The power of friendship networks

Implications for schools

If somebody knows someone who educates a child privately, then that makes them more likely to at least consider it too. We know from research for schools carried out at mtm that word-of-mouth is the single biggest influencer on choice of school, but this insight goes back much further in the decision-making process. It influences awareness and consideration of independent education in general and describes the process of people opening themselves to the idea of fee-paying schools.

Here are a couple of thoughts for schools. . .

1)     If you identify those parts of your catchment where you don’t have pupils and build up recruitment there, over time you should see a snowball effect as more local people consider you.

2)     If your current parent body is socially homogeneous, you might well be missing out on a whole market of people with money but different lifestyles.

mtm’s Mandarin catchment area analysis product can help schools understand their marketplace and parent body, while our strategic and marketing services for schools allow clients to enhance their positioning. For more details please contact james@emrsolutions.co.uk or call 01502 722787.