Success Story: Curious U increases revenue by 30% by better understanding their customers

We designed and implemented a sentiment survey for Curious U, leading to actionable program improvements and a 30% increase in revenues over two years.

The Company

Curious U offers an unparalleled summer exchange program that immerses foreign students in Canada for one month with the goal of improving language and cultural awareness. Exchange students live in residence with Canadian hosts, where they participate in academic classes and fun activities. The program includes trips to Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, and trips to local attractions.

Project Scope

Every year, Curious U welcomes 40+ students from Mexico for their summer exchange program. The program provides housing, lunches, English classes, trips, and chaperoning. Since Curious U targets international high school students, review of its program is very important for future sales. A glowing review from peers will spark interest in other students, while a poor review can significantly deter a student from enrolling in the program.

In its inception, Curious U’s executive director, Camelia Nunez, compiled sentiment towards the program by engaging in conversation with the students throughout their stay in Canada. However, as the program grew, conversing with every student became a time-consuming task. Ms. Nunez also noted that, in a face-to-face conversation, some students are great at giving feedback while others are too afraid to give their honest opinion.

Curious U engaged Go Analytics to help with developing a more efficient way of collecting students’ sentiment towards the program.

The Solution

In consultation with Curious U’s executive director, we designed an end-of-program survey aimed at understanding how students felt about various aspects of the program. The survey asked students to rank their experience with aspects such as trip destinations, amenities, and teachers and it also included open-ended questions about what students liked most and least about the program and how it can be improved in the future. Over the two years, an average of 95% of all students who participated in the program completed the survey as we took careful considerations to maximize survey responses, such as:

Survey length: the survey could be completed in 5 minutes
Accountability: the survey was administered by the English teacher on the last day of class
Anonymity: the survey could be taken anonymously so students could give their unfiltered feedback without fear of repercussion or ridicule

After collecting the first round of data, we analyzed the results to uncover key insights. These insights were provided via a thorough report that highlighted student sentiment towards the various aspects of the program. The report quantifiably highlighted strengths and weaknesses of the program, followed by recommendations.

“The sentiment reports were of tremendous use. Not only were they a useful planning tool, but it also served as a marketing tool. I was now able to quantifiably say how much previous cohorts of students enjoyed the program”.

Camelia Nunez

Executive Director of Curious U Inc.

The Result

Increase in revenues

0 %

Increase in student enrollment

0 %

Increase in customer satisfaction

0 %

The actionable insights provided to Curious U allowed the company to improve on its program, resulting in increased customer satisfaction, enrollment, and revenues. Over two years, the company increased revenues by 30%.

With Go Analytics’ help, Curious U was able to identify their program’s strengths and weaknesses and make immediate improvements. The result was happier students and improved financial performance for the company.