Marketing Ideas for Your School

Marketing Ideas for Your School

If your school’s marketing budget is being decreased given the current economic situation (or for any reason), then you MUST counter weight that decreases in spending with a more significant increase in effort. Here are a few marketing ideas that cost little money, but have significant impact.

Whether we like to admit it or not, competition in the independent school is on the rise where parents are much more valuable-conscious than ever. The message is loud and clear that you must take steps to differentiate your school from the alternatives and demonstrate value. This effort — the hard work that goes into differentiating your school and demonstrating the value you offer — should be a part of everyone’s job. Although only some people in your institution may actually have the word “marketing” in their titles or job descriptions, hence the other stakeholders have also critical roles in conveying a positive, unified message.

Make no mistake. Marketing is not just about advertisements and press releases. For today’s independent schools, marketing is also about the daily details, such as getting the amount on the tuition bill correct, sending grades to the right contact person and keeping assignments on the Web site updated daily. Each interaction provides an equal and important role for any institution.

The most effective schools recognize the power of partnerships among key internal stakeholders, including faculty, admissions, development and finance staff. Integrating departmental functions not only shows good leadership and management, but also it’s great marketing. By listening carefully to those you seek to serve, making sure all stakeholders understand their roles, and putting the right technology infrastructure in place to support communication, schools can foster strong internal collaboration that helps to advance their missions.

Ironically, we do not often see this approach being applied to the way schools are managed. Admissions and development officers usually see their roles as separate. Teachers often don’t understand the important part they play in enrollment, retention and in reinforcing to donors the value of their investment in the school. Business offices, who oversee many of the customer service aspects of the school, often aren’t consulted by development and admissions officers. We seem to live in different tribes and don’t always focus on what unites us: the achievement of the mission. Too often, each office works with its own objective and doesn’t consider its impact on the whole operation.

Our success depends on recognizing that we’re all interdependent. Everyone in the school should be held responsible for advancing the mission.

Assess internal marketing and collaboration

Begin by getting a clear picture of where you are in terms of collaboration — both the opportunity to collaborate and the environment that nurtures it. Is there congruence among major administrators and faculty leaders about the school’s identity, mission and direction? Do the school’s academic, admissions, fundraising and business office functions work in concert to maximize external marketing? Is there a concerted effort to bring all of the institution’s human resources to bear on enrollment and fundraising goals? We know that our prospective “customers” need to understand who we are, where we are going and what we value. Do we give the same information to our internal audiences? Particularly faculty? Staff? Parental leadership? Alumni leadership? Students?

Everyone in the school should be held responsible for advancing the mission. Everyone markets, everyone recruits, everyone fundraises and everyone at the school is a teacher.

Word of Mouth

It is the most powerful promotional tool, originates internally. An internal environment of collaboration, coordination and collegiality is critical to enrollment, retention, public relations and philanthropic goals.

Listen to stakeholders and conduct external marketing research

Get a clear and an objective sense of your school’s identity and value from the perspective of those you seek to serve. An internal marketing assessment reveals who you think you are and whom you think you serve; an external image audit reveals who they think you are and whom they think you serve. How similar or different are the two perspectives?

There are literally dozens of constituent groups you should systematically monitor; whose pulse you take will depend on your goals. But among the most fundamental are those in your admissions process, current parents, young alums, first-time donors, major donors and the larger community of referrers and potential referrers. Because the population of a school moves upward and out of the institution, periodic and systematic research is advised.

Maximize everyone’s role in marketing the school through collaborative relationships and mutual support

Make all efforts to align your internal team with your mission and vision. You must have external evidences of the viability of your mission and how you deliver it. Ensure and remember that every key stakeholder on your staff will play a role in advancing your mission. For practical tips on how you or your department can contribute to stronger internal collaboration and improved marketing, consult to the recommended appendices.