Building a Student Acquisition Engine for LevelUp Edu: 62% Lower Cost per Lead

Client: LevelUp Edu
Industry: Software Training Institute
Courses: Azure Data Engineering, Databricks, Data Science
Duration: 90 days
Channels: Meta Ads, Google Ads

62%lower cost per lead

30+admissions

4×return on ad spend

Executive summary

We built LevelUp Edu a course-level acquisition engine on Meta Ads and Google Ads, backed by a speed-to-lead system that sends every enquiry an instant WhatsApp message and puts a counsellor on the phone within minutes. In 90 days, cost per lead fell from ₹400 to ₹150, and the engine produced 1,000+ leads, 200+ demos and 30+ admissions.

Business results

Metric	Result
Cost per lead	₹400 → ₹150 (62% lower)
Total leads	1,000+
Qualified leads	600+
Demos booked	200+
Demos attended	90+
Admissions	30+
Return on ad spend	4×

Business challenge

LevelUp Edu had demand for its data courses. It didn't have a system to turn ad clicks into admissions.

Leads cost ₹400 each
General ads ran for all courses instead of one campaign per course
Many enquiries weren't serious about a paid course
No speed-to-lead system, so leads waited hours before the first call
Students booked demos and didn't attend
Success was measured by lead count, not admissions

Our contributions

Course-level strategy

Defined the ideal student for each course: freshers, working professionals and career switchers
Built separate messaging for Azure Data Engineering, Databricks and Data Science
Matched every ad to the course page the student lands on

Demand generation

Separate Meta Ads campaigns for each course
Screening questions on lead forms to filter casual enquiries
Google Search campaigns on high-intent course searches, with negative keywords
Weekly creative testing, scaling the ads with the lowest cost per qualified lead

Speed-to-lead system

Instant WhatsApp message on every new enquiry
Leads routed in the CRM so a counsellor calls within minutes
Automated demo booking and reminders to cut no-shows
Nurture sequences for students not ready to join yet

Reporting system

Tracked every lead from enquiry to demo to admission
Weekly report on cost per qualified lead, demos and admissions
Budget moved each week to the course and channel converting best

Business impact

Speed and conversion

Every enquiry got an instant WhatsApp message and a counsellor call within minutes
55% of leads were qualified, thanks to screening questions
35% of qualified leads booked a demo

Student acquisition

1,000+ leads, 600+ qualified
200+ demos booked, 90+ attended
30+ admissions in 90 days, at 4× return on ad spend

Business transformation

Before

₹400 per lead
One general campaign for all courses
Slow, manual follow-up
No demo reminders
Measured by lead count

After

₹150 per lead
A campaign for each course
Instant WhatsApp and counsellor calls
Automated demo booking and reminders
Measured by demos and admissions

Ads we ran

Azure Data Engineering · Meta Ads

Core expertise demonstrated

Strategy	Growth
Course-level positioning	Performance marketing
Student persona research	Meta Ads lead generation
Lead qualification design	Google Search Ads
Messaging for each course	Conversion rate optimisation
Admissions funnel mapping	Speed-to-lead systems
Marketing automation	Lead nurturing
CRM and pipeline setup	Funnel analytics and reporting

Tech stack

Performance marketing

Meta Ads
Google Ads

CRM and automation

CRM
WhatsApp Business API
Automated reminders

Analytics and reporting

Meta Ads Manager
Google Analytics
Google Sheets

Key achievements

Cut cost per lead by 62%, from ₹400 to ₹150
Built LevelUp Edu's first speed-to-lead system
Launched separate campaigns for 3 data courses
Set up CRM, WhatsApp automation and demo reminders
Shifted reporting from lead volume to admissions

Key learnings

Filling seats isn't about getting more leads. It's about getting the right student on a call while they're still interested.

It requires aligning:

Course-level positioning
Lead qualification
Demand generation
Speed-to-lead response
Counsellor follow-up
Demo attendance
Admissions reporting

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