Office of Catholic Schools Maria Ippolito mippolitoarchchicagoorg Director of School Marketing and Communications MORE KIDS IN GREAT CATHOLIC SCHOOLS Great Catholic Schools The Customer Experience ID: 163571
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Slide1
Enrollment Management
Office of Catholic Schools
Maria
Ippolito
mippolito@archchicago.org
Director of School Marketing and CommunicationsSlide2
MORE KIDS IN
GREAT CATHOLIC SCHOOLSSlide3
Great Catholic Schools – The ‘Customer Experience’
Catholic Identity
Where
GREAT
exists,
the stage
is set for successful enrollment
marketing.Slide4Slide5
The OCS Marketing Team
KK ClelandJuana Sanchez GraberMaria Ippolito
Yasmin QuirozSlide6
The Portal
A collection of resources and best practices surrounding the enrollment management framework.http://ocs.archchicago.org/SchoolVitality/MarketingEnrollment.aspx
More Kids…Slide7
Archdiocesan M
arketing Enrollment Network
More Kids…
Sharing what works from outside experts
and internal success storiesSlide8
Monthly Enrollment MarketingCalendar and Newsletter
Keeping you up to date on:Current topicsHelpful hints
Spotlight on success storiesReminders
http://bit.ly/pastnewslettersOCS
More Kids…Slide9
AMEN Monthly Webinars
Month
TopicWebinar DateAugust
Bootcamp
Recap
August 19
September
Setting a CalendarSeptember 16
OctoberAMEN Workshop at Quigley October 8November
Early
Childhood Value Prop
November 18
December
Online
Customer Service/Start Prepping CSW
December 16
January
AMEN Workshop at Quigley-
January 14
February
Retention
February 17
March
Parent Ambassadors
March 17
April
Social Media
April 21
May
Websites
and Summer Strategies
May 19
More Kids…
All webinars are from 12:00- 1:00 CSTSlide10
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
Framework, Plan and Teams
Enrollment Management Teams
comprised of teachers, parents, leaders, marketing staff, parishioners
More Kids…Slide11
ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Marketing
i.e., Building interest in
enrolling in the schools
Define Target Audience
Define / Refine Compelling Value Proposition
Communicate with Parents & Community
Create & Execute Retention Strategy
Determine Pricing Strategy
New Family Sales
i.e., Getting new
families to enroll
Call Handling & Registration Procedure
Lead Follow-Up Procedure
Objection Handling
Financial Aid
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
Financial Aid
Objection Handling
Assessment
i.e., How did our plans and activities work? Did we meet our goals?
Academic Product, Service Delivery, Environment, and ProgramsSlide12
Marketing
i.e., Building interest in
enrolling in the schools
“Why should I spend
my money
to send
my child
to
your school
?”
Define / Refine Compelling Value Proposition
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?
Define Target Audience
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?
Communicate with Parents & Community
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?
Create & Execute Retention Strategy
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
Determine Pricing Strategy
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?
“CATHOLIC AND SAFE” ISN’T ENOUGH ANY MORE;
MAY NEED TO MARKET BEYOND JUST THE PARISHSlide13
“Will I enroll my child?”
We spend so much energy on marketing; can
we really count on making a one-call close?
New Family Sales
i.e., Getting new
families to enroll
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
Call Handling & Registration Procedure
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
Lead Follow-Up Procedure
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?
Objection Handling
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
Financial Aid
FAMILIES ARE CUSTOMERS – WE NEED TO TREAT THEM THAT WAYSlide14
“Was our experience good enough to
re
-enroll my child?”
Retention Sales
i.e., Getting existing
families to re-enroll
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
Ongoing
Communications
to School Families
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
Enlist Students
in Retention
Strategy
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
Objection Handling
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
Financial Aid
Enlist Faculty
in Retention
Strategy
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
IF WE CAN’T RE-ENROLL EXISTING FAMILIES AT A HIGH RATE,
WHY WOULD NEW FAMILIES ENROLL AT ALL?Slide15
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?
Retention Sales
New Family Sales
Marketing
Lead count, leads by source, etc.
Survey results, focus groups, etc.
Positive “buzz” in the community
Number of new families enrolled
Lead conversion rate, i.e.,
% of leads enrolling
Follow-on interviews with enrolling & non-enrolling families
Retention rate for existing families
Exit interviews with enrolling &
non-enrolling familiesSlide16
Enrollment Management
Planning Template and Rubric
More Kids…Slide17
Who Manages Enrollment?Your school’s EM Team
YOUPrincipalPastorFaculty Member(s)
Parent(s)ReceptionistBoard/Committee?Staff – Marketing/Admissions?Slide18
Enrollment Management Teams
More Kids…Slide19
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/MarketingEnrollment/ParentAmbassadors.aspx
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Integrated CommunicationsKeep parents informed. . . Keep them engaged. . . Keep them “scripted”
Constant messaging centered around the unique value propositionKey Audiences: Prospective Families, Current Parents, Alumni and FriendsSlide21
How do you personally keep your students’ parents informed? Is the school’s value proposition integrated?Slide22
Website and Electronic Media
Integral today– must be accurate and completeArticulation of mission and programsAdmissions processSchedules
School newsFormsFaculty e-mails/contact/blogs/webpagesPhotos
and videos
FundraisingSlide23
Welcome LetterTake time to write a letter of introduction to your school families. Elements of a good letter include:
Brief introductionBackground and philosophy
Keep it “warm” and engagingAvoid language parents won’t understandConsider hosting an eventAdd important dates
Please submit sample welcome letter by July 21Slide24
Websites
More Kids…
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?Slide25
10 Year
5 Year
Enrollment Tracking
http://bit.ly/EnrollmentTracking2014
More Kids…Slide26
Websites
More Kids…
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 optimizedSlide27
Questions?Slide28
THANK YOU!
Please contact me with any questions.mippolito@archchicago.org