Marketing your School Gillian Allen Business Manager

Marketing your School Gillian Allen Business Manager
Churchill Community College North Tyneside Schools operate in a competitive marketplace. Not only do they compete with each other to attract pupils, but also to recruit the best staff, gain partnership support and community approval. As many schools are suffering falling pupil roles and reduced funding, it is increasingly important for schools to market themselves effectively. A good marketing strategy can enhance internal and external awareness of the good work that is being accomplished by the school. It provides a method of communicating to students, parents, staff and the community that the school is dedicated to achieving excellence as well as meeting the educational needs of its community. Marketing is an essential part of school business. Effective marketing can influence every aspect of school life, but the most important result is an enriched learning environment for students.

Marketing your School What is marketing?
“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 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 Creating a positive identity and promoting your school effectively is all about improving the school’s reputation, raising its profile and contributing to it’s success. There are many reasons for promoting your school even if you think its image is currently quite good.... Schools with a positive image tend to have better student behaviour and higher attendance. Creating a buzz can energise staff and students, improve morale and promote pride in the school. Creating a positive identity improves morale. A school with a positive image will find it easier to retain or recruit staff. A good image fosters a sense of pride and belonging.

Why market? Some schools have use marketing strategies to overcome challenges, such as falling pupil numbers and poor reputations The power of a positive image should not be underestimated! Its worth bearing in mind that some schools that have emerged from serious challenges have found the effective promotion of their image a KEY DRIVING FORCE for school improvement.

Why market? Marketing needs to be
central to school business management embedded into school development planning the remit of all staff Above all – marketing needs to be .... Given high status – at leadership level Why Market? Central to business of the school – Not an add on – but integral to the work and culture of the school Development planning, whether short, medium or long term should inolve a marketing strategy – and promote the school’s aims, goals and activities. Not just the concern of one or two people Staff – need to be convinced this is something they need to be actively involved in. They have a role to play in promoting the school – success stories, speaking positively about the school. Strategic operation – responsive to client needs and opinions. High status with full support of the HT, SMT and Governors

Who is the market audience?
Internal Market Staff Governors Visitors/helpers Current pupils Current parents External Market Prospective pupils Prospective parents Prospective staff Community LA Ofsted It is important to have a clear view of the target market audience. A simplistic view would be only to consider the parent and child.. However, this would ignore the broader set of stakeholders (internal and external) who are also significant in marketing terms. It is essential that for the effective marketing of your school, it is important to raise awareness of your various client groups. Each client group could be seen from the point of view of a market segment – having similar needs.

Developing a marketing strategy
The Marketing Matrix Product Price Place People Promotion Positioning The process of marketing and developing a marketing strategy is often referred to as the marketing matrix. These are listed as..... Product – is the education service provided to pupils and arguably the most significant. It includes: The nature and extent of your curriculum Extra curricular activities After school care Ethos Religious denomination Price – is not only applicable to the physical goods market. In education is could relate to: Fee-paying (private sector) Formula funding / pupil numbers Place – This is the geographical and physical location of the school in terms of convenience / accessibility, as well as its appearance and condition People – The education produce is delivered through the people in school, therefore successful marketing is determined by: Quality of staff and their ability to communicate the vision and the purpose of the school Promotion – there are a number of techniques that can be employed to broadcast the benefits of the product. This includes communication via publications, media etc Positioning – In industry and commerce a great deal of attention is given to market positioning. This means the way your clients perceive your organisation in the marketplace. What is its reputation? Traditional? Academic? Caring? Good extra-curricular provision? Strong discipline? Religious ethos?

Agree a Vision Identify your school’s “Unique Selling Point” Devise a Mission Statement Audit existing situation Set up a Marketing/Publicity team Agree actions to realise Vision Implement the actions Monitor and evaluate There are a number of marketing activities and tactics that you can use to promote your school. Before rushing into any marketing effort it is important to ensure you have developed your Marketing Strategy. It is important to spend time in the planning stages to ensure you are focussed on the right things and that you are working to a plan to meet your own school’s needs.

Agree a Vision What kind of school do you want to be? What are your goals, aims and objectives? Vision Look 5 years into the future. Imagine how you would like your school to be perceived in 5 years time – how will people talk about your school? You could do this in small groups at school. Involve all stakeholders – small group discussions. Get them to write down statements which describe the future? Discuss them in groups and with a wider audience. Summarise the statements, look for common themes. Write the vision using positive language eg “Our school is...” “Our students are...”

Unique Selling Point Identify the things your school does very well already Stress these unique features wherever possible Promote them in marketing materials Whilst your Vision will identify the things you might want to change, don’t lose sight of the fact that you already do some things very well. You need to make the most of these positive features. Whenever and wherever you can, stress the unique features of your school. Find ways to include them in positive messages about your school Unique Selling Point can be identified from your SWOT ANALYSIS

Devise a Mission Statement Articulate the Vision and communicate the Unique Selling Points of your school Needs to be clear and concise eg “Everyone learning together” or “Success through achievement” The Mission Statement articulates the Vision and communicates the unique features of the school. It will be one of the hardest things to capture in a simple sentence or paragraph, but it is vital to produce one. Be clear and concise – try and capture the essence of the school to include its aims and values for example Everyone learning together Or Success through achievement

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 Audit existing situation Important to take stock of how your school is currently perceived in the community. You need to be open to the views and opinions of others – even if you don’t agree with them. Research will help you evaluate the school’s strengths and weaknesses and assess the effectiveness of its existing communications. Who will do it? Buy in expertise – OR

Audit existing situation Open days / parents meetings Questionnaires / attitude surveys to key stakeholders Focus groups Media reports Ofsted reports PANDA’s, performance and assessment data School self-evaluation documents You can use the normal pattern of school activities to gather information Open days / Parents meetings– debriefing with staff after the event, or contact a random sample of those attending to gather information Questionnaires / attitude surveys to key stakeholders Focus groups Ofsted reports PANDA’s, performance and assessment data School self-evaluation documents

Set up a Marketing/Publicity Team The team should include: At least one member of the SMT Governor Support Staff Parent Community representation A group should be established that has responsibility for your school’s marketing / PR work and a coordinator appointed to take the lead. You should have: At least one member from the SMT A governor A member of the support staff A parent A community representative perhaps? The role of the group is to develop, plan, monitor and evaluate the progress of the marketing and publicity work. By identifying members roles and responsibilities you can ensure you are making the most of th team’s skills and experience. The group should meet at least half termly for a focused meeting with an agenda.

Agree actions Use outcomes from research and input from stakeholders to agree an Action Plan The Action Plan should include: Priorities Actions required Timescale Costs Who is responsible How progress will be monitored How it will be evaluated Success criteria Once the marketing group has the outcomes of the research and input from stakeholders, they will be ready to agree an action plan. Decide on the priorities – internal and external Plan the actions and timescale in accordance with the academic year and take into account activities on the school calendar The plan should make clear any resources and costs and who is responsible for doing what and how the plan will be monitored and evaluated. By identifying success criteria you will be able to judge whether the actions have been carried out effectively. Share the plan with people who need to see it – staff and governors. It would be a good to find a way of sharing successes internally.

Agree actions Marketing/Publicity activities include: Publications Media Events Website Research Photography Primary links Internal Communications External Communications

6. Agree Actions Priority: Media - Increase the number of press releases Action Time-scale Costs Who? Monitoring Evaluation Success Criteria Identify key events in school diary Create a half-termly programme of press releases Write press-releases and send out Take digital photos of events It would be helpful to have the action plan laid out in tabular form under these headings.

7. Implement the Actions AUTUMN TERM SPRING TERM SUMMER TERM Publications Prospectus Student Planner Termly Newspaper Staff recruitment School Calendar Advertising Open Day Staff Recruitment Summer Fair Website Development of Contents Website Update Review Contents Primary links Roadshows in primaries Workshops for Years 4/5 Visit of Year 6 intake Research Student questionnaire Staff Survey Parental Focus Group Etc etc It would also help to prepare a yearly schedule with termly actions. Members of the group will have their individual actions – or might meet with sub groups to ensure activities and events are organised according to the plan and deadlines are met.

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 MONITOR Monitoring your strategy and activities is an important element of the process. It allows you to check that things are progressing according to the plan. Think about the monitoring systems you currently have in place and whether they can be improved or increased. For example... Does the school website have a feedback section? Could questionnaires asking for parental feedback be given out at school events? Do the reception staff ask callers and visitors for some feedback?

Developing a Marketing Strategy
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? EVALUATE Evaluation is more concerned with the degree to which you’ve been successful. It should take place at least once a term, measuring the results and learning from them. Look at any statistics or evidence that will help with the evaluation process. How many visitors has your website received? What about press coverage? What’s staff turnover like? What are the application figures for staff recruitment? How many events are there and how many people turn up to them? Have pupil numbers increased? How many organisations do you have links with? HANDOUT THREE – DEVELOPING YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY – SELF EVALUATION

Marketing Techniques and Activities
People Publications Media / News Releases Events School Website ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY IN PLACE, YOU CAN THEN FOCUS ON THE MARKETING TECHNIQUES AND ACTIVITIES These include People Publications Media / News Releases Events Website

People: The 4 P’s: Pupils Parents Professionals Public Do not focus only on written communication. The most powerful means of promoting the school is by word of mouth. Important to have a pro-active approach to managing communications. The 4 P’s are Pupils Parents Professionals Public First 3 P’s are part of the internal market. Important of internal communications cannot be overestimated. They should be equipped with the right messages and have positive attitudes.. Central task of school management is therefore how to encourage this type of attitude and pride in the school. Professionals can also be part of the external market. These are the headteachers and staff of feeder / partner schools. They also need to have the same accurate information and positive views as the internal ambassadors. The 4th P – Public very powerful determinant of the school’s image in the community. Whether positive or negative, the message soon spreads. When schools deal with people in all these categories, the way the oral communication is transmitted and how it is perceived can be vital to the marketing effort. (How the phone is answered, how visitors are dealt with on reception).

Publications include: School Prospectus – statutory requirement Brochures – other promotional material Flyers – flat or folded sheet (cost effective) Newsletters – home/school communication Publications are a key way in which people form judgements about your school. It is often self produced promotional material which includes: Prospectus – probably the most important promotional tool. Think about distribution to whom, when and how? What are parents perceptions? Have you thought about using a CD or DVD version? Does any of your information need to be produced in different formats or languages? Quality of production is as important as the quality of content. Use a professional photographer. Ensure photos reflect key messages. Consider content – not too much text. Think of needs of parent body – what would they want to see? What helps in their decision-making? Think about sponsorship. Give out our prospectus / folders Regulations: A school must publish its prospectus at least 6 weeks before the final date by which parents are asked to apply for admission to the school. Governors should make sure that copies are available in languages other than English and that information is available in formats relevant to parents with disabilities. Copies should be available at the school and sent free of charge on request. They must contain: The name, address and telephone number of the schoool The type of school and the names of the headteacher and chair of governors Information about admissions A statement of the school’s ethos and values Details of any affiliations with a particular religion, the religious education provided, the right to withdraw their child from religious education and collective worship and the alternative provision for those students Information about the school’s policy for providing for pupils with special educational needs and any changes to that policy from last year The total number of registered pupils Rates of pupils authorised and unauthorised absence The school’s National Curriculum assessment results (primary) Public examination results (secondary) Student destinations (secondary) This can be very effective and create a more human picture than just statistics. Beyond this information, you need to decide what additional information would be best included in this – or in other publications. Key points in planning the design of your prospectus: Decide your requirements eg recruitment of students, information from governors, staff recruitment? Convey the unique selling point of the school Decide on the main features and structure the prospectus clearly Always have the parent / reader in mind when designing layouts Have a simple, eye-catching and tasteful cover Ensure a professional appearance Avoid jargon – proof read Use high quality photos / illustrations Consider contents carefully – not too wordy or information that will date quickly Brochures Flyers Newsletters Newsletters – not every school does this, but they are ideal ways of making sure the stories you want to print reach a ready and wide audience. Ensure these are also of high quality. Decide on frequency (weekly, monthly, termly). Think about your readers – who is this aimed at? What are your key messages. Is this an information sheet or a promotional tool? (Give out Adrenalins)

Media Make the media work for you Have a named contact Find out the ‘copy deadlines’ Invite journalists into school Set up interesting photos Send a regular flow of high quality articles Do they want fax, phone or contact? The media can have a very powerful effect on how your school is perceived – so it is vital that effective media relations form an integral part of your marketing and publicity strategy. The media are especially important for schools because They are one of the main outlets for getting information about your school into the public domain The help people form opinions about your school If you develop positive working relationships with the media they can be strong advocates for your work They are one of the cheapest and most effective ways of getting your message across to your stakeholders and the general community If students and staff see themselves in the press on a regular basis it will improve morale and self esteem However, the media industry does not always enjoy a great deal of popularity amongst many teachers – due to inaccurate reporting, complaints about teachers long holidays and negative stories about the strife of modern schools – all contribute to their unpopularity. Yet for the most part, the press actually contain more positive stories about schools than negative ones. Its just the bad ones tend to stick in the mind longer. Therefore its up to you to sent good news their way. This is an opportunity for your school. It helps to understand how the publicity machine works. If you make it easy for journalists to report good news about your school, then the positive stories will follow. Make their job easier by (read slide)

Media continued News releases should have A good quality photo and caption The date and time A descriptive headline Factual information (eg about the school) Include What, Where, When, Why, Who Avoid jargon (eg HOD, SMT etc) Contact information for the journalist to get more information Send to newspapers, radio and television Use to update the school website Include in school newsletters Display where they can be seen by community or visitors to school Keep a file News releases should have A good quality photo and caption The date and time A descriptive headline Factual information (eg about the school) Include What, Where, When, Why, Who Avoid jargon (eg HOD, SMT etc) Contact information for the journalist to get more information Send to newspapers, radio and television Use to update the school website Include in school newsletters Display where they can be seen by community or visitors to school Keep a file

Events Consider: How you meet and greet visitors Use students as guides (ensure they are well-briefed) What information is available? Is there a range of appropriate displays? Events Open days, open evenings and other school events are excellent opportunities to show off your school to best effect. The way a school presents itself is crucial in terms of recruiting prospective students, parents and staff. Opportunities to see the school is one of the most useful sources of information to those who are choosing schools. Consider: Who is there to meet your visitors –how do they appear? Have the key ambassadors for the school as guides – use students and ALL staff. Ensure they are well briefed. Consider what information you have available. Is it relevant and informative. Include your school prospectus, perhaps a map of the school, why your school is unique, a timetable of events and some recent newsletters Is the reception area bright and welcoming with a range of appropriate displays?

Website Golden Rules: Update the site regularly Remember the “Three-Click Rule” Use short paragraphs and avoid overcrowded pages Include a section highlighting current news and events Website – superb platform from which you can promote everything positive about your school. Easy to use mechanism to get feedback – not just about the website, but about other school matters and / or publications. Needs to be updated regularly with current news and photographs. Advantages of website are Access to a wider world – online school community Information that can be constantly and cheaply updated A method of communicating directly with existing and prospective stakeholders Interactive opportunities Research tool Golden rules about websites: Update it regularly Use short paragraphs, avoid overcrowding Have a section highlighting current news and events Have a frequently asked questions section Show range of extra-curricular and out of school activities, Invite requests for further information (eg using facility) Publish the school newsletter on the website Use photos Include a useful links section eg DfES

Marketing your school References
Best, B., Donnelly, I. and Grebot, M. (2006) Promoting Your School, Hampshire: Teachers’ Pocket Books. Davies, B and Ellison, L. (2003) Strategic Marketing for Schools. London: Pearson Education Ltd. Devlin, T., (1998) Public Relations & Marketing for Schools. London: Pitman Publishing. Lockhart, Johanna M. (2005) How to Market Your School. Lincoln, USA: iUniverse.

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Marketing your School Gillian Allen Business Manager

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