Spreading the word

We all know that word-of-mouth recommendation sells schools. We often hear the argument that there is no point in doing marketing because the school sells itself, and all our prospective parents cite word of mouth as the key source of information. While I would not dispute that word of mouth is indeed the most significant marketing tool and most advertising is a waste of money, there are many ways to harness and capitalise on word of mouth to build the reputation of your school. Here are our top three:

1. Parent ambassadors. Your parents have bought in to your brand and most are happy customers. Added to this, parents love to boast about how well their child is doing at school, and if they are paying fees, they will want to justify their reasons for doing so. Use research to identify areas of high recruitment potential for your school, and then deploy parent ambassadors. Ask parents in these key areas to host a dinner party for a number of their friends, making sure your prospectus is on the coffee table. Sponsoring the wine may help the evening flow positively.
2. Organise an event on your site. Hosting an event allows you to display your facilities, but also invite a whole range of families on to your grounds who may never have been before. Invite local businesses to have a stand or sponsor the event while your pupils showcase their talents. Invite all families locally, families at feeder schools and all the families in your admissions pipeline. Any activities to encourage mingling will also help. During the day, deploy tablet computers with a short survey, such as an EMRS snap poll, to help understand perceptions about the school and ways to improve events in the future.
3. If you have pupils who are in local groups such as the scouts or guides, support them in their activities. While many families using these groups probably can’t afford your fees, it will ensure they talk about you positively. Previous research of the general market, such as through targeted focus groups or street interviews, has shown a marked increase in awareness of and also positive feeling about schools that have supported such groups in the past.

To discuss ideas for marketing your school or how to apply research techniques, please call James on 01502 722787 or email james@emrsolutions.co.uk.

mtmconsulting is a brand of Education Market Research Solutions Ltd.