Great messaging needs great data (not Mad Men)

The “Mad Men” notion of people coming up with marketing and messaging ideas while drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes is great TV fare but definitely not reality. No school marketing and communication professionals I know have ever developed a campaign that way – or, at least, they never admitted it. The truth is that great messaging is based on two things: sound strategy and solid data.

Industry reports are very useful data sources, and when I read EMA’s recently released 2023-24 Ride to Independent School, I immediately thought about its messaging implications. The report is based on survey responses from 3,004 families considering private schools, so the data is rich and reliable. However, as is the case with all data, you have to dig beyond the obvious to find the real inspiration for messaging. In the end, five messaging imperatives stood out for me.

1. Differentiation is key. You’re preaching to the converted.

• • 75% of applicants have/had at least one family member (including siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins) attend an independent school
  • 68% of applicants had a parent or grandparent attend an independent school
  • 51% of those applying to independent schools were enrolled in another independent school in 2022-23.
  • 90% of those enrolled in 2022-23 in an independent school enrolled for 2023-24 in an independent school

Given that less than 10% of all children in the U.S. and Canada attend independent schools, it’s incredible that 75% of applicants have a close family member who attended an independent school. Nearly 70% of these relatives are parents or grandparents. Over half of those applying to independent schools were already at an independent school, and just about every independent school family ended up at another private school. Given these facts, it’s reasonable to conclude that most families in your pipeline know the benefits of independent schools. That means most prospective parents are deciding which independent school to choose. What they really need to know is what differentiates your school from other competitive independent schools. This means that differentiation is the key to messaging success.

2. There are two targets. You need two darts.

• • At least 83% of those considering upper school say the student has very great or great influence on where to apply or enroll
  • At least 70% of those considering middle school say the student has very great or great influence on where to apply or enroll
  • Even in lower school, 54% of respondents reported that their kids had very great or great influence on where to enroll

You need to speak to the student, not just their parents. For middle school, some of your messaging should definitely be directed at students. In upper school messaging, you have no choice. Students always have to be regarded as an audience. There are two possible ways to do this. One is to have almost all your messaging directed at the student. The value proposition will be obvious to parents, who will both understand and appreciate the student-focused strategy. The second option is to create two sets of messaging that can be deployed depending on the target. For example, your admissions web or landing page messaging could be aimed at students, while the tuition and financial assistance page focuses on parents.

In addition, you need strong, student-focused, and student-delivered messaging for all in-person and face-to-face opportunities, such as recruitment events and student ambassador programs.

3. You are always competing

• • Only 54% of students enrolled at the school that was identified as the first choice throughout the entire admission and enrollment process.
  • 31% reported a change in their first-choice school after a shadow day or revisit event
  • 21% reported a change in the first-choice school after receiving offers of admission.

Almost half of families enroll in schools other than their original first choice. Incredibly, one in five families changes their first choice after receiving an offer of admission. You can never take for granted that a family will enroll. Messaging must be convincing at every stage of the parent journey and pipeline. Parents are always considering their options, and you need to sell, sell, sell at every stage. It would be wise to tailor your messaging to parents’ pipeline stages. For example, the messaging for offers of admission needs to be more convincing than assumptive.

4. Without the journey, there’s no destination

• • When asked to identify the top three resources that were most helpful in learning about independent schools:
    • 61% of respondents chose school open houses/events on campus.
    • Just over half (52%) chose conversations with admission and enrollment staff.
    • Only 39% chose individual school website(s), with a meager 7% choosing social media

Here’s an example of what the data is not telling you. Based on these numbers, you may believe that your open houses and admissions interviews are more important than your website, and you must spend much more time on them. But you would be wrong. Consider this: how did parents find out about recruitment events or end up with the opportunity to meet with an enrollment staff member? Whether it’s word of mouth, social media, or digital search, your website and landing pages are critical conduits. That has many implications. The user experience on your website and the messaging driving it must clearly lead prospective parents to open house or recruitment event registration. The same is true for landing pages. When visitors reach the page for an open house or recruitment event, the event details and registration instructions must be clear. The open house registration form should not be intrusive. The more information parents must provide, the less likely they are to complete the form and attend the event. Likewise, digital ads and social media posts must link effortlessly to landing pages with clear calls to action, making it easy for parents to register for recruitment events.

5. Financial Aid represents a failure to communicate

• • 59%of survey respondents identified that their family applied for financial aid
  • Of the families who reported they required need-based financial aid, but did not apply for financial aid :
    • 54% didn’t think their family would qualify
    • 11% say they didn’t have enough information about the process

Digital marketers will tell you that the home and tuition pages of a school website are its most common destinations. That alone should have you laser-focused on tuition page messaging. But with six out of ten parents applying for financial aid, the FA options you develop and how you present them are critical to enrollment success. Beyond being clear and respectful, tuition pages must continue to engage and persuade prospective parents.

The fact that most families who need tuition assistance didn’t apply for it because they thought they wouldn’t qualify, and many others didn’t apply because they lacked information is simply a failure to communicate. Parents who can’t afford full tuition but don’t feel like they will be heard or don’t have the information they need to feel comfortable will move on. Beyond losing those prospective families, think about all the others they will tell about why they chose another school.

Messaging is a key challenge for independent schools as they strive to find the most compelling ways to strategically and consistently differentiate themselves from other school options and other independent schools. Messaging built on strong data will always win the day.