Building your school’s brand: Prioritising marketing activities to achieve objectives

1. Building your school’s brand:Prioritising marketing activitiesto achieve objectives Justin Barlow 25 June 2013

2. Overview • Introduction • Strategic marketing • Allocating budgets • Allocating responsibilities • Marketing thoughts and tips • Marketing myths

3. Bit about me • BA (Hons) Business Studies and CIM Diploma in Marketing • 20 years’ commercial marketing experience at ICI plc, Alto, Sage Plc and Muckle LLP • 2008 – 2012: governor at an independent school for 3-18 year olds. Ran marketing committee • Actively involved in Muckle LLP’s Education Team

4. Strategic marketing • Set the longer term direction, align activities and prioritise your focus on the key areas • How will the marketing strategy contribute towards the school’s vision and targets? • Is it addressing aspects of the Risk Register? • Concentrate on what needs to be done but plan how it will be done too? • How will you reach all stakeholder groups? • What are your core messages to different stakeholders?

5. Overview • Brand Strategy: defining a brand • Definitions • key elements of a brand • brand review • Brand Strategy: developing a brand • things to consider

6. Brand Strategy:Defining a Brand

7. Brand strategy • You can’t have a brand strategy until you understand your brand • So what is a brand?

8. A range of definitions • “A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan and design scheme” • “The sum of all the characteristics, tangible and intangible, that make the offer unique” • “Both a physical and emotional trigger to create a relationship between consumers and the product/service” • “A name or symbol used to identify goods or services, and to differentiate them from those of others. Branding protects a seller's products against those marketed by competitors and helps consumers identify the quality, consistency and imagery of a preferred source”

9. Key elements of brands • A mutually valuable relationship • A strategically selected group of customers • A compelling proposition • Deliver consistently over time

10. Worry if more than 12% customers fall outside their chosen market segments. Evidence that their brand is being diluted Key elements of brands

11. A brand has one strategic purpose and that is to differentiate itself from competitors

12. Brand Strategy:Developing a Brand

13. Brand strategy • The strategy should be rooted in the brand's vision and driven by the principles of differentiation and sustained consumer appeal • The brand strategy should influence the total operation of a business to ensure consistent brand behaviours and brand experiences

14. Developing a brand • Delivering service brands (via humans) compared with products brands (produced from a manufacturer’s specification) Issues are consistency of quality and delivery

15. Developing a brand • Marketing Services: • branding people: diverse individuals working in a consistent manner to portray the brand • marketing the relationship: • not an impulse decision • need to like the way you work • need confidence in your people • need to network with Board decision makers • long influencing cycle: needs consistency

16. Allocating budgets • The 3% rule... • Short term and longer term priorities • The use of marketing agencies • Having realistic expectations • recruitment of new students / parents takes time • need to keep filling up the funnel • Many activities cost nothing other than people’s time

17. Allocating responsibilities • Staff can be a great resource for certain areas • Right people, right roles • Communication and staff involvement • Keep momentum

18. Thoughts and tips for marketing the school • Marketing agencies: • when to consider using a marketing agency? • how are you selecting yours? • VFM – pay on output! It’s a buyer’s market

19. Thoughts and tips for marketing the school • Website: your 24/7 prospectus: • why you? Can visitors see why they should choose your school? • search engine optimisation is key • your homepage is so important • take control with your CMS • use Google Analytics: • number of visitors / most popular pages visited • average number of pages read per visit • average time on website • search engine terms used to find you

22. Where is Greenfield Community College?

23. Social media – get involved or get lost: • Twitter: • 20% posting means 80% responding! • that means a lot of replies and retweets • you are all on Twitter even if you are not influencing what is said. • if you decide to do things, do them well • www.bit.ly to minimise the number of characters alink takes • measure your exposure with www.tweetreach.com compared to your competitors

25. Thoughts and tips for marketing the school • PR: • you have stories everywhere! • great way to reinforce your strengths and differentiation – every story should address these • good use of a marketing agency • set target for stories published in the press • online coverage is easier so no need for targets • photos increase the likelihood of publication • advertising influences PR coverage

26. Thoughts and tips for marketing the school • Enquiry management: • you’ve done the hard work and prospective parents are calling to visit the school – now what? • maximise conversions from initial contact to students joining your school: • analyse! Record and measure drop off points and improve • what are the points of contact? • who manages such a critical area? • consider your “welcome cycle”

27. Thoughts and tips for marketing the school • Marketing is measureable • Targets influence behaviour • The more output focused your marketing is, the better your return on investment will be for money and time

28. Marketing myths • Branding is marketing • Branding goes far beyond marketing • The brand is everything: • marketing • culture • vision and values • teaching standards • students, etc, etc.

29. Marketing myths • Marketing is too expensive and we can’t afford it • decide what to do and do it well • creativity is memorable, rather than how much you spend • Doing any marketing at all, is better than doing nothing • what a waste of money and time

30. Marketing myths • Schools don’t need marketing staff • education is getting increasingly competitive • make marketing part of someone’s job • Teachers aren’t part of the marketing process • nonsense – they are your best / worst promoters • so are the office staff who answer the phone • some may need guidance and motivation

31. Marketing myths • This year’s marketing budget is for this year’s results • I wish! It can be a slow process with steady improvements over time • Focusing on key times such as open days will help, but only if everything else is in place • It’s about sustained contact with your target audiences so they know what you stand for • It’s a multi-media world and building positive perceptions and understanding takes time

32. Marketing myths • Marketing can’t be measured • most can be measured if you focus on the output • how do you know if adverts are working? Ask people who attend e.g. open days • what are your key objectives? Measure these

33. Marketing myths • The best schools will do better • What is “best?” • Best for my child is not the best school. It goes far beyond league tables • How are you different or what makes you stand out? Focus and reinforce marketing messages to ‘own this space’ so the perception is that you are the best at that and will deliver it in ways that are the best for my child • Marketing is about creating a better perception

34. Marketing myths • Email marketing is no longer effective because of spam • Enewsletters to parents are important because their children are precious • School emails are never spam. It’s relevant communication • Keeping parents informed reinforces your brand • Do it regularly (weekly? monthly?) and include both parents as a minimum

35. Marketing myths • Partnerships & alliances are for businesses • Never been as important as it is now and this will only increase • Effective partnerships will make schools better • Businesses are willing but few schools ask • Are alliances with feeder schools strong enough? • Play to other parties’ strengths to increase your offering

36. We are pleased to help • Muckle LLP’s Education Team works with schools, academies, trusts and federations, colleges and universities across the North East • Heart of the Community Award winner 2013 • We will always provide initial legal advice to schools for free

37. We are pleased to help • Justin BarlowDirector of Business Developmentjustin.barlow@muckle-llp.comTel: 0191 211 7907