Marketing your school

Buying advertising space is not necessarily the most effective way of promoting your school. What is? By Russell Speirs

If word-of-mouth explains why 70 per cent of people contact your school about a place for their child, then surely you should spend at least 70 per cent of your marketing budget on it?

Or, put another way, if it has long since been known that fewer than 10 per cent of independent school parents start thinking about a school because of adverts, and that none choose it on the basis of adverts, then why do schools continue spending so much money on them?

The answer, I fear, is partly the pressure from governors, teaching staff and even bursars, to continue advertising. I think another part of the answer, and perhaps the reason for the pressure, is that most people associate advertising with marketing. They see so much of it everywhere, there is an assumption that it must work.

Priorities worked out
It is interesting to note, in this context, that schools without a marketing plan spend 25 per cent more on advertising than those with a marketing plan. And, in a similar vein, the schools where marketing is the responsibility of a non-specialist (such as a teacher or administrative assistant) tend to spend a great deal more on advertising than those that have a dedicated marketing manager. Some schools would actually save money if they appointed a marketing specialist.

These are findings taken from our nationwide RSBenchmarking study of independent schools.

On the whole, the schools which consistently spend most on advertising are those whose staff know least about marketing, have least time for it or do not plan for it.

Other views
I am not against advertising, per se. After all, I grew up (professionally speaking) at Unilever, at one time the world’s largest spender on advertising. And nor am I saying that advertising never works for schools. It’s just that the role of advertising for schools is relatively limited and the adverts produced tend, on the whole, to be poor.

So, what is the alternative?
Well, there’s a well known marketing saying which is “fish where the fish are”. It means spend your time and effort where it is most likely to be fruitful. And in the context of my argument here, it means this: if parents are influenced most by what their friends say about schools, then make sure

a) you know who their friends are,
b) you know where they meet and talk and what they talk about, and
c) make sure you give them something to say. Put the right words in the right mouths.

The best definition of marketing I have come across is “whatever makes selling easy”. Enthusiastic, spontaneous endorsements from parents make selling simple. Memorable, surprising and positive stories about your school at dinner parties, in the health club steam room or at the local Starbucks – that makes marketing easy, too.

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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