Enrollment ManagementOffice of Catholic Schools

Maria Ippolitomippolito@archchicago.org

Director of School Marketing and Communications

MORE KIDS IN GREAT CATHOLIC

SCHOOLS

Great Catholic Schools – The ‘Customer Experience’

Ambitious Instruction

Engaged Fami-lies

Climate for Student Learn-ing

Supportive Leadership

Knowledgeable Professional

Communities

Catholic Identity

Where GREAT exists, the stage is set for successful enrollment marketing.

The OCS Marketing Team

• KK Cleland• Juana Sanchez Graber• Maria Ippolito• Yasmin Quiroz

The Portal A collection of resources and best practices

surrounding the enrollment management framework.

http://ocs.archchicago.org/SchoolVitality/MarketingEnrollment.aspx

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Archdiocesan Marketing Enrollment Network

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Sharing what works from outside experts and internal success stories

Monthly Enrollment MarketingCalendar and NewsletterKeeping you up to date on:• Current topics• Helpful hints• Spotlight on

success stories• Reminders

http://bit.ly/pastnewslettersOCS

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AMEN Monthly WebinarsMonth Topic Webinar Date

August Bootcamp Recap August 19

September Setting a Calendar September 16

October AMEN Workshop at Quigley October 8

November 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

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All webinars are from 12:00- 1:00 CST

Marketing

Building interest inenrolling in the schools

New Family Sales

Getting newfamilies to enroll

Retention Sales

Getting existingfamilies to re-enroll

Enrollment Management Framework, Plan and

Teams

Enrollment Management Teams comprised of teachers, parents, leaders, marketing staff, parishioners

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ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Marketingi.e., Building interest inenrolling in the schools

Define Target Audience

Define / Refine Compelling Value

Proposition

Communicate with Parents & Community

Create & Execute Retention Strategy

Determine Pricing Strategy

New Family Salesi.e., Getting newfamilies to enroll

Call Handling & Registration Procedure

Lead Follow-Up Procedure

Objection Handling

Financial Aid

Retention Salesi.e., Getting existingfamilies to re-enroll

OngoingCommunications

to School Families

Enlist Studentsin Retention

Strategy

Enlist Facultyin Retention

Strategy

Financial Aid

Objection Handling

Assessmenti.e., How did our plans and activities work? Did we meet our goals?

Academic Product, Service Delivery, Environment, and Programs

Marketingi.e., Building interest inenrolling 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 asdescribed above, but directed at existing parents

• Need to continually reinforce why they made theright 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 PARISH

“Will I enroll my child?”

We spend so much energy on marketing; canwe really count on making a one-call close?

New Family Salesi.e., Getting newfamilies 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 arewanted – from multiple people – Principal, teacher,other family member, potentially another student

• Follow-up communications need to be purposeful – 1st call says X, 2nd 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 andhow 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 WAY

“Was our experience good enough tore-enroll my child?”

Retention Salesi.e., Getting existingfamilies 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

OngoingCommunications

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 Studentsin 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 relationshipFinancial Aid

Enlist Facultyin 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?

AS WITH ANY OTHER KEY PRIORITY, WE MUST ASSESSTHE IMPACT OF OUR ACTIONS & IMPROVE OVER TIME

Assessmenti.e., How did our plans and activities work? Did we meet our goals?

Retention SalesNew Family SalesMarketing

• 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 families

Enrollment Management Planning Template and Rubric

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Who Manages Enrollment?

• Your school’s EM Team– YOU– Principal– Pastor– Faculty Member(s)– Parent(s)– Receptionist– Board/Committee?– Staff – Marketing/Admissions?

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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

Integrated Communications

• Keep parents informed. . . Keep them engaged. . . Keep them “scripted”

• Constant messaging centered around the unique value proposition

• Key Audiences: Prospective Families, Current Parents, Alumni and Friends

How do you personally keep your students’ parents informed? Is the school’s value proposition integrated?

Website and Electronic MediaIntegral today– must be accurate and complete• Articulation of mission and programs• Admissions process• Schedules• School news• Forms• Faculty e-mails/contact/blogs/webpages• Photos and videos• Fundraising

Welcome LetterTake time to write a letter of introduction to your school families. Elements of a good letter include:• Brief introduction• Background and philosophy• Keep it “warm” and engaging• Avoid language parents won’t understand• Consider hosting an event• Add important dates

- Please submit sample welcome letter by July 21

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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?

• 10 Year• 5 Year • Enrollment Tracking

http://bit.ly/EnrollmentTracking2014

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WebsitesMore 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 optimized

Questions?

THANK YOU!Please contact me with any questions.

mippolito@archchicago.org