The Funnel meets the Flywheel

We’re all very familiar with the admissions funnel. It’s a variation of the sales funnel developed by agency executive Elias St. Elmo Lewis in 1898. The problem is that, at 126 years old, the funnel is feeling its age and is becoming less helpful to schools. The good...

Moments of Truth

Not every moment in a parent’s experience with a school is equal. Some of them are more equal than others. Some of them are moments of truth. Of the many interactions a parent has with a school, some have deeper and more lasting impact than others. They are the ones...

Three Rules for Creating Value Propositions

Figuring out your school’s value proposition is not easy. It raises all kinds of questions. Which features or characteristics will be of interest to prospective parents? And, even if they resonate with parents, do they represent value? What will convince parents that...

11 Ways that Parent Experience Drives Enrollment Results

Parent experience. You’ve heard about it. You may have read about it or thought about it. You may even have devoted some time to improving it at your school. The inevitable question is whether there are practical benefits to working on the parent experience. And more...

5 ways that retention success leads to school success

Oftentimes it’s hard to muster the resources that are needed to move the needle on retention results. The retention presentation to faculty gets pre-empted. The retention committee can’t get past the in-formation stage. The board prefers to hear about website...

The 6 universal truths of retention

Many enrollment, admissions and marketing leaders find themselves knowing that retention is a priority but uncertain of where to start. The fact is that there are many possible approaches to retention. The late Rheu Stakely used to advocate for retention being...