Transcript AMEN Webinar - Archdiocese of Chicago
Enrollment Management
Office of Catholic Schools
Maria Ippolito [email protected]
Director of School Marketing and Communications
MORE KIDS IN GREAT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Great Catholic Schools – The ‘Customer Experience’
Knowledgeable Professional Communities Supportive Leadership Catholic Identity Ambitious Instruction Engaged Families
Where
GREAT
exists, the stage is set for successful enrollment marketing.
Climate for Student Learning
The OCS Marketing Team
• • • •
KK Cleland Juana Sanchez Graber Maria Ippolito Yasmin Quiroz
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The Portal
A collection of resources and best practices surrounding the enrollment management framework.
http://ocs.archchicago.org/SchoolVitality/MarketingEnrollment.aspx
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Archdiocesan Marketing Enrollment Network
Sharing what works from outside experts and internal success stories
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Monthly Enrollment Marketing
Calendar and Newsletter
Keeping you up to date on:
• • •
Current topics Helpful hints Spotlight on success stories
•
Reminders
http://bit.ly/pastnewsletters OCS
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AMEN Monthly Webinars
Month Topic Webinar Date
August Bootcamp Recap August 19 September 16 September October November December January February March April May Setting a Calendar AMEN Workshop at Quigley October 8 Early Childhood Value Prop Online Customer Service/Start Prepping CSW AMEN Workshop at Quigley- January 14 Retention Parent Ambassadors Social Media Websites and Summer Strategies November 18 December 16 February 17 March 17 April 21 May 19
All webinars are from 12:00- 1:00 CST
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Enrollment Management Framework, Plan and Teams
Marketing Building interest in enrolling in the schools New Family Sales Getting new families to enroll Retention Sales Getting existing families to re-enroll
Enrollment Management Teams comprised of teachers, parents, leaders, marketing staff, parishioners
ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Academic Product, Service Delivery, Environment, and Programs Marketing i.e., Building interest in enrolling in the schools
Define Target Audience
New Family Sales i.e., Getting new families to enroll
Call Handling & Registration Procedure
Retention Sales i.e., Getting existing families to re-enroll
Ongoing Communications to School Families Define / Refine Compelling Value Proposition Communicate with Parents & Community Lead Follow-Up Procedure Objection Handling Enlist Students in Retention Strategy Enlist Faculty in Retention Strategy Determine Pricing Strategy Financial Aid Objection Handling Create & Execute Retention Strategy Financial Aid
Assessment i.e., How did our plans and activities work? Did we meet our goals?
“CATHOLIC AND SAFE” ISN’T ENOUGH ANY MORE; MAY NEED TO MARKET BEYOND JUST THE PARISH
Marketing i.e., Building interest in enrolling in the schools
Define Target Audience Define / Refine Compelling Value Proposition Communicate with Parents & Community Determine Pricing Strategy Create & Execute Retention Strategy
“Why should I spend my money to send my child to your school?”
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Who are we trying to attract? What do they want?
How do we target our RE/CCD families?
Is our Parish enough? Other Parishes without schools?
What about non-Catholics?
What’s our admission policy?
Why would our target market choose to enroll?
What differentiates our school, what are our proof points?
What’s our pricing strategy?
How do we most effectively make our case (text, images, video, pulpit, etc.)? Who is most effective?
What’s actual today and what’s aspirational?
What do our best advocates say? Our worst critics?
How can we most effectively reach our targets? When?
How does our web site play into the strategy?
What other marketing deliverables do we need?
What role do teachers, parents, etc. play?
How can we get everyone to stay on message with our value proposition?
• • • • • • • What is our target market’s ability to pay?
What is the willingness to pay for our product?
How do we handle tuition assistance?
How do we incent new families and retention?
In reality this requires many of the same actions as described above, but directed at existing parents Need to continually reinforce why they made the right decision and are receiving value Teachers play a big role in retention
FAMILIES ARE CUSTOMERS – WE NEED TO TREAT THEM THAT WAY
New Family Sales i.e., Getting new families to enroll
Call Handling & Registration Procedure Lead Follow-Up Procedure Objection Handling Financial Aid
“Will I enroll my child?” We spend so much energy on marketing; can we really count on making a one-call close?
• • • • Collect prospective family information Ensure that we stay on message with value proposition Ensure that we have a call to action (e.g., visit) Ensure that family has clear and supportive way to progress through registration process • • • • • • • Families need to hear multiple times that they are wanted – from multiple people – Principal, teacher, other family member, potentially another student Follow-up communications need to be purposeful – 1 st call says X, 2 nd call says Y, etc.
Ideally, follow up occurs within 1 day Every inquiry is a relationship building opportunity, not just a phone call What objections do we expect to receive and how should we handle them?
Ensure that communicators have a good answer that’s consistent with the value proposition How do we answer the tuition question in such a way as to get to the next conversation?
• • • • Follows from our tuition strategy We need an objective, confidential process We need to communicate to families that we will work with them – the alternative is that they assume that we’re unaffordable Every family should be treated individually, based on their individual circumstances
IF WE CAN’T RE-ENROLL EXISTING FAMILIES AT A HIGH RATE, WHY WOULD NEW FAMILIES ENROLL AT ALL?
Retention Sales i.e., Getting existing families to re-enroll
Ongoing Communications to School Families Enlist Students in Retention Strategy Enlist Faculty in Retention Strategy Objection Handling
“Was our experience good enough to re-enroll my child?”
• • Families need to hear multiple times about all the good things going on Every communication is a chance to reinforce the value of Catholic education and your school • • • Families respond to what their children want Students can have a very important role in parents’ decisions to return or not Vibrant schools have students excited to return each day • • Faculty also plays an important role – in general and with regard to retention at specific grades School leadership needs to enlist staff in the retention effort to both act as early warning systems and to take specific actions • • • • Similar to objection handling for new families, with two important differences Some objections may be family-specific based on the specific experience of that family Some objections may require a degree of specificity and frankness appropriate as family knows the “dirt” Requires leadership to know family situations Financial Aid • • Similar to financial aid for new families Knowledge of family situations gives schools an opportunity to be proactive … being proactive can significantly and positively impact the relationship
AS WITH ANY OTHER KEY PRIORITY, WE MUST ASSESS THE IMPACT OF OUR ACTIONS & IMPROVE OVER TIME
Assessment i.e., How did our plans and activities work? Did we meet our goals?
Marketing
• • • Lead count, leads by source, etc.
Survey results, focus groups, etc.
Positive “buzz” in the community
New Family Sales
• • • Number of new families enrolled Lead conversion rate, i.e., % of leads enrolling Follow-on interviews with enrolling & non-enrolling families
Retention Sales
• • Retention rate for existing families Exit interviews with enrolling & non-enrolling families
More Kids… Enrollment Management Planning Template and Rubric
Who Manages Enrollment?
• Your school’s EM Team – YOU – Principal – Pastor – Faculty Member(s) – Parent(s) – Receptionist – Board/Committee?
– Staff – Marketing/Admissions?
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Enrollment Management Teams
Parent Ambassador Program
Started in 2010 to provide structure to “word of mouth marketing” Revised in 2012 to meet the needs of our schools Approximately 75 schools have implemented a Parent Ambassador program with proven enrollment growth
http://ocs.archchicago.org/SchoolVitality/Market ingEnrollment/ParentAmbassadors.aspx
Integrated Communications
• Keep parents informed. . . Keep them engaged. . . Keep them “scripted” • Constant messaging centered around the unique value proposition • Key Audiences: Prospective Families, Current Parents, Alumni and Friends
How do you personally keep your students’ parents informed? Is the school’s value proposition integrated?
Website and Electronic Media
• • • • • • • • Integral today– must be accurate and complete Articulation of mission and programs Admissions process Schedules School news Forms Faculty e-mails/contact/blogs/webpages Photos and videos Fundraising
Welcome Letter
• • • • • • Take time to write a letter of introduction to your school families. Elements of a good letter include: Brief introduction Background and philosophy Keep it “warm” and engaging Avoid language parents won’t understand Consider hosting an event Add important dates -
Please submit sample welcome letter by July 21
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Websites
• • • • •
Questions to consider:
Who can help you maintain?
Who currently has access? How often is it updated?
Does it reflect most up to date school information?
Who is your target audience? And how do you balance information for audiences?
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• • •
10 Year 5 Year Enrollment Tracking
http://bit.ly/EnrollmentTracking2014
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Websites
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Elements of a Good Website
(from a
• •
marketing perspective)
:
Engaging photos Clean layout\easy to navigate Up to date- tuition, teachers etc.
Tabs for current families and prospects “Contact Us” page with ability to take info Admissions Tab Evidence of vibrant school community School Video Mobile Accessible Google optimized