The Full Story
University of Bath began its partnership with Gecko in 2014, initially to improve data capture at recruitment fairs by creating forms and centralizing data entry, particularly through CRM integration with Microsoft Dynamics. Over time, this usage expanded. Gecko now supports all of Bath’s events, departmental events, campus tours, and large university wide open days, and has enabled over one million syncs between Gecko and Dynamics.
A major pain point for Bath had been its Applicant Visit Days. Invitations were handled separately by 18 departments, leading to manual, time consuming workflows for invitations, data collection, and communication. Bath recognized that centralizing the process would both reduce workload and create a more consistent experience.
Working with Gecko, Bath implemented automation across the events process. Bookings feed directly into the CRM, communications are controlled centrally, and event data is synced in real time. This not only streamlines the workflow but ensures that pre event communications are clear, consistent, and automated. Even during the pivot to virtual events (necessitated by external changes), Bath was able to maintain its processes, booking flows, and communications with little disruption.
Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. 98% reported that communications before events were clear or very clear. Bath has also captured over 90% of applicant touchpoints through Gecko, and virtual event settings have broadened reach. About 16% of attendees at certain virtual offer holder events are international students, an engagement level Bath had not seen before. The automation also removed around 20,000 emails previously sent manually by academic departments, freeing up staff for more meaningful work.