Standing Out in a World of Choice
While it’s not a four-letter word, when many public schools hear the word “choice,” they think of the families who have chosen to enroll elsewhere. A recent Washington Post article, shared that some districts have been “significantly harmed when students leave and take funding with them, making it harder to improve.”
We can all agree that school of choice has changed the future of public schools. It’s no longer expected that families will send their children to their assigned neighborhood school -- parents want more options. Whether we like it or not, school choice helps families feel confident about giving their child the best possible future.
Public schools are competing not only against charter schools, theme schools, and private schools, but also their bordering public school districts. For districts on the losing end, it becomes difficult to improve: the foundation allowance leaves almost immediately, while costs take a while to right-size as enrollment drops. If you’re seeing year-over-year enrollment loses, it’s almost impossible to keep up.
Yet many public schools still balk at the idea of spending on marketing.
Money spent outside of the classroom is often thought of as a frivolous spend.
But what if the money you spent outside of the classroom could actually fill your classrooms again?
The same Washington Post article stated that, “More than 100,000 Michigan students attend school in a district other than where they live.” This means school districts that do not know how to market will struggle to compete for these students – districts that have a marketing strategy in place will rise to the top and win the enrollment battle.
It’s crucial that public schools are able to effectively market themselves to compete in this era of increased competition. Even if your public school is the best option, parents need to know - unfortunately your story is not going to tell itself.
More than $197 billion is spent in the US on marketing each year. The education industry does not make the top 10 in marketing spend, despite the fact that foundation allowances per student bring in thousands of dollars per year – and if you have empty seats to fill, the fund allowance brought in far outweighs costs to service new students.
Marketing to Families Like They’re Customers
In 1999, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy wrote, “In an era of expanded educational freedom, families must now be treated as customers with choices and not as captive audiences.”
That was 20 years ago, and some public schools still haven’t gotten the memo.
Any industry you can think of spends money on marketing -- including education. After all, colleges and universities rely on marketing to recruit the best and the brightest for their schools. They research the market, differentiate themselves from the competition, establish their brand and core values, target prospective students, and develop relationships. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t grow, retain students, or better themselves. They wouldn’t stand out from their competition.
School districts’ fear of marketing is damaging to public school systems because marketing a school district is a highly strategic, calculated investment. When done correctly, it provides a return on investment (ROI) that can be put back into the classroom, whether that’s hiring more teachers and specialists, updating the building, acquiring new technology, or starting new programs to attract and retain even more students. When districts invest in their schools by marketing themselves, it also forces them to take a deep look at what they actually offer and package it up not only for the external audience, but for the internal audience as well.
Proof That Investing in Marketing Works
Our enrollment campaign for Kenowa Hills was a strong success for the district. The ROI for our campaign was $15.69 for every marketing dollar spent on it. By creating a targeted and compelling marketing strategy for them, we helped Kenowa Hills bring in an additional 86 students for the 2019-20 school year. This amounted to over $676,000 in one-year foundation allowance.
Kenowa Hills isn’t the only school who’s had success with marketing its brand – far from it. Schools across the nation have experienced growth after spending money on marketing.
For the 2016-2017 school year, Austin schools spent nearly a million dollars ($850,000) on a marketing campaign that targeted families that had enrolled their children elsewhere. It was a huge price tag, and naturally got a strong reaction from the public. However, it paid off. They swept up 548 more students than what was projected for the school year. With each student bringing in a foundation allowance of $7,500, those 548 additional students brought the district $4 million.
Baltimore also experienced a surge in enrollment after investing in a strategic campaign aimed at local neighborhoods. They developed a program called Baltimore Schools for Baltimore Students (dubbed B3), and took a more grassroots approach by knocking on doors and having face-to-face conversations about school choice. They attracted more than 300 new students to the district, and even re-enrolled students who had previously left.
Marketing can bolster a school’s reputation and bring in extra dollars to invest back into its teachers, students, and classrooms. With flagging student population numbers, it’s crucial that districts take control of the narrative around public schools. The future of public schools depends on it.
Galapagos specializes in customized solutions tailored to your district’s unique needs. Click here to learn more and start the conversation.