Carol Anne Costa

 Remember …They will tell 2 friends and so on Remember …They will tell 2 friends and so on

 What drives our school?  Tuition  Are our parents customers?  Yes  Are you the face of the school at any given time?  Yes  Is there a correlation between a happy parent/customer and job security  YES

 Catholic School revenue is tuition driven  Boosting enrollment is the key to success  Maintaining a happy constituency is as important as attracting new students  Teachers are a critical piece of this task

 A happy parent is a nice quiet customer  An angry parent is loud and looks for an audience (remember they will tell 2 friends)  Yes or no?  Where does the upset parent find the first receptive ear?  At pick up-drop off  at Church  at the supermarket…. You get the picture.

 PR  CR  Golden Rule …which one?

 Public relations ( PR ) is the practice of managing the communication between an organization and its public. Public relations gains an organization or individual exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that provide a third-party endorsement and do not direct payment. Common activities include speaking at conferences, working with the media, and employee communication. It is something that is not tangible; this is what sets it apart from advertising.

  Customer relations is that function of business management concerned with how customers feel about a place of business -its personnel, products and services. Any firm that truly views the customer as the most important person ever to walk in the door of the business is on the right path toward good customer relations. Too often business activities are aimed at making things easy and convenient for the employees of the firm rather than focusing on the convenience and satisfaction of the customer. Why are the customer relations becoming more important? Rapid changes in transportation and communication have made customers more mobile than they were 20 years ago. On the average, these customers possess a higher level of education, are more discriminating in their purchases, and are more willing to try new products and services.  Without properly trained employees, the sales potential of the best goods and services will not be reached. Salespeople provide the day-to-day contact with the consuming public and the impression made and image presented will shape the store's image. Their actions and attitude speak louder than words. Therefore, it is important to maintain good personal selling techniques.  Substitute school for business and parent with customer

 …is a systematic process that is …  Up to Father and the Principal Yes? No? “Look I have enough on my plate. I can’t worry about administrative problems”… A prevalent sentiment in many Catholic Schools Turn that around

 A secret shopper named Carol Costa, conducted a un-scientific study  The results were very bad  So you say what does that have to do with me?  Ownership and job security… that’s what

Let us take a moment and share some wonderful anecdotes “My most influential person” A story from Carol Costa teacher Why is this important? Mission and Vision Share a that is why I am a teacher moment!

 Don’t have time… Legitimate but how do handle this?  The parent is WRONG!!! Now what?  Is my attitude Christ like?  How would you respond to your own parents?  Does the golden rule of retail apply?  What is the golden rule of retail?  Back pack VS Blackberry who wins?

 The correct response should be …  Timely  Pleasant  Personalized, dated, grammatically correct  Letter that is hand signed or with complete mail signature

The story of Elena and Stacy!

 No script  No hallmarks  Ok to call back  Ok to be busy!

 Did they have any questions?  Staying in touch  Building a relationship

 I hope you enjoyed the discussion and the tips!!

Carol Anne Costa Rockland Road Scituate RI 02857