As the presence of technology and the internet becomes more prominent in our lives, we find that we question more and more the role of any kind of printed material whether it be a newspaper, a magazine, a report, a newsletter or indeed a school prospectus. Journalists are always asked if they think that the days of printed newspapers are numbered. The answer is always met with a frowning face and a categorical ‘never!’ or ‘there’s nothing like the feel of the paper in your hands’. How does that apply to schools? Who is winning the battle between the school website and the prospectus? Is there a battle at all between them or do they and will they forever work hand in hand?
Let us go slightly back in time when there was no such technology. How did parents find a suitable school for their child? The decision could have been pre-made by choosing ‘the family school’ where every child in that family was registered traditionally. Other decisions would have been based on reputation, word of mouth or purely by picking up a directory and looking through a list of schools. The parent would pick up the phone and ask for a prospectus to be delivered. Once it arrived, the evaluation would start. If they liked what they saw, the parents would pick up the phone and make an appointment or ask when the next Open Day would be. Then, the decision-making process would have been well and truly underway once the prospectus arrived through the door.
Now, let us go forward in time to the present day and to a world of technology and information at our fingertips. Has the decision-making process changed? The parents who choose a school out of family tradition still exist. However, what about the other segment? The information ‘searchers’? Nowadays, the parents would start by switching on the screen which has become indispensible in all our homes – the computer. They would go to a search engine and type in the kind of school they are looking. They would read through lists, click on the ones they find useful. Once they land on the schools’ websites, the decision-making process is at its peak. Research has shown that it can take as little as 30 seconds to sway the user or turn them away from a website. If the site is clear, user-friendly, enticing and the parents like what they see, they look for the ‘contact us’ page or the ‘request a prospectus’ page. They will either contact the school and visit or wait until they receive the prospectus and again if they like it, they will go and visit. Once they have visited, they will most likely go home with a copy of the prospectus in hand which will place itself on the coffee or bedside tables and be used as a point of reference when the parents discuss their views on the school. It then becomes a tool to remind them of what they have seen and what they liked and why. It also becomes a point of comparison against other prospectuses from other schools.
From this we can see how important both the website as well as the prospectus are and how one needs or in fact compliments the other. The role of the prospectus has changed. It has moved down the decision-making process. Instead of being the first point of call, it seems to have become a back-up tool to the decision-making process albeit a very vital one. Another important point we must remember is that a prospectus is a tool to attract prospective parents. A website, on the other hand, serves two purposes. It works on external as well as internal marketing levels. As well as being a tool to attract prospective parents, it is also hugely important for keeping current parents happy. With the use of intranet facilities and pages for current parents and staff, useful information can be uploaded such as newsletters, photos, calendar entries or homework lists.
There are of course many differences between the two marketing tools. The question is not and should not solely be which will survive in today’s expanding technology. We should, instead, look at both as vital marketing tools and assess how to use them effectively.
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