Core Marketing Message for Your School
Great schools have a strategy to raise their profile, increase student success, and improve enrollment (and re-enrollment) efforts. This includes having a marketing message for your school. Most schools have a marketing strategy, but few of them have a marketing message. A powerful marketing message immensely supports the marketing strategy.
Even if your school has a beautifully crafted marketing message, it is essential to periodically evaluate the message and tweak it to communicate effectively to current and prospective parents. Every international school is now under a new microscope. With the pandemic still lingering on, expatriates face tremendous challenges and uncertainties in bringing their trailing spouse and children into the host country. As a result, this can severely affect school enrollment. The marketing and communications strategies, including marketing messages that worked for your school, might not work in 2022 and beyond because the landscape has drastically changed.
What is a marketing message? It is the words you use to communicate with your current and prospective parents to succinctly describe the essence of your school and convince them to enroll (and re-enroll) their children. You should have several marketing messages for your school. The very first message should be a core overall message that encapsulates your school. Of course, it is impossible to capture everything that is great about school in just a few words. You can then develop additional marketing messages to target specific parents. For example, you may craft marketing messages about the reputation, state-of-the-art facilities, variety of extracurricular programs, and other supporting functions of the school.
Your message is vital in helping you meet your school’s goals. It can be the difference between a new enrollment or losing a child to another international school in the city. Therefore, you should carefully craft the marketing message. Without a marketing message, it is impossible to execute your marketing and communications strategy.
The important components of a key marketing message include:
To demonstrate care for your parents. The marketing message should show that you understand their needs and preferences.
To address parent pain points. A pain point is a specific problem that your current parents and prospective parents are facing. Not all parents are aware of the pain point they are experiencing. You will have to help them realize they have a problem and convince them that your school can help solve it. For example, if a parent is not receiving the support they need at critical stages of their journey to have their children properly educated.
To present your school as a solution. Using the above as the example, your school provides excellent academic and auxiliary support towards student learning.
To candidly specify key achievements of the school. For example, 92% of the graduates have been accepted by top 100 universities around the world.
To build trust with parents and prospective parents.
Below are two examples of a core marketing message:
Example #1
ABC International School is committed to providing a forward-thinking curriculum which prepares students to face the challenges of modern digital culture. Placing the latest technological developments at the center of the educational experience provides a platform for acceptance to top universities around the world.
Example #2
XYZ International School has more than 25 years of experience helping children of expatriates in Beijing improve their English language skills. Our highly qualified staff carefully consider each student’s unique situation and find the right program to help them meet their academic goals.
When your message speaks to their needs, you will build trust with your audience and inspire student retention. It’s worth investing time to craft the perfect message.
The Seven Components of a Brilliant Marketing Message*
They get to the point. Weak marketing messages meander. Brilliant marketing messages immediately express what is important.
They take the customer’s viewpoint. Weak marketing messages speak to how the seller sees the world. Brilliant marketing messages address what is relevant to the customer.
They use familiar language. Weak marketing messages contain obscure technical jargon. Brilliant marketing messages use plain, simple words.
They feel informal. Weak marketing messages sound stilted and unnatural. Brilliant marketing messages sound like off-the-cuff remarks.
They say something original. Weak marketing messages sound as if they could belong to any product or service. Brilliant marketing messages are one-of-a-kind.
They need no further explanation. Weak marketing messages must be decrypted before they make any sense. Brilliant marketing messages have immediate and unmistakable meaning.
They make you smile. Weak marketing messages are all work and no play. Brilliant marketing messages often have a tinge of humor.
*Adapted from Inc.com by Geoffrey James.
At the end of this month, ACAMIS will be organizing a Peer Sharing and Learning Network session. This 3-hour session will be attended by marketing and admissions personnel from different international / bilingual schools in China to share information, exchange ideas, and learn from one another. We will discuss more about core marketing messages and other topics that are pertinent to marketing personnel. Please feel free to check it out at this website: https://www.acamis.org/professional-development/acamis-job-a-likes/marketing-personnel. Come and join us.
