3 Common Marketing Mistakes of Private Schools

A lot of private schools struggle with marketing. Most of the time this is because there is no room in the budget for a marketing director, so the marketing is held from a higher position and done only at crunch times. When that's not the case, often the marketing director is so overloaded he or she can barely keep up with the daily demands.

So does this mean private schools are doomed to failure and must come to terms with lower enrollment rates?

The answer is, no. Not if you have a tight marketing strategy. One that hits home with your target audience and gives people cause to open their wallets year after year.

If you know the common mistakes most schools make, it’s easy to figure out a strategy that works and gives a larger ROI (Return on Investment).

While the other guys are making these mistakes, you will be standing out from the crowd and increasing your bottom line.

1. Not Creating and Using a Strong Marketing Plan Each Year.

Having a plan means you can focus your already overloaded resources (budget and staff) into a focused marketing strategy with a specific goal.

Whether your goal is to increase your enrollment for the coming year or to amp up your fundraising efforts, having a plan will see you to the finish line and prevent losing track of where you need to go.

Creating a plan can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on how many avenues of marketing you want to use and how many key decision makers need to sign off on it. Prior to the beginning of each school year (or at the end of each year), sit down and make a list of your goals, then incorporate those goals into the overall marketing strategy.

Knowthis.com has a great model for creating a marketing plan that we highly recommend. It consists of 6 parts:

1. Defining your Purpose and Mission
2. Conducting a Situational Analysis
3. Deciding on Marketing Strategy and Objectives
4. Writing Tactical Programs
5. An Estimation of Budgets, Performance Analysis and Implementation
6. Additional Consideration

Take each point and work it over until all the points are in alignment. Then make sure all key personnel get on board with it.

2. Not Conducting a Situational Analysis.

A situational analysis is the core of your marketing plan. While it's listed above in Point #1, it deserves a closer look because overlooking this can mean 'shot-in-the-dark marketing'.

A situational analysis is the process by which you take a close, honest look at your strengths and weaknesses and where you identify possible opportunities and threats to growth. This means looking at what your school stands for, who your customers are, as well as who your competitors are (including any public schools in your area).

By taking all these factors into consideration, you can then find opportunities for growth and needs you can fill that your competitors are not filling. This isn't to say you must change your model. You are probably already offering programs that parents in your community need and want. It's a matter of making them aware of this fact.

One of the biggest mistakes many people make is that they think "we already know who our customers are". Oftentimes, an executive's idea of this is far from actuality and can be detrimental and costly to marketing.

For example, an executive may be insisting on targeting higher income families with the idea that those are the people who can afford the tuition. However, a closer look at the current families already in the school shows a majority are middle income earners who may choose to sacrifice yearly vacations so their child can receive a good education at your school.

This means you would be wise to target your marketing at more families like the above scenario rather than pouring your marketing budget into a 'wishful thinking' campaign.

3. Not Using Personal Stories.

Personal stories are the heart of your marketing. Think about it. What makes you want to go to a restaurant, send your child to a specific school, or hire “Joe Blow” accountant?

A study conducted by Intelliseek found that consumers are “50% more likely to be influenced by word-of-mouth recommendations from their peers than by radio/TV ads.”

Interview parents, alumni, donors, and outside groups that benefited from your school’s efforts. Use their stories to help tell your story.

The list could probably go on, but if you add the above three things into your yearly marketing, you will add direction and focus to where you want to take your school. You will also be doing something your competitors are not, which gives you the advantage.

If all else fails, you can always out-source to a marketing firm that can breathe fresh air into your marketing. This will free up your marketing staff (or overworked executives) to oversee things from the big picture. Just make sure that before hiring a marketing firm you ask for references and samples of their work. It's always smart to check someone out first before plunking down thousands of dollars!

The World According to Twitter: A Review

Every night New York Times writer, David Pogue, would sit patiently at his computer awaiting responses to questions. Questions he had sent out into the Twitterverse.

At first it started out as an amusing way to demonstrate to others how Twitter worked. After a while, he realized he was on to something (with the help of his wife). He would pose questions between 11p.m. and 1a.m. EST, thinking it would give people across the most time zones a chance to see them. He asked things like, “What’s your greatest regret?” and, “What’s your million dollar idea?”

After getting more than 25,000 responses to 95 questions about “Life, the Universe, and Other Pertinent Stuff: First-Kiss Stories, Spam from the Future, and Proposals for the 11th Commandment,” from his 500,000 followers, he compiled the best of those responses, 2,524 to be exact, into a book called, The World According to Twitter.

The World According to Twitter is an amusing read with many tweets that will have you chuckling. From a marketer’s standpoint, it’s a great resource to have on hand when looking for a consensus on many of the topics broached. For instance, if you want to know how to approach writing an ad on how to get rid of hiccups, you can find ways to speak to people that you never thought of before. (Read page 74 if you don't believe us.)

Although it’s not a real-time Twitter search, it still has its uses - even if only for an amusing pastime. We give this book two thumbs up.