2024’s biggest lead generation challenges—and what they can teach us for 2025

As I reflect on 2024, it’s clear that this year brought both challenges and opportunities for graduate and adult enrollment leaders. At EAB, we’ve worked closely with institutions navigating the complexities of lead generation in a rapidly evolving landscape. From stealth shoppers to shrinking budgets, the obstacles were significant—but so were the lessons we learned together.

Below are five key insights from our 2024 lead generation work, designed to help you turn challenges into opportunities as you prepare for the year ahead.

1. Sixty percent of enrollment leaders have higher enrollment goals with no budget increase.

Many institutions struggle to secure the necessary budgets for graduate enrollment marketing. Universities’ use of outdated funding models and tendency to underestimate market competition can lead to missed opportunities to attract today’s busy and selective students. And without enough of an investment, graduate and adult-serving programs risk falling behind peers who leverage data-driven strategies to engage students effectively and meet enrollment goals.

This reality makes presenting a compelling case for increased funding crucial. By aligning marketing initiatives with institutional priorities and showcasing potential ROI through metrics like application growth and yield improvements, enrollment leaders can successfully demonstrate the value of a robust full-funnel graduate enrollment marketing strategy and meet growing goals.

2. Many marketers are unaware of the budget they would need to achieve their goals.

Limited budget is a real issue for graduate and adult enrollment leaders, but how much funding do you need for your lead gen efforts to be effective? Creating a clear, data-driven budget allocation plan is essential for demonstrating ROI and securing investment in lead generation efforts. A bottom-up approach to budget planning—based on past lead performance and detailed insight into lead sources—can help you identify the right mix of quality and quantity in your leads.

By setting tiered goals, optimizing source allocation, and evaluating performance regularly, institutions can create a strong case for their budget needs. This strategy not only improves enrollment outcomes, but also strengthens the argument for increased funding from institutional leadership.

3. Early-funnel leads are often overlooked in institutions’ lead strategies.

It’s easy to focus your lead generation efforts on mid- to late-funnel prospects, such as current students, alumni, or individuals already familiar with their programs. But this often leads to early-funnel leads—those who may not yet be familiar with your institution or offerings—being overlooked. This can limit your reach and enrollment growth, since these prospective students, while harder to engage, represent an opportunity to expand your lead pool and fill your classes more effectively.

To prevent early-funnel leads from slipping through the cracks, it’s essential to use strong, personalized initial outreach, simplify RFI forms to reduce barriers, and ensure your marketing campaigns promote broad program exploration rather than locking students into a specific program prematurely. These strategies not only capture leads but also nurture their interest over time, accommodating the longer decision-making cycles of adult and graduate students.

4. The vast majority of colleges’ lead nurture programs are missing the mark.

Graduate and adult-serving programs face unprecedented competition, with the growth rate of new programs outpacing the number of degree-seeking students. To stand out in this crowded market, effective lead nurturing is no longer optional—it’s essential. But recent research by EAB experts found that many institutions fall short in key lead nurture areas, with only 5% using omnichannel marketing, nearly 25% ending their outreach efforts after one month, and 31% failing to address the core motivators and decision criteria of prospective students.

These findings highlight the missed opportunities in current lead nurturing strategies, from a lack of personalization in email campaigns to short outreach durations that fail to capture long-term interest. Programs can adopt data-informed, omnichannel outreach strategies tailored to prospective students’ needs to help engage students and nurture them through the funnel.

5. The lead generation landscape for grad and adult-serving programs is vast and can be confusing.

The landscape of graduate and adult lead generation is complex, with various sources playing unique roles in enrollment strategies. As students increasingly adopt stealth shopping behaviors—sometimes taking over a year to finalize their program choice—it’s critical for institutions to identify and utilize the right lead sources effectively. Without a clear strategy, resources can be misallocated, and opportunities to connect with high-intent students may be missed.

By aligning source selection with institutional goals, programs can boost ROI, reach more qualified prospects, and establish a foundation for sustained enrollment success. Leveraging tools like Appily Advance—a cost-effective student search platform that delivers high-quality, top-of-funnel leads—can be a pivotal step in building a successful, data-driven strategy.