Hatching brands

Where does your school fit among its rivals? And what do your parents think of it? Macia Grebot reports on the importance of branding

The key driver that should underpin any decision about marketing is how to most effectively position and promote your school – or your brand – not only so that your school stands out in the prevailing political, social and economic climate, but is fully informed and prepared to maintain (and increase) its future market position.

The chief executive of Black & Decker once said: “People don’t go into a DIY store because they need one of our drills. They go because they need a hole in the wall.” In much the same way, parents don’t select a school in physical terms, they make a decision about their children’s future and they buy into the school’s promise to support their children to grow into the young adults they (the parents) hope they will become.

A school that truly recognises this has the starting point for its marketing strategy. The next step is to find out whether what you think your school stands for matches what people are thinking and saying about you. Even more interesting and informative is to find out why some parents do not even consider your school as an option for their child.

If, however, your starting point is updating your school prospectus and website and relying on your historical reputation to see you through what is probably one of the most exciting, if challenging, periods of educational change, then you may want to look away now.

Planning ahead
Until the recent recession, independent schools enjoyed more than ten years’ uninterrupted growth in pupil numbers, with average school fees rising by some 40 per cent – compared with an approximate rise of 18 per cent in average earnings and an increase of just 15 per cent among the earnings of the managerial and professional classes who are most likely to educate their children privately.

In 2007, more than half the 46 heads, senior staff and officers of independent school associations surveyed thought it likely that school fees would become unaffordable for more parents over the next ten years, with a predicted fall in numbers of at least 5 per cent; and that was before the economic recession and also before some of the changes currently taking place in the education sector.

While the recession and increasing fees may be affecting affordability, the weakness of the pound has made English education cheaper for those parents sending children from abroad. In addition, the maintained sector’s general reluctance to grasp the mettle of PR and marketing has left it vulnerable to a media that never tires of undermining its achievements. A significant number of parents in the maintained sector are quoted as saying that they would send their children to independent schools if they had the opportunity to do so. Market economics being what they are, the last few years have heralded an increase in the number of low-cost independent schools, of which the chain Cognita is probably the largest and best known, resulting, until the current recession, in an increase in the total number of independent schools in the UK, while the total number of pupils remained relatively static. Add into the mix a potential Conservative victory in the general election and their plans for privately provided, free schools and the market environment for independent schools starts to look quite rocky.

So, what to do? The key purpose of marketing in schools is to establish, maintain and enhance the relationships between the school and the many and diverse groups that form part of it – staff, parents, pupils and prospective pupils – so that the aspirations of all can be met. This is a dynamic relationship that relies on an open dialogue and a mutual understanding of each other’s positions and cannot be achieved without actually knowing what people think and say about your school. So the starting point should always be a thorough review of all your communications, internal and external. What people actually say about you needs to be managed and your communications (spoken, printed, electronic) are your mechanisms for managing. Does your current branding reflect the school as it actually is? How is it different from others? How does it distinguish your school and the benefits you bring to the pupils with whom you work? What are the features and benefits of the educational package you provide, its level of quality, its brand, and the service you provide? Where is your school located? What is the quality of its buildings and facilities? What does it feel like to be a parent calling or visiting your school for the first time?

Once you have these insights, you have the foundation stones for a marketing strategy.

What’s next?
You can then move towards consideration of the marketing mix you employ: Product; Price; Place; Promotion; People; Processes; and Physical evidence to promote your school. These are your marketing tools and literature (prospectus, website, DVD), PR, advertising, marketing activities (open events, parents’ evening, concerts, associations etc).

Research and experience confirm that parents choose schools for a number of factors but reputation – what your school offers and how it is perceived –  is significant. It is probably the single most important element and is within your control. A considered and informed marketing strategy will influence your reputation and how you market and promote your school. In the end, the school’s reputation is the one thing the school has the power to manage and is the determining factor in why parents choose it.

Macia Grebot is the co-founder and managing director of Grebot Donnelly Associates. Macia can be contacted on 020 8892 2242 or info@grebotdonnelly.com or through www.grebotdonnelly.com.

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