25 Timeless Enrollment Marketing Maxims for School Growth

In 2023, I had the opportunity to partner with 70 independent and faith-based schools. From my Enrollment Catalyst Program (on-site and virtual) to ongoing coaching, to my School Survey Solutions to my online School Ambassador Training Program, I am thankful for my partnership with school leaders. I helped many schools implement their enrollment marketing plans to achieve their goals.

Since I launched Enrollment Catalyst nearly 15 years ago, my goal has been to partner with school leaders to help them in their enrollment marketing research, processes, and strategies.

Based on my work with schools in recent years, I have created the following 25 timeless maxims for enrollment marketing success (this is not exhaustive) for the new year, and beyond:

1. Leadership always makes a difference in enrollment marketing and school growth. Without the right leadership in place, growth will be unlikely.
2. The Board must support the head of school and be united to a common vision for growth.
3. High quality schools have the marketing advantage and must continue to be aggressive to remain on top. Schools lacking in quality must focus on improvements at the same time implementing enrollment marketing strategies that will make a difference.
4. Just because your school is growing and thriving this year, this does not guarantee these same results will continue.
5. An annual research plan, including surveys and focus groups, will give you the feedback you need to understand your community, improve your school, measure your health, and change course.
6. Recruitment is the proactive pursuit of the right-fit family, which includes developing a relationship with the parent, understanding their journey and needs, and discussing how your educational experience can benefit them.
7. First impressions and intentionality make a difference in your admissions process: follow-up, campus visits, application, notification, and onboarding.
8. Follow-up is not a “wait and see” approach. Rather, follow-up should be informative, strategic, and persistent without being pushy.
9. Retention is a direct reflection of the satisfaction of the parent’s experience at your school.
10. Retention is everyone’s responsibility, including all faculty and staff, and must be led by the school’s leadership team.
11. Re-enrollment is the outdated annual process to ask your parents to opt-in for another year. Continuous enrollment assumes the parent will return and asks the non-returning family to opt-out instead.
12. Never stop marketing; it is always a 24/7 effort.
13. Marketing affordability will help you to break through the price barrier to reach families.
14. Net Tuition Revenue should drive the enrollment marketing effort through the effective use of financial aid and enrollment management strategies.
15. Storytelling should be the focus of your online marketing strategy through your website, social media channels, videos, and more.
16. Prospective parents are looking for stories about your school’s people and programs that will resonate with them and help them to see themselves being part of your school.
17. Since parents primarily discover a school through word-of-mouth and online research, your lead generation marketing strategies must be focused on these two key areas.
18. Your website is the most important marketing strategy investment for your school.
19. Online marketing should focus on generating leads through the effective use of paid ads, landing pages and downloadable content.
20. A word-of-mouth marketing strategy should inspire parents to be more intentional about sharing their story in natural conversations with their friends, online reviews, and in ways you can use online.
21. An enrollment marketing plan begins with a comprehensive assessment of your processes and strategies. This assessment will show you exactly what you need to do and inform your plan.
22. Your enrollment marketing plan is simply what you will do, when you plan to do it, who will do it, and how you will pay for it. Every school needs one.
23. Regardless of the size of your school, you must invest in the right staffing and strategies that will drive your enrollment marketing effort.
24. Investing in the right strategies should produce the right results for your enrollment marketing effort.
25. Partnering with an enrollment marketing consultant, coach, strategist, and expert can help you get to where you want to be. Don’t be afraid to seek help.

These maxims, born from extensive experience and partnership with a wide array of schools, are designed to guide leaders towards successful enrollment marketing and growth. I encourage you to embrace them to navigate the evolving landscape of private school marketing.

Take the next step and let me know how I can partner with you in 2024 in your school’s enrollment marketing assessment, research, plan development, training, and coaching needs. I can implement my Enrollment Catalyst Program or create a custom solution for your enrollment marketing challenges and needs. Please email me directly at Rick.Newberry@EnrollmentCatalyst.com.