Data-Driven Student Recruitment at BI Norwegian Business School
"The tool contributes to simplify the complex decision-making process and enhance the overall customer experience [and] provides a new and personalised way of interacting with the BI brand and offerings."
Lene Morstad
Head of Marketing Operations
BI Norwegian Business School
Overview
BI Norwegian Business School (BI) is Norway’s leading business school, known for its strong focus on research in business and management. With over 20,000 students across four campuses, BI competes with publicly funded universities for applicants. To attract more students, BI has taken a structured approach to marketing, using data and technology to create an efficient, student-centric process.
House of Education (HoEd) has played an important role in this effort, providing Digital Advisors that help prospective students navigate their options and support BI’s recruitment goals
The Challenge
BI’s student recruitment strategy revolves around guiding prospective students through a complex decision-making process. As a private institution, BI must clearly communicate the value of its programmes and demonstrate a strong return on investment to attract and convert high-quality leads.
Lene Morstad, Head of Marketing Operations at BI, summarises the approach:
“We need to be 80,000 NOK ‘better’ for each student every year. That means going beyond traditional marketing and becoming a trusted adviser in the decision-making process.”
To achieve this, BI needed a solution that would generate high-quality leads, provide personalised engagement, and integrate seamlessly into their existing CRM and marketing automation framework.
The Solution
BI implemented House of Education’s Master’s Finder Quiz, a Digital Advisor designed to guide prospective students towards the most suitable programmes based on their profiles and interests. Towards the end of the quiz, prospects enter their contact details into a form and accept BI’s marketing terms and conditions to gain access to their results. The tool functions as both a lead-generation mechanism and a consent and data-capture solution, enabling BI to nurture prospects effectively. Lene highlights this versatility by stating that,
“The Digital Advisor quiz is primarily a lead and consent generation tool for us, but we believe that it creates true value for the prospects – helping them to become better informed about our offerings, and empowering them to make a wise choice for their future careers.”
Moreover, the tight integration between the BI website, the Digital Advisor, and BI’s CRM system, SalesForce, creates a seamless user journey, where every step and interaction is tracked and acted upon in a timely manner.
A real user journey was recorded on 10 April 2025:
By leveraging first-party data, BI has been able to:
- Improve lead qualification and segmentation.
- Personalise communication based on user insights.
- Increase engagement through tailored nurturing activities.
The Results
The implementation of the Master’s Finder Quiz delivered outstanding results in both the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 recruitment cycles.
2023-2024 Campaign Performance:
- Lead Generation: Target: 2,500 leads | Achieved: 5,500 leads (120% over target)
- High-Quality Engagement:
- 25% of applicants had taken the quiz (33% in Norway) looking at relecant candidates (with or finalizing a bachelor’s degree for intake Fall 2024)
- 55% alignment between suggested and applied-for programme
- 15% of students enrolled had taken the quiz (20% in Norway)
- Geographical Reach: The tool expanded beyond Norway to attract leads globally.
- Building pipeline: While approximately 50 % of the candidates are interested in pursuing a Master’s the upcoming semester, the 35 % indicate that they want to start later, resulting in a lead pipeline for recruitment (15 % answered no preference).
2024-2025 Campaign Performance (Ongoing):
- Lead Generation Goal: 5,500 leads | Current Progress: 8,500+ leads (as of July 2025, currently 60 % over target)
- Sustained Application Alignment: Application and programme match rates remain consistent with the previous year.
“We have seen a significant increase in the number of leads. But not only that, these are leads that are highly motivated for further engagement.”
In total, across both years:
- 30,000 visits to the Master’s Finder Quiz
- 14,000 quiz completions (40% of visits)
Key Takeaways
- First-Party Data is Essential: By using first-party data and a strong consent strategy, BI has enhanced lead generation, engagement, and conversion.
- Personalised Guidance Increases Applications: The Digital Advisor quiz supports students in making informed decisions, leading to higher engagement and application alignment.
- Integration with CRM & Automation Drives Results: With a sophisticated marketing automation system, BI nurtures prospective students throughout their journey, improving conversion rates.
- Digital Marketing Must Balance Automation with Human Interaction: BI’s approach ensures that, while digital tools capture and nurture leads, student ambassadors and recruitment representatives provide essential human touchpoints and guidance.
“We are a business school concerned with customer-centricity. These tools help us become more experience-led and provide excellent experiences when prospective students are ready to connect with us.”
Conclusion
BI Norwegian Business School’s collaboration with House of Education showcases how a data-driven, student-centric approach can significantly enhance recruitment efforts. By combining advanced MarTech, first-party data, and digital lead generation with personalised engagement, BI continues to set the standard for student recruitment in higher education.
