Laying the Foundations Webinar

This year we have thrown ourselves back on to the events circuit, and have held a number of fascinating webinars on topics including fee elasticity, oxbridge admissions and, most recently, laying the foundations for a successful marketing and admissions strategy.

The Webinar

It was fantastic to welcome so many marketing and admissions staff to the webinar, as it was one of our most popular sessions to date.

Hosted by Dominic Moon, from Metropolis, the webinar panel was made up of successful Heads of Marketing and Admissions working within independent schools. Amy Tout, Director of Marketing, Admissions and Communications at Bristol Grammar School joined AMCIS board member Jenny Dinning, Head of External Relations at Bootham School, and AMCIS Chair David Milner, Head of Marketing and International Relations at Sedbergh School.

Topics

There was no shortage of questions for the panel, with conversations ranging from how to structure your team and successfully plug any knowledge gaps to analysing the success of marketing campaigns and which are the most relevant metrics to use.

MTM’s Head of Business Development, Daniel Cohen, also talked webinar attendees through a recent case study of our work with Lord Wandsworth College, to highlight the importance of undertaking the right research at the right time. He was also able to share recent work going on at MTM around the issue of fee elasticity, which has already been hugely popular with our clients.

Future trends

One thing on which all panellists were in agreement was the importance of data, the insights that data can provide and the value of this when setting strategy, and reporting to governors and SLT. While the results of the Confidence Index 2023 are yet to be confirmed, last year’s survey showed that reporting on ROI is an area in which marketers lack confidence and data can of course be invaluable here.

Panel Tips

• Ambassadors: Know who your ambassadors are, both in the staff room, within your parent body and on your board of governors. Use these ambassadors to help get buy-in where it is needed.
• Have a voice: The panel were united that a Head of Marketing and Admissions should be represented on the SLT. If you aren’t, speak to your Head and make sure that your voice is represented.
• Define the metrics: How do you meausure success? Are you focusing on quantity or quality? It is important not to focus on just one moment in time, but the overal picture.
• An objective voice can be key: You can’t argue with data, although some may try!

If you would like to discuss any of these points, or would like a confidential conversation around how market research can help inform your marketing and admissions strategy, contact Daniel on 01502 722787 or danielc@mtmconsulting.co.uk.