OK, that’s a strange headline. Let me explain.
In the world of marketing, too many admission folks tend to dream up this idea that if we just spend the right amount of money on the slickest ad in the fanciest magazine, then enrollment will increase.
Rarely does that happen. And even if we offer a few exceptions, it is certainly not the rule and most likely you know it.
In marketing circles (and I have also adopted this concept as a Certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultant), you will often hear marketing folks talk of this phrase:
KNOW . . . LIKE . . . TRUST
But in schools, admission folks tend to think like this:
ADVERTISE . . . APPLY
Again, going back to the very unusual title to this article, would you marry your school after the first date?
When I talk with schools about this KNOW-LIKE-TRUST, I liken it to the typical “dating” relationship. When I dated my wife, we got to KNOW each other. We subsequently spent a considerable amount of time together the next 18 months really LIKING each other (but not yet talking long-term commitment). But as we learned to TRUST one another, it became obvious. We then sealed that trust in a covenant of marriage (we celebrate 22 years this December).
Another way I have described this relationship nurturing effort is to use the alliteration of the letter “A” (I did this in a previous article with the alliteration of the letter “P”).
KNOW (AWARENESS).
LIKE (AFFINITY)
TRUST (AGREEMENT)
Perhaps this helps give you talking points with your marketing team.
Ask yourself, “how are we helping potential prospective parents become AWARE of us?”
Then ask, “if they are AWARE we exist, how are we building AFFINITY?”
Then, “what evidence can we show them that will offer them assurance that we are truly the best solution for the education of their children?” This will lead to AGREEMENT.
Here’s another article on this topic, “Why I Love My School”.
This is what I talk about with clients from Maryland to Mississippi, Atlanta to Alabama, Tennesse to right here in Texas – I would love to help you, too!
CLICK HERE TO START THE CONVERSATION
I admit that my possibly offensive title probably sounds like I think volunteers are a nuisance. Actually, the point of this article is to help you find practical ways to involve school volunteers who are always asking, “how can I help?”
First of all, while volunteers are a blessing, they come with conditions. It cannot be denied that volunteers on your marketing team operate differently than paid staff or outsourced consultants. Administrative officials and hired contractors work for results which are often tied to how much money they make or how long they keep their job. It’s one reason to consider NOT assigning critical, timely marketing tasks to volunteers. While they may indicate a willingness and eagerness to help, they MAY not operate with the same sense of urgency you have. Nor may they offer the same level of excellence you would demand of an employee or contractor. You want to have the freedom to dislike their work without feeling like you are going to offend them and run them off from volunteering ever again (or worse, writing a bad review about your school . . . uh, see #7 below). You want to be able to “fire” them if they do not perform. But how do you fire a non-paid volunteer?
So what jobs can you create for your eager beavers? Here are 7 ideas your school volunteers can do from any computer or mobile device: (more…)
I’m so excited to finally have the opportunity to interview John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing! John has been a marketing mentor of mine since I was invited to join the global network of Duct Tape Marketing consultants in 2007. At the time of this episode (May 2014), John is launching his 4th book, “Duct Tape Selling: Think Like a Marketer, Sell Like a Superstar“. When I heard John was going to be launching this book, I reached out to him and asked if he would join me for this podcast and he graciously accepted.
I know that many in the Admissions community may not enjoy thinking of themselves as “selling”. I do not pretend to equate what you do with that of a traditional salesman, I do think there is a similar function inside the organization. One premise of John’s book is that any disconnect or tension that has previously existed between sales and marketing, should no longer keep a business, nonprofit or school from adopting a new look at marketing and sales. In many schools, you may wear every single hat of communication, online presence, admissions and PR. But in many schools, the marketing arm is run by board members, the web/IT folks, a group of volunteers or a conglomerate of all of these players (where everyone considers their job as “marketing” yet no one is talking to the other!)
BUY JOHN’S BOOK – DUCT TAPE SELLING
My interview was so good that I decided to split this interview into a 2-part series so we could continue our unique 14-minute/29-second podcast format. In this second episode (see a link to the first episode, #34, in the shownotes below), John talks about:
- Content marketing – not just trying to be a world famous blogger or publisher, but to create content that your target market needs
- Listening – understanding what concerns them and knowing how to create content to address issues they don’t know to ask
- Platform – John closes with a suggestion for what could be a powerful tool in the communication platform of those in leadership
See our shownotes at the conclusion of this post for details, links, and other resources that we may have mentioned in this episode.
SHOWNOTES: (more…)
I’m so excited to finally have the opportunity to interview John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing! John has been a marketing mentor of mine since I was invited to join the global network of Duct Tape Marketing consultants in 2007. At the time of this episode (May 2014), John is launching his 4th book, “Duct Tape Selling: Think Like a Marketer, Sell Like a Superstar“. When I heard John was going to be launching this book, I reached out to him and asked if he would join me for this podcast and he graciously accepted.
I know that many in the Admissions community may not enjoy thinking of themselves as “selling”. I do not pretend to equate what you do with that of a traditional salesman, I do think there is a similar function inside the organization. One premise of John’s book is that any disconnect or tension that has previously existed between sales and marketing, should no longer keep a business, nonprofit or school from adopting a new look at marketing and sales. In many schools, you may wear every single hat of communication, online presence, admissions and PR. But in many schools, the marketing arm is run by board members, the web/IT folks, a group of volunteers or a conglomerate of all of these players (where everyone considers their job as “marketing” yet no one is talking to the other!)
BUY JOHN’S BOOK – DUCT TAPE SELLING
My interview was so good that I decided to split this interview into a 2-part series so we could continue our unique 14-minute/29-second podcast format. In this first episode, I ask John a few simple questions about:
- How do admission personnel serve both as marketers and salespeople?
- What are the key elements of selling and how has this changed over the years?
- How does this impact our relationship building with prospective families?
- What is the role of social media in relationship building with current and prospective students and families
- What has replaced the traditional pitching and promoting our “billboard and brochure” mentality?
- What roles does storytelling play in this new way of marketing and selling in the school environment?
- How do schools incorporate content marketing, SEO and social media into local search?
- What kind of content should a school produce to effectively reach our ideal prospective family?
See our shownotes at the conclusion of this post for details, links, and other resources that we may have mentioned in this episode.
SHOWNOTES: (more…)
Coming on the heels of Episode #28 where we discussed the definition of school marketing, now we talk about a term “loyal ambassadors.” In previous episodes, we talked a little more in depth about what it means to be a “loyal ambassador” (see the SHOWNOTES below for the links to those shows). When you think about what you are doing in school marketing, only pushing “enrollment” is short-sighted. You need to recruit new students, but also focus on retention (loyalty) and referrals (ambassadors and word of mouth). Making this episode even more interesting, we also talk about Taco Bell, Amy Grant, Quebec City and Randy’s upcoming speaking engagement at the National Christian School Association Annual Conference in Nashville.
RELATED: Download our free report on “The 3’s of School Marketing”
SHOWNOTES: (more…)
