How do we effectively market our school, promoting it to families in the community whom we wish to serve with our program of Christian education?
Well, there’s always the newspaper and the yellow pages, but they are minimally used by the target demographics these days, and vastly expensive for their effectiveness.
Many like direct mailings, postcards or flyers that may be produced and mass distributed to mailing lists tailored to your chosen demographic. Rather pricey, but more effective than the newspaper. Of course, consider how often you deeply ponder the junk mail that shows up in your home before heavily investing in such an area.
There are some broad stroke marketing that may be used to hit random groups, such as advertising at the cinema, on busses, billboards, and other public marquees. They may work for you, and then again, they may not.
Radio or TV spots are possible for some, very expensive unless you have a “connection”, someone willing to donate all or some of the cost. But again, you’re just hoping to promote name recognition, and maybe get some nibbles because you caught an ear or an eye.
Online advertising is the hot area these days. Every school must have an effective, professional-looking website that allows people to access the information they desire about your school, along with simple ways to contact you for further information. This is often the first bit of research families now do. Facebook and other social media are also places your school can both have a preference as well as invest in advertising dollars. And don’t forget about optimizing your online search value, so that you pop up high and often on Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines when people are searching for your type of program.
There is certainly much to be said for name recognition, so another avenue of marketing is to be present in the community. Getting your students and staff involved in service events is great, especially if it garners press coverage or a published news release. Participating in local fairs and community celebrations gives people a chance to know you exist and what you are about.
When all is said and done, however, the number of new families acquired through all of these efforts will be paltry compared to the word-of-mouth recommendations of those who have had positive experiences with your school. Not only will your current and past happy families refer people your way, they will tend to send the right sort of families to you, families who share a value for what recommending families have already experienced and valued. I find that families who come on the recommendation of current and past families are often practically ready to sign up the moment they walk in the door; they are just looking for confirmation of all the great things they’ve heard about us. All we have to do is be ourselves, be true to our brand, and these families are sold.
So, when talking about effective marketing, by far the most essential tool is positive brand consistency. By being true to our brand, families remain exceedingly happy with the quality and care they receive, and they do the marketing of our schools for us, marketing that is genuine and trustworthy. As our schools continue through enrollment season, keep this in mind, and I pray you enjoy the many new families coming your way!
Well, there’s always the newspaper and the yellow pages, but they are minimally used by the target demographics these days, and vastly expensive for their effectiveness.
Many like direct mailings, postcards or flyers that may be produced and mass distributed to mailing lists tailored to your chosen demographic. Rather pricey, but more effective than the newspaper. Of course, consider how often you deeply ponder the junk mail that shows up in your home before heavily investing in such an area.
There are some broad stroke marketing that may be used to hit random groups, such as advertising at the cinema, on busses, billboards, and other public marquees. They may work for you, and then again, they may not.
Radio or TV spots are possible for some, very expensive unless you have a “connection”, someone willing to donate all or some of the cost. But again, you’re just hoping to promote name recognition, and maybe get some nibbles because you caught an ear or an eye.
Online advertising is the hot area these days. Every school must have an effective, professional-looking website that allows people to access the information they desire about your school, along with simple ways to contact you for further information. This is often the first bit of research families now do. Facebook and other social media are also places your school can both have a preference as well as invest in advertising dollars. And don’t forget about optimizing your online search value, so that you pop up high and often on Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines when people are searching for your type of program.
There is certainly much to be said for name recognition, so another avenue of marketing is to be present in the community. Getting your students and staff involved in service events is great, especially if it garners press coverage or a published news release. Participating in local fairs and community celebrations gives people a chance to know you exist and what you are about.
When all is said and done, however, the number of new families acquired through all of these efforts will be paltry compared to the word-of-mouth recommendations of those who have had positive experiences with your school. Not only will your current and past happy families refer people your way, they will tend to send the right sort of families to you, families who share a value for what recommending families have already experienced and valued. I find that families who come on the recommendation of current and past families are often practically ready to sign up the moment they walk in the door; they are just looking for confirmation of all the great things they’ve heard about us. All we have to do is be ourselves, be true to our brand, and these families are sold.
So, when talking about effective marketing, by far the most essential tool is positive brand consistency. By being true to our brand, families remain exceedingly happy with the quality and care they receive, and they do the marketing of our schools for us, marketing that is genuine and trustworthy. As our schools continue through enrollment season, keep this in mind, and I pray you enjoy the many new families coming your way!