How does a leading independent school retain its prominent status? By carrying out planned, effective and ongoing marketing. Susie Oweiss sets out a strategy to keep your school at the top
Independent schools are more aware than ever before of the importance of marketing and raising their image, especially with the current competition across the country.
It is satisfying when your school is at the top of the league tables, producing the best results in GCSEs, A Levels, 11+ or Common Entrance exams. It is even better when it is over-subscribed and has a long waiting list of hopeful parents. However, not only is a school as good as its teachers and staff, it is also as good as its name and reputation. How do you maintain that good reputation? There are many strategies that can be adopted to ensure that you promote your school in the most effective way.
First and foremost, know what works for you. It is not worth following a standard marketing strategy and hoping for the best. Your marketing strategy should be specific to your school. What works for a direct competitor may not work for you.
Why is your school one of the top independent schools around, what has worked successfully until now and what has not? You must articulate the school’s values, its good points and, more importantly, discover its weak areas. The latter can be achieved by inviting a “mystery shopper” to contact and visit your school to relate their findings to you impartially.
Find your parentsLike any other business, schools have a target audience. If your main intake is from London or the south-east, for example, it would prove fruitless to begin advertising in the north. It’s commonsense, really.
Keep your parents informed of your developments and achievements. Parents – particularly fee-paying parents – want to find out how their funds are being spent and how their children are benefiting from their investment. Keep them informed and involved; make them feel that they are part of a community and create an emotional contract with them.
To keep your name and your reputation, you need to gain and keep their confidence. Your parents need to believe in you. This belief feeds the most important aspect in keeping your name at the top: word of mouth.
Word of mouth is your most effective marketing tool. If the parents are informed and involved, they are happy. If they are happy, they will talk to their neighbours, friends, family and colleagues.
If you have a great inspection report, share it. Have there been wonderful academic or sports achievements? Make sure others know about them and that the school’s name is inscribed in the minds of parents, current and prospective.
How does the world see you?
On a practical level, you must keep reviewing your marketing material. How does your website look? Is it user-friendly? Is it easy to find in a search engine? Is it welcoming to a nervous parent who is terrified of making the wrong decision in choosing a school for their child? What about your prospectus? Is it easy to read? Does it convey the feel and the ethos of your school?
The signage of the school is also highly important. Is it up-to-date? Do you have the correct banners and stands for your open days? Look at your classrooms, your outdoor facilities, your performing arts centre. Are they all up to the standard of other schools? Do they convey and live up to your name and reputation?
All these marketing tools have to be reviewed on an annual basis. You must ensure you have a fresh feel. You can keep with the times and update the way you present yourself as well as keeping your ethos and the school’s tradition alive. The key here is to find the right balance. Keep your tradition yet build up a brand.
Keep your information on and offline updated. Make sure all your entries are correct. Make sure education consultants are kept informed of your news, achievements and any changes within your school. Make sure the media remembers you at all times. There is not a better advertising tool than a mention in an article or a press release. If you stay quiet, you will be forgotten, despite all your good work.
Happy days?
Some believe that the more successful you are, the happier you become. You have achieved your aim and, therefore, you can afford to sit back and relax. Schools often say: “Why do we need marketing? We are over-subscribed and are obviously popular”. The answer: never be complacent.
The more successful you are, the more vigilant you must be. Keep tabs of your spending on advertising. Assess what works and what does not. Review your marketing budget and make sure it is in line with others. Make sure you are channeling your spending in the right direction.
Find your level
Be aware of over-selling your school. Insist on being honest in the way you present yourself and what you can offer parents. Make sure your board of governors is aware of the present competition and of the need to maintain current levels of effectiveness. Keep your fees in line with schools of the same specification.
Of course, the measure of success in a school is if you have the right numbers, that all spaces are filled. But to keep them filled, you need to make sure you attract the right parents with children who will be happy at your school and will therefore stay. Not only will they stay, they will also encourage others to come and join. Those children will one day be parents themselves and – if you are still the talk of the town – they will tell their children, who will tell their friends.
Gone are the days when a parent sends their child to a school because their own mother or father went there, and so did the grandparents. People are much more informed about finding the “right” school for their child. They read league tables; they consult advisers and, more importantly, they talk to each other. They are aware of the large number of independent schools available and they believe in comparing.
Make sure that your shop window, your name and reputation are sparkling. Open your doors and welcome them in.
It is satisfying when your school is at the top of the league tables, producing the best results in GCSEs, A Levels, 11+ or Common Entrance exams. It is even better when it is over-subscribed and has a long waiting list of hopeful parents. However, not only is a school as good as its teachers and staff, it is also as good as its name and reputation. How do you maintain that good reputation? There are many strategies that can be adopted to ensure that you promote your school in the most effective way.
First and foremost, know what works for you. It is not worth following a standard marketing strategy and hoping for the best. Your marketing strategy should be specific to your school. What works for a direct competitor may not work for you.
Why is your school one of the top independent schools around, what has worked successfully until now and what has not? You must articulate the school’s values, its good points and, more importantly, discover its weak areas. The latter can be achieved by inviting a “mystery shopper” to contact and visit your school to relate their findings to you impartially.
Find your parentsLike any other business, schools have a target audience. If your main intake is from London or the south-east, for example, it would prove fruitless to begin advertising in the north. It’s commonsense, really.
Keep your parents informed of your developments and achievements. Parents – particularly fee-paying parents – want to find out how their funds are being spent and how their children are benefiting from their investment. Keep them informed and involved; make them feel that they are part of a community and create an emotional contract with them.
To keep your name and your reputation, you need to gain and keep their confidence. Your parents need to believe in you. This belief feeds the most important aspect in keeping your name at the top: word of mouth.
Word of mouth is your most effective marketing tool. If the parents are informed and involved, they are happy. If they are happy, they will talk to their neighbours, friends, family and colleagues.
If you have a great inspection report, share it. Have there been wonderful academic or sports achievements? Make sure others know about them and that the school’s name is inscribed in the minds of parents, current and prospective.
How does the world see you?
On a practical level, you must keep reviewing your marketing material. How does your website look? Is it user-friendly? Is it easy to find in a search engine? Is it welcoming to a nervous parent who is terrified of making the wrong decision in choosing a school for their child? What about your prospectus? Is it easy to read? Does it convey the feel and the ethos of your school?
The signage of the school is also highly important. Is it up-to-date? Do you have the correct banners and stands for your open days? Look at your classrooms, your outdoor facilities, your performing arts centre. Are they all up to the standard of other schools? Do they convey and live up to your name and reputation?
All these marketing tools have to be reviewed on an annual basis. You must ensure you have a fresh feel. You can keep with the times and update the way you present yourself as well as keeping your ethos and the school’s tradition alive. The key here is to find the right balance. Keep your tradition yet build up a brand.
Keep your information on and offline updated. Make sure all your entries are correct. Make sure education consultants are kept informed of your news, achievements and any changes within your school. Make sure the media remembers you at all times. There is not a better advertising tool than a mention in an article or a press release. If you stay quiet, you will be forgotten, despite all your good work.
Happy days?
Some believe that the more successful you are, the happier you become. You have achieved your aim and, therefore, you can afford to sit back and relax. Schools often say: “Why do we need marketing? We are over-subscribed and are obviously popular”. The answer: never be complacent.
The more successful you are, the more vigilant you must be. Keep tabs of your spending on advertising. Assess what works and what does not. Review your marketing budget and make sure it is in line with others. Make sure you are channeling your spending in the right direction.
Find your level
Be aware of over-selling your school. Insist on being honest in the way you present yourself and what you can offer parents. Make sure your board of governors is aware of the present competition and of the need to maintain current levels of effectiveness. Keep your fees in line with schools of the same specification.
Of course, the measure of success in a school is if you have the right numbers, that all spaces are filled. But to keep them filled, you need to make sure you attract the right parents with children who will be happy at your school and will therefore stay. Not only will they stay, they will also encourage others to come and join. Those children will one day be parents themselves and – if you are still the talk of the town – they will tell their children, who will tell their friends.
Gone are the days when a parent sends their child to a school because their own mother or father went there, and so did the grandparents. People are much more informed about finding the “right” school for their child. They read league tables; they consult advisers and, more importantly, they talk to each other. They are aware of the large number of independent schools available and they believe in comparing.
Make sure that your shop window, your name and reputation are sparkling. Open your doors and welcome them in.
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