Post on 14-Dec-2014
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Strategies for Success
Rick Newberry, Ph.D.
Rick.Newberry@EnrollmentCatalyst.com www.EnrollmentCatalyst.com
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
During this webinar we will discuss successful strategies to help your school grow during these troubled times.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Starbucks
The Family Portrait
Rollercoasters
Coaching
Blog
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Enrollment Catalyst partners with schools to provide coaching for school leaders in their
school’s enrollment management and marketing systems, strategies, and solutions needed to
reach their goals.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Clients
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Some school observations from travels and consulting across the country
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
School Growth
Leadership
Quality
School
Experience
Vision
Faculty and
Staff
Parent
Satisfaction
Reputation
Location
Price
Competition
Enrollment &
Marketing
Plan
© 2012 Enrollment Catalyst
Economic uncertainty
Enrollment instability
Parent entitlement, consumerism and disloyalty
Increased competition
Increased dependence on financial aid
Increased focus on branding and marketing
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
We lack marketing knowledge, training and expertise.
We lack resources and staffing (and the commitment to make this a budget priority).
We gripe about not getting our school published in the local newspaper when we can publish anything we want on the web.
We place priority on marketing externally to our community and often neglect our most strategy—word of mouth through our parents!
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
We often take a shotgun approach to marketing.
We have a plan for improving our school but don’t have a marketing and enrollment plan for growth.
We are intrigued by social media and web-based strategies but don’t know how to use them effectively.
Some of our school brands and websites look like they were created many years ago!
We don’t tell our story very well.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
The places we advertise
The Web
The desire for authenticity
The power of referral in an online world
The world of social media
The need to be in a conversation
The importance of creating remarkable content
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
The power of word-of-mouth!
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
1. Word-of-Mouth Consistently ranks as the number one reason how families hear about your school.
2. Website The first place a parent looks when they hear about your school through a word-of-mouth referral is your school’s website (as well as other info on the web).
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Our marketing and enrollment plan must be built around these strategies.
Implementing these strategies assumes that you have a high quality school and a strong brand to communicate.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
We will discuss 10 strategies for successfully growing your school.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
School Growth Successes
1. Develop and communicate your brand
2. Set goals and analyze enrollment results
3. Devote resources to staff and the team
4. Launch a parent ambassadors program
5. Consistently follow-up with inquiries
6. Re-recruit your current families
7. Implement a word of mouth campaign
8. Focus your resources on your website
9. Generate leads through online marketing strategies
10. Tell your school’s story through social media
What is branding?
“From a business point of view, branding in
the marketplace is very similar to branding
on the ranch. A branding program should
be designed to differentiate your product
[school] from all the other cattle [schools]
on the range. Even if all the other cattle on
the range look pretty much alike.”
Al and Laura Reis, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
“The brand on the outside is only
as strong as the brand on the inside.” – Karl Speak, President, Beyond Marketing Thought
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Develop a compelling visual brand for your school that includes the following: ◦ Logomark
◦ Typography
◦ Color palette
◦ Photography
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Consistent use of your school’s brand elements: ◦ Logo
◦ Tagline
◦ Colors
◦ Message
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Most administrators haven’t considered this question as a key part of their marketing strategy. We need to begin asking the question:
What do you want them to talk about?
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Determine/Define the optimal enrollment your school.
Develop annual incremental goals to reach capacity: ◦ 2013
◦ 2014
◦ 2015
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Develop specific enrollment goals for the following areas: ◦ Total Enrollment
◦ Retention
◦ Admissions
Inquiries
Campus Visits
Applications
Deposits
New students
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Provides a snapshot overview of the re-enrollment of current families and enrollment of new families.
Hire a director of enrollment and marketing at your school to lead this effort.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Direct administrative responsibilities for admissions ◦ Director of Admissions/Enrollment
◦ Head of School/Principal
Additional involvement in admissions ◦ Secretary/Receptionist
◦ Administration
◦ Faculty and Staff
◦ Parents
◦ Students
Develop, implement and manage the recruitment plan
Strive to reach and exceed all of the goals
Provide an outstanding campus visit experience and follow-up for all inquiries and applicants
Increase awareness of the school through feeder schools, churches and other groups
Encourage and facilitate the involvement of parents in the recruitment strategy
Report weekly on the progress toward recruitment goals
Quality/excellence in their job
Tell your school’s story
Turn negative moments into positive moments
Channel concerns to the administration
Communication with parents
Relationships with parents
Create memorable moments
Positive ambassadors for the school
Recruit a team of parent ambassadors to expand the reach of the enrollment office.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Passion for your school
Credibility among their peers
Connections at the school and in the community
Opportunity to be involved
Recruit a team of parents to help you in your enrollment effort by: ◦ Presenting tours of campus.
◦ Hosting new family “desserts” in their homes.
◦ Mentoring a new family throughout their first school year.
◦ Follow-up for prospective parents.
◦ Calling and/or writing personal notes to parents and welcoming them to your school.
◦ Reaching out to churches and schools.
◦ Posting online reviews.
© 2011 Cherry+Company
New parents can be the best resources for your school to reach out to their previous school, church, neighborhood or other group.
Provide a card in your admissions package that includes the names, child grade levels, phone numbers and email addresses of your parent ambassadors.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Implement a 30-day follow-up plan for parent inquiries. This follow-up plan should include mailings, calls and emails that encourage the parent to apply/enroll at your school.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Step 1 – Make initial contact with inquiry
Step 2 – Send information packet on school with personal letter (within 24 hours of inquiry). ◦ Make sure the letter is personalized and well-
written to sell your school.
Step 3 – Call one week later to discuss your school and encourage the parent to take the next step (seven days after inquiry date). ◦ Phone call should focus on the following:
Make sure information was received in the mail.
Encourage the family to visit.
Use the time to better understand the parent’s needs and sell the parent on your school.
Send hand-written note immediately after call is made.
Step 4 – Send postcard to remind the parent of your school (15 days after inquiry date).
Step 5 – Personal contact from a current parent (25 days after inquiry). ◦ Use a parent ambassador from a similar grade level
to contact the inquiry.
Step 6 – Send personal letter with another application (30 days after inquiry). ◦ This is the final letter in the regular inquiry
sequence. This letter should create some urgency to enrolling at your school.
What should you do with your inquiries after your 30 day follow-up? ◦ Monthly contact with inquiries.
◦ Send your school’s email newsletter.
© 2010 Cherry+Company
The strategy and process for recruiting your current families to continue enrollment in your school for the next year.
Re-recruitment is the activity that leads to retention.
© 2012 Enrollment Catalyst
Parent Satisfaction Vision and leadership Retention statistics and reports Responsibility of re-recruitment Connections to community Customer service Identify at-risk students and families The re-enrollment process Focus on the transition grades Parent communication Internal marketing Parent feedback
When your parents are very satisfied with their experience at your school, they will be your greatest asset to reaching your community. Do everything you can to market your school internally to your parents.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Be proactive in working with current families to keep them enrolled at your school ◦ Grade all of your families on their likelihood to
return next year.
◦ Meet with all families personally that are “on the fence” regarding their decision to re-enroll.
◦ Host small group coffees and events for parents.
◦ Implement “Next Year and Beyond” meetings for families to understand the next level.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Launch an internal marketing campaign that coincides with re-enrollment (Jan. and ongoing): ◦ Re-enrollment package that communicates the value for
the continued investment at your school.
◦ Design banners that communicate the brand and tagline.
◦ Personal phone calls to all families encouraging them to re-enroll.
◦ Communicate key messages that reflect features and benefits of continuing at your school.
◦ Develop bragging points and boast about the remarkability of your school.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Survey your parents annually by conducting an overall parent satisfaction and perception survey. ◦ Look for areas of dissatisfaction to improve the
quality of the school.
◦ Report findings from the survey back to parents.
◦ Best time to survey parents is October/November and February.
Conduct exit interviews when parents choose not to re-enroll at your school.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
“This is the foundation of buzz: in order to get people talking about your product or service,
you must provide a great experience.”
• Rosen, The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited
© 2012 Enrollment Catalyst
A Great School Will Create WOM
Strong
Retention
Parent
Satisfaction
Positive
Word of
Mouth
1. Talkers—who will tell their friends about you?
2. Topics—what will they talk about?
3. Tools—how can you help the message travel?
4. Taking Part—how should you join the conversation?
5. Tracking—what are people saying about you?
© 2012 Enrollment Catalyst
Your school’s website should be the hub of news, activity, information and stories about your school.
It is the most important marketing and communication’s tool for today’s school.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Brand—It is important to convey a strong brand for your school—including your logo, colors, and tagline.
Photos—Large, professional photos on the home page will draw the visitor to your school.
Content—Dynamic content and a compelling message is important to keep users returning to your school’s website.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
How can you use a blog in your strategy? ◦ Share student, faculty and alumni stories. ◦ Share how your school is achieving its mission, ◦ Provide educational expertise on important and
timely issues.
Benefits of blog: ◦ Provides an additional website full of content on
your school. ◦ Regularly feeds into blog subscriber in-boxes ◦ Increases SEO for your school. ◦ Can feed back into your website and provide
dynamic content.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Hire a web company to guide in the search engine optimization process for your website (Andy Lynch at North Star Marketing).
Launch a campaign on Google AdWords. Launch a Facebook ad campaign using
multiple ads to target several key messages (Everyday is an open house, Tagline, etc.).
Parents, faculty and staff should write positive reviews on GreatSchools.com and Google.
Launch a blog integrated on your website.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
SEO is the process of adjusting websites and pages to gain higher placement in search engine results. ◦ Where does your school come up on a web search?
Organic versus Paid ◦ Organic – page titles and keywords in your website
◦ Google’s AdWords – pay-per-click advertising for keywords.
© 2010 Cherry+Company
It is critical for you to focus on search engine optimization as part of your marketing strategy. ◦ Keyword research
◦ Page titles
◦ Page descriptions
◦ Keyword-rich content
◦ Dynamic content
School administrators most often focus on website design when launching a new site but fail to focus on the most important elements – SEO and content development.
It is critical to focus on developing content that is: ◦ Relevant
◦ Keyword-rich
◦ Dynamic
◦ Compelling
Pay-Per-Click Ads ◦ Google AdWords
◦ Facebook Ads
Online Reviews and Directory Sites ◦ GreatSchools.com
◦ PrivateSchoolReview.com
◦ Yelp.com
◦ Google+
Programs ◦ Academics, Athletics, Arts, Service, Technology,
Faith, Character
People ◦ Students, Parents, Leadership, Faculty, Staff,
Coaches, Alumni
Results
Tell the story of your school through students, alumni, parents, faculty and staff: ◦ Motivate every faculty and staff member to share
one story to the leadership
◦ Focus on linking stories to the USP’s
◦ Develop video vignettes that can be posted on the website, Vimeo/YouTube and Facebook
◦ Lead story in every issue of your email newsletter
◦ Stories on Facebook, website and blog
◦ Create positive buzz about your school
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Grads at other schools looking back on their experience at your school
Faculty expressing their unique passion for teaching at your school.
Students conveying what they like best about your school.
Students answering the question, “What makes your school special to you?”
Parent sharing why they chose your school for their child and the difference this decision has made.
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
Facebook can be used to connect to alumni, parents and friends of your school. ◦ Set up an alumni group for your school
Connect with alumni to keep in touch with them
◦ Set up a fan page for your school
Provide regular updates on your fan page
Tell stories of your alumni and faculty
Encourage interaction among your fans
Enter into conversations with your fans
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst
When something happens in your classroom, on the field, or on stage that is communicates your school, you need to capture the moment.
© 2010 Cherry+Company
The Power of One Post • 2,846 Likes • 139 Comments • 175 Shares • 22,139 People saw
this post
Photos tell the story at Miami Country Day
1. Develop and communicate your brand
2. Set goals and analyze enrollment results
3. Devote resources to staff and the team
4. Launch a parent ambassadors program
5. Consistently follow-up with inquiries
6. Re-recruit your current families
7. Implement a word of mouth campaign
8. Focus your resources on your website
9. Generate leads through online marketing strategies
10. Tell your school’s story through social media
For More Information:
Enrollment Catalyst
Rick Newberry, Ph.D.
9770 Indian Key Trail
Seminole, FL 33776
727.647.0378
Rick.Newberry@EnrollmentCatalyst.com
Blog: www.EnrollmentCatalyst.com/Blog
www.EnrollmentCatalyst.com
Facebook.com/EnrollmentCatalyst
© 2013 Enrollment Catalyst