Full-Funnel Growth and Conversion Optimisation

Project Overview

What: End-to-end growth and conversion optimisation initiative
Where: Ara Institute of Canterbury, large education and services organisation with complex digital acquisition and enrolment flows
Primary Focus: Growth strategy, lifecycle marketing, full-funnel optimisation, marketing operations

Project Context

Growth performance was constrained by fragmented ownership across the acquisition and enrolment funnel. Marketing, digital, academic, and operational teams each optimised individual stages, but there was no shared view of the end-to-end customer journey or aligned accountability for conversion outcomes.

This resulted in inconsistent messaging, unclear handoffs, limited visibility into conversion leakage, and missed opportunities to improve early-stage performance at scale.

Objective

To improve early-stage conversion and overall funnel performance by establishing a shared, end-to-end growth model that aligned teams, clarified ownership, and reduced friction across key transition points.

Success was defined as measurable conversion improvement, clearer accountability, and sustainable changes embedded into BAU operations.

My Role

I acted as strategic growth lead, working cross-functionally across marketing, digital, enrolment, and academic teams. I was responsible for diagnosing system-level issues, designing the optimisation approach, and driving alignment and execution without direct line authority.

Approach

• Mapped the full customer journey from first touch through to activation

• Analysed behavioural and performance data to identify drop-off points

• Defined clear funnel stages, ownership, and success metrics

• Improved sequencing and consistency of lifecycle messaging

• Embedded shared KPIs across acquisition, application, and enrolment teams

This work was informed by postgraduate research into digital transformation and operating model design, ensuring changes were structural rather than campaign-level.

Key Deliverables

• End-to-end funnel and lifecycle model

• Funnel stage definitions and handoff criteria

• Cross-functional KPI framework

• Messaging and UX improvements embedded into BAU workflows

Proof Points

• 10% improvement in early-stage conversion within three months (approximate, directional)

• Shared funnel model adopted across marketing and enrolment teams

• Clear ownership and KPIs embedded into ongoing operations