Marketing: from entrance exams onwards

Strategic marketing resolutions for your school. By Russell Speirs

A lot of schools will be organising entrance exams at the moment, so ensure that this is a positive experience for all concerned. In particular, try the following…

provide parents with a place to bite their nails during exams or interviews and, if possible, get one or two members of staff to pop in to see them, make conversation and answer their questions or concerns;
make sure that the experience is as positive as it can be for the children who are sitting the exam: provide them with breaks, entertainment, explanations and reassurances; and
when it comes to giving out the results, be as friendly and positive (and personalised) as you can be with all concerned, including those who do not pass – the latter’s parents will talk positively to other people if you are kind and show empathy.

Numbers up
All schools, senior and prep, will be firming up their books for September 07 (or later) at this time of year.

You will be getting a much clearer picture of who is coming and who is not. With that in mind…

the next few months are the best time of year – by far – to carry out research into why people choose or do not choose your school. This research has to be carried out while the decision is fresh in the minds of parents and before they really cement their relationship with their chosen school. Plan to conduct the research any time from March onwards. And remember… the quality and usefulness of the responses will depend on the questions you ask and the method you use. You will learn a lot if you do it properly.

Set the tone
Budgeting for next year will be a priority in many schools during the term ahead. In terms of marketing…

don’t accept a budget request that is simply based on last year’s activities or costs. The marketing budget should be the estimated costs for carrying out an agreed set of actions to meet agreed objectives. As a starting point, help your marketing staff set those objectives (both measurable and intangible), facilitating discussions with governors and the head, if necessary; and
forecasting numbers can, in some schools, be a tricky business. Make sure you know your conversion ratios from enquiries, visits and registrations to new joiners. Over the last three years, say, how many enquiries or visits did you need each year to achieve in order to enrol the number of students who joined each September? How do those average ratios compare with where you stand now? What are you going to do to improve those ratios in the time that is left and where is time best spent?

Russell Speirs is the founder of RSAcademics, a specialist in marketing and management consultancy for independent schools. Russell can be contacted on 01572 821306 or by visiting www.rsacademics.co.uk

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