Marketing our School

Marketing your School “the means by which the school actively communicates and promotes its purpose, values and products to the pupils, parents, staff and wider community” (Davies and Ellison, 1997)

Why bother to market? Improve (or manage) the school’s reputation Raise the school’s profile Schools with a positive image tend to have better student behaviour/attendance A positive image improves morale Attracts quality staff Develops a sense of pride Funding!

Why bother to market? Some schools have used marketing strategies to overcome challenges, such as falling pupil numbers and poor reputations The power of a positive image should not be underestimated!

Who is the market audience? Internal Market Staff Governors Visitors Current pupils Current parents External Market Prospective pupils Prospective parents Prospective staff Community LA Ofsted

Developing a marketing plan The Marketing Matrix Product Price Place People Promotion Positioning

Developing a marketing plan Agree a Vision What kind of school are we/want to be? What are your goals, aims and objectives? OUR VISION: the pursuit of academic excellence and individual achievement within a caring community.

Developing a marketing plan Identify Unique Selling Point Identify the things the school does well USPs emphasised Promote them in marketing materials

Developing a marketing plan Devise a Mission Statement Articulate the Vision and communicate the Unique Selling Points of your school Needs to be clear and concise

Developing a marketing plan Audit existing situation Important to establish current perceptions Helps to evaluate current strengths and weaknesses Determine who will carry out the research External expertise or in-house? Look at what is available already

Market Research Primary and Secondary Market Research Primary research is new research, carried out to answer specific issues or questions. It can involve questionnaires, surveys or interviews with individuals or small groups. Secondary research makes use of information previously researched for other purposes and publicly available. Also known as 'desk research‘, secondary research includes published research reports in a library, surveys or the Internet. It can also include reports produced by professional groups, universities or government reports

Developing a marketing plan Audit existing situation Open days / parents meetings Questionnaires / attitude surveys to key stakeholders Focus groups Media reports Ofsted reports PANDA - performance and assessment data School self-evaluation documents

Quantitative and Qualitative Quantitative research presents information numerically, for example, by use of percentages. All respondents in interviews or questionnaires answer the same questions to ensure consistency. Qualitative research finds out opinions through open-ended questions.

Limitations of Market Research Accurate, up-to-date information obtained by marketing research can be of enormous value to gaining and/or maintain a competitive edge. However, there are a number of limiters which may prevent these benefits being realised – in part or as a whole...

Limitations continued... Budgetary constraints primary research = expensive No funds to pay a marketer No funds to pay for secondary research Time Constraints In business you need to make decisions quickly to maintain or improve your position

Limitations continued... Reliability of Data Leading questions Biased interviewers Unrepresentative samples Legalities & Ethics Dealing with the public, their identities, information about them [Data Protection Act]

Use of market research Information about the market Analysis of the market potential for existing products (e.g. market size, growth, changing (sales) trends) Forecasting future demand for existing products Assessing the potential for new products Study of market trends Analysis of competitor behaviour and performance Analysis of market shares Information about Products Likely customer acceptance (or rejection) of new products Comparison of existing products in the market (e.g. price, features, costs, distribution) Forecasting new uses for existing products Technologies that may threaten existing products New product development

Use of market research Information about Pricing in the Market Estimates and testing of price elasticity Analysis of revenues, margins and profits Customer perceptions of “just or fair” pricing Competitor pricing strategies Information about Promotion in the Market Effectiveness of advertising Effectiveness of sales force (personal selling) Extent and effectiveness of sales promotional activities Competitor promotional strategies

Use of market research Information about Distribution in the Market Use and effectiveness of distribution channels Opportunities to sell direct Cost of transporting and warehousing products Level and quality of after-sales service

Developing a marketing plan Agree actions Use outcomes from research and input from stakeholders to formulate the Market Plan The Plan will include: Priorities Actions required Timescale Costs Who is responsible How progress will be monitored How it will be evaluated Success criteria

Marketing Techniques and Activities People Publications Media / News Releases Events Web

Developing a marketing plan 6.Plan Actions Marketing/Publicity activities include: Publications Media Events Web Research Photography Primary links Internal Communications External Communications

Developing a marketing plan 7. Implement the Actions AUTUMN TERMSPRING TERMSUMMER TERM PublicationsProspectus Student Planner Termly Newspaper Staff recruitment Termly Newspaper School Calendar Termly Newspaper AdvertisingOpen DayStaff RecruitmentSummer Fair WebsiteDevelopment of Contents Website UpdateReview Contents Primary linksRoadshows in primaries Workshops for Years 4/5 Visit of Year 6 intake ResearchStudent questionnaire Staff SurveyParental Focus Group Etc etc

How successful is the plan? 8.Monitor and Evaluate Monitoring allows you to check things are progressing according to the Plan Consider your monitoring systems and how they could be improved eg Have a feedback section on website Simple questionnaires to give feedback on school events Ask telephone callers and visitors about their experiences

How successful is the plan? 8.Monitor and Evaluate Have visitors to the website increased? Is press coverage increasing? What’s staff turnover like? How many applications are you receiving? Are school events well attended? Have pupil numbers increased? Are there improved links with local organisations?

Website now:

Sixth Form website

...and what it was...