed over 1500 people, asking them how likely they would be to do business with their former employer. 83% of respondents in an alumni network said they would buy from their former employer and 79% said they would recommend business to them. The research also showed that in both of these cases, alumni who were actively engaged in an official alumni network were far more likely to both buy from and refer business to their old company than those outside of an alumni network.
Keeping Your Employees Engaged
Traditionally the departure of an employee was seen as a break in the relationship between employer and employee. However, as people move jobs more frequently than ever before (millennials will move companies more than any generation before them), it can be to both parties' benefit to keep the relationship between them. Often departing employees will stay within the same industry, meaning they could move to a potential client or joint venture partner. This opens up opportunities for business development but traditionally there has been no formal way of capturing this data. An alumni network changes that.
At EnterpriseAlumni we’ve seen our customers use their alumni network to drive revenue in several different ways. The data captured by our platform allows them to see where their alumni are currently working and their job titles. By segmenting this data, marketing and business development teams can target alumni with news, product launches and offers that precisely match the alumni’s current needs. An alumni network is a database of warm leads, just waiting to be marketed to.
Alumni networks also give organisations an easy way to introduce their business development teams to potential clients. By targeting the alumni who could be a new business prospect and inviting them to events, the business has a simple way of introducing former employees to their current sales teams. The alumni get to grow their network and attend an exclusive event, while at the same time the business development team has a captive audience who already know and like their product.
Alumni as Brand Ambassadors
Our research also found that 78% of alumni network members would advocate for their former employer, showing the power of alumni networks to create brand ambassadors. Your alumni can be relied upon to share your message, whether that is through sharing social media posts or boosting your rankings on employer rating sites. They are also a valuable resource when your business needs backing to protect its brand against bad news.
You can find the full survey results here. As an opportunity to boost revenue, alumni should not be overlooked. This untapped community already know your work and what you can deliver, they have a connection to the brand and by engaging them in an alumni network you have a group of potential customers just waiting to buy from you.
