Blog — Hippocampus

Effective follow-up after an open day connects with what a student has experienced and still wants to know. Use attendance, expressed interest and questions to choose a relevant next step. Give visitors space to compare further, and offer those who could not attend a new opportunity. Assess the follow-up based on actionable next steps and responses.

The open day is over. The presentations are finished and the stands have been packed away. Yet for a prospective student, the decision-making process may have just become more concrete. What did that one course look like again? How much practical work is involved? And does the atmosphere I experienced really suit me?

A follow-up email can help with this. Especially if it does more than just say thank you for coming. It is an opportunity to make the information from the visit useful for the choice that lies ahead.

Start with what you actually know

Someone who registers for an event is not automatically present. And someone who was present is not necessarily ready to choose a course. Use these differences to shape your follow-up.

A practical division begins with attendees, non-attendees and people who have asked a specific question. Add course interest if it has been reliably recorded. Avoid drawing conclusions based on a single click: it does not tell you why someone is doubting or how far along they are in their decision.

Registration also has its limits. If a check-in is missing, someone might have bypassed the reception. When in doubt, use neutral phrasing like "Would you like to get to know us better?" instead of stating that they did not attend.

Give every follow-up email a clear task

An email can help someone look back, delve deeper, or plan a new experience. If you make all of these goals equally important, the recipient has to figure out the order themselves.

Therefore, choose one main action per message. For example: does someone want to experience the course in practice? Then an invitation to a taster day fits best, with a brief explanation of what that afternoon adds. If they are comparing options, a clear course curriculum or an opportunity to get in touch might help more.

The right sequence depends on the activity and what someone has already done. For someone who has already booked a taster day, receiving the exact same invitation again is hardly helpful.

An example for visitors

The email below is a fictional example for a Communication course. It shows how you can offer a concrete next step without assuming the decision has already been made.

Subject: Would you like to experience Communication in practice?

During the open day, you got a first impression of our Communication course. Perhaps you would now like to know what a regular class looks like or what kind of assignments you will work on.

During a taster afternoon, you will join a class and can ask students questions about their week. This is an easy way to discover more about our way of working and see if it suits you.

View the taster days

Do you have a question first? Simply reply to this email, and we will help you further.

The email promises a clear experience and leaves the decision to the prospective student. The reply option only has value if there is a real team or contact person behind it.

An example for someone who could not make it

Subject: Another opportunity to get to know Communication?

Were you unable to make it to the open day? You can still get to know the Communication course at another time.

During a taster afternoon, you will follow a class and speak with students. See which date suits you. If you would prefer to start with an online introduction, you will find the available options there too.

Choose your introductory event

This variation makes re-engaging easy. Only use this if the landing page actually offers the options mentioned. An alternative that is not yet scheduled does not help the recipient.

Choose the timing based on the content

An initial message within a few days can be a practical starting point. First, verify the attendee data and send information that connects directly to their visit. Only schedule a follow-up email when it adds value, such as a new date or answers to frequently asked course questions.

There is no universal sequence that works for every course. Take into account the time of year in the recruitment cycle, deadlines, and communications from other teams. Keep the prospective student's current choices in mind: a changed course interest or a new registration can make previous planning obsolete.

Measure if the follow-up helps

Look at responses, scheduled conversations and registrations for relevant follow-up activities. For instance, ask in your feedback survey if students know what next step they can take. Be sure to report how many people replied; the answers of a few participants do not automatically represent the whole group.

Where possible, compare similar activities and the same period in the decision-making journey. A higher follow-up registration rate after a new email is a reason to investigate what worked. However, that increase alone does not prove that the copy made the difference.

Make execution repeatable

Hippocampus brings target group selection and campaign communication together. The communication page describes selection based on course, interest and more. This allows you to organise relevant follow-up around the data you have available. Read more about communicating with Hippocampus.

First, define what information and next steps you want to offer. Then, check how these are supported in your campaign setup. This turns your email flow into an effective tool for meaningful conversations.

Would you like to make your open day follow-up concrete? Book a consultation and bring along one of your existing email flows.