Joe Faulkner, senior schools marketing consultant at mtmconsulting, gives fives quick and easy checks to ensure that you are not losing prospective parents through neglect or carelessness when they call to request a prospectus.
At mtmconsulting, each week I visit or speak in depth with, on average, half-a-dozen independent school marketers or business leaders to discuss our educational research, marketing and strategy services. The void between those with clearly focussed and proven school marketing practices in place, and those for whom school marketing is an afterthought is vast, and those educational businesses who have not addressed the issue of schools marketing are likely to see enquiries from parents not followed through, wasted school marketing budget, and ineffective use of time.
The considerations below should be considered by all schools on a regular basis (at least termly). These free and crucial aspects could make a huge difference to your school’s pupil recruitment.
1) How is your phone being answered?
Does it take an eternity for staff to pick up the phone? Are your reception staff positive, friendly, helpful and polite? If prospective parents ring your school and get a response that is less welcoming than a medieval prison, then you should consider some staff training in school marketing. mtm has worked on school marketing staff training projects from dinner ladies to whole staff.
2) What details are taken when parents enquire?
If a parent rings up for a prospectus, taking their name and address will enable your marketing staff to dispatch effectively, but it completely wastes an opportunity to build rapport and information. Your school admissions secretary or receptionist should use an enquiry as an opportunity to find out about the parents’ children, their interests, what they are looking for in a school, and where they are currently. This information should be recorded on a database or proforma and added to throughout the admissions process.
3) Get your sales hat on!
If prospective parents have called your school asking for information they are, by default, interested in what you have to offer. We all know that your school’s unique ethos is best seen at first-hand rather than in a prospectus, so tell them that! Your school’s target should be to make sure that every enquiry is lined-up with a school tour or open-day slot right away. If you wait then there is every chance that a more forward competitor won’t and they’ll be committed elsewhere before you know it. And don’t offer them a date in a month’s time because “we’re busy at the moment”: get them in the next day if you can.
4) Look for signs of intelligence
You should be able to gather extremely useful intelligence when parents initially ring to enquire about your school or request a prospectus. If you are not asking them where they have heard of you, if they know other families that attend your school, or if they have seen your website / advertisements / banner adverts, then you miss a chance to make your marketing budget go further by focussing on promotion that actually works.
5) Are you following-up properly?
When you dispatch prospectuses are you enclosing a personalised, tailored letter showing would-be families how interested you are in their business? If not, why not? Show your prospects that you want their business and have time for them and their children. Then, if you don’t hear back from them, take the time to phone them a week or two later – to answer any questions and see how they are getting on.
Don’t forget that for even a mid-range all-through school, fees could easily amount to £150,000 over the course of a child’s school career. Show how much you care and how much respect you have for prospective parents and you will certainly reap rewards.
mtmconsulting’s independent school marketing audits are a fantastic and cost-effective way of assessing your actions and provision. To discuss this or any of our schools marketing and education strategy services please contact us.
