Aug 21 2025
How Montcalm Community College Gets Higher-Than-Average Reply Rates With Coach-Led Texting
How Belmont Keeps Reply Rates Above 10% and Forecasts Yield
TL;DR
Belmont University’s prospective students were buried in college emails, so messages went unread and conversations stalled. Its enrollment marketing team now uses Mongoose Text from first inquiry through yield, with tightly targeted campaigns, Smart Messages, and real-time reporting. The team holds a reply rate above 10% year-round, and smart surveys tell it which students plan to apply or deposit weeks before deadlines, which shapes yield forecasts and counselor follow-up.
- 10%+ reply rate, year-round
- Yield forecast weeks before deadlines
- One training session to get started
- Smart Messages work while counselors travel
Download the full case study
Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, serves more than 8,900 undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree students. Its enrollment marketing team uses Mongoose Text across the undergraduate journey, from first inquiry through final yield, with segmentation, Smart Messages, and real-time reporting shaping a more personal experience for every student.
The challenge: Buried in college email
Prospective students get a flood of email from colleges, so Belmont’s messages often went unread and conversations dropped off. The team needed a way to cut through the noise, talk with students in real time, and see what was and wasn’t working across the funnel. It also needed a tool flexible enough for undergraduate recruitment today, with room to scale.
Surgical targeting
Instead of broad, impersonal blasts, Belmont runs tightly targeted campaigns with careful timing and automation. Key campaigns include:
- Segmented application deadline reminders
- Intent-to-deposit outreach
- Follow-ups for incomplete applications
- Personalized yield campaigns tied to promotions like Tennessee Free App Week
“We’re trying to be surgical with who we’re reaching out to. We personalize as much as possible, protect our opt-out rate, and increase our reply rate through relevance and timing.”
– Lindsey Hurst, Director of Enrollment Marketing & Communications, Belmont University
Every message is written to sound conversational, relevant, and low-pressure. That’s a deliberate choice to build trust and invite replies. Lindsey added,
“Mongoose is not just a means to an end; it’s a resource. Students know they can reply and get help from an actual person.”
Engagement measured in real time
Lindsey’s team watches reply rates, sentiment, and campaign performance as they happen. That lets them:
- Track and hold a reply rate above 10% year-round
- Use Smart Messages and UTM links to measure campaign ROI
- Prioritize students who respond positively or commit to an application milestone
- Avoid duplicate messages and fatigue by mapping which inbox is texting each student
“The ability to segment and set goals around reply rate and sentiment has been a game-changer for how we think about success.”
– Lindsey Hurst
Forecasting yield weeks early
Belmont also uses Mongoose to plan. Smart surveys and student replies show which students intend to apply or deposit, weeks before official deadlines. Those answers help the team forecast yield and enrollment more accurately, focus counselor outreach on the students most likely to convert, and plan workload and priorities with more confidence.
“We’re future-casting conversion rates across the pipeline. The students are telling us what they plan to do, and we’re using that to prioritize who our team follows up with next.”
– Lindsey Hurst
Easy to learn, powerful to use
New team members need just one training session to feel comfortable.
“This is one of the easiest tools to learn on our team. But it’s also one of the most powerful. You can be as creative as you want, and that creativity turns into impact.”
– Lindsey Hurst
What made the difference
- Smart Messages. Yes/no and multiple-choice campaigns get fast replies and keep students supported, even when counselors are on the road.
- Segmentation and merge fields. CRM data makes messages feel personal at scale.
- Reporting. A live view of what’s working, what’s not, and how students feel about it.
- Team inboxes and ambassadors. Counselors follow up at scale, and student ambassadors add peer-to-peer outreach.
The takeaway
What started as a texting tool is now central to Belmont’s enrollment marketing strategy, helping the team run targeted, efficient campaigns while keeping the personal feel that matters to its brand.
“We don’t want to be in the business of repeating the same tactics that aren’t working. Mongoose gives us the tools to pivot, personalize, and improve… and the results speak for themselves.”
– Lindsey Hurst
What other enrollment marketing teams can take from Belmont
Set priorities around reply rate and sentiment, not send volume. Text fewer students, more carefully, and give every message a reason to answer. If you’re building your own scorecard, here’s how to tell if your student communication strategy is working, along with 4-year text messaging benchmarks from 53 million messages to compare against. Smart Messages help, too, because every answer becomes planning data, one of the less obvious strengths of Smart Messages in higher ed.
The same pattern shows up elsewhere. Kettering University grew deposits 60 percent year over year with targeted texts from Slate queries, and at Minnesota State University Moorhead, students who exchanged 16 or more texts had an 85 percent likelihood of enrolling.
Download the full case study
For a two-page summary of Belmont’s results to share with your team, download the Belmont case study (PDF).
Want to see what targeted texting could do for your enrollment team? Book a demo.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Belmont keep reply rates above 10%?
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What campaigns does Belmont run with Mongoose?
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