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What if the biggest problem in higher ed marketing isn't technology, budget, or even strategy—but the fact that we assume students make rational decisions when they're actually driven by emotion, bias, and the simple need to feel like they belong?
In this episode, host Jeff Dillon welcomes Si Elliott, founder of Fabrics, a customer experience consultancy that applies behavioral science to how organizations design experiences and relationships. Si also runs Diversity, a creative agency in Nottingham, England, and guest lectures at three universities—including the Communication University of China. He brings a rare outside perspective to higher ed, challenging institutions to stop designing around the needs of the organization and start designing around the experience of the person.
He explains why the technology amplifies whatever process is already there—good or bad—and why "marketing is better with psychology." He also breaks down three behavioral biases that could change how enrollment teams communicate: the curse of knowledge, social proof, and peak-end rule. And he offers a simple but powerful challenge to any president or CIO: put on a pair of trainers and a hoodie, walk around campus anonymously, and just observe. Change your shoes.
Key Takeaways
- Psychology Is Better Marketing: Marketing isn't just persuasion—it's understanding people so you can serve them better. The goal isn't to trick people into converting; it's to make it easier for them to make the best decision for themselves.
- Assume Emotional Decisions, Not Rational Ones: A 17-year-old choosing a university isn't just weighing league tables and employment outcomes. They're asking: "Can I see myself fitting in here? Does this feel like a place for me?" That's hard to track in a CRM, but it's the real question.
- Three Biases That Matter Most: The curse of knowledge (you know your institution too well to explain it clearly to others), social proof (students need evidence they'll belong), and peak-end rule (people judge an experience by its emotional peak and its final moment). Use these to redesign open days, communications, and touchpoints.
- Technology Amplifies What's Already There: If the underlying process is broken, technology will make it broken faster. Before buying a new platform, ask: are we fixing a process problem, an ownership problem, or a human understanding problem?
- Don't Confuse Efficiency with Experience: AI and automation can streamline operations, but they can also strip the warmth out of a relationship. If an airline's automated messages leave a stranded passenger with no human contact for 72 hours, the technology is working against the brand.
- The Value of Toil: Learning happens when you work through a problem yourself. AI shortcuts can rob students of the struggle that leads to true understanding. The future of education isn't competing with AI on processing—it's competing on context, nuance, creativity, and the human touch.
- Map the Journey, Find the Friction: A customer experience audit starts with mapping the full journey—exploration, open days, offers, registration, student life—and identifying moments of high emotion or high friction. That's where you focus your attention.
- Change Your Shoes: If you're a president, CIO, or marketing leader, put on a pair of trainers, jeans, and a hoodie. Walk around campus anonymously. Attend an open day. Buy a student a coffee and just listen. Observe body...
Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Introduction to Cy Elliott
- (00:01:57) - A frustrating airline experience
- (00:04:47) - Why psychology, not just marketing
- (00:07:39) - Comparing higher ed and corporate customer experience
- (00:10:50) - How students actually make decisions
- (00:13:40) - Key behavioral biases for enrollment teams
- (00:16:06) - Technology as amplifier, not solution
- (00:19:39) - Auditing the student experience for friction
- (00:22:00) - Rethinking the application process
- (00:23:15) - AI's impact on what students expect from lecturers
- (00:25:39) - Comparing UK and Chinese student experiences
- (00:27:47) - Practical steps for resource-limited teams
- (00:28:42) - Final advice: walk in the student's shoes
- (00:30:24) - Closing and sign-off
