Why It Matters for Today’s Independent Schools

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We will explore the value of marketing research and the key issues that a Head of School needs to consider before starting the process.

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What marketing research is and why it’s important. How you ‘sell’ the value of marketing research to your board. How to design an effective marketing research study for an independent school. How third party objectivity plays an important role in the process. How marketing research can be used to correctly position the school’s brand in the market.

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A Conversation with Neil Mufson, Head of School The Country School, Easton, Maryland

What is marketing research?

Why did The Country School in Easton, Maryland, make the decision to move forward with a comprehensive marketing research project? How did the Head of School come to this conclusion and how did he go about getting Board approval?

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A qualitative study that seeks to determine what motivates a person’s behavior in the marketplace. Involves in-person interviews or focus groups Meaningful themes emerge that can inform decision making Often also includes quantitative surveys or demographic research about your market.

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To define the right themes for a comprehensive marketing plan aimed at finding 10 new full pay families. We already had done a demographic survey and parent satisfaction survey. Those told us who was out there… … and what our parents liked about us… … but not what might attract new families to us. 7

Qualitative Research Three in-market focus groups were held. Group A: Blind study with prospective parents with Household Income’s of $200,000 plus. Seated eight parents in Easton, where school is located; majority were public school families. Group B: Blind study with eight prospective parents with Household Income’s of $150,000+; conducted in adjacent rural county; all were public school families. Group C: Current parents at TCS. Held on campus.

Quantitative Research Online survey of all current parents (including faculty and trustee parents)

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A Conversation with Jeff Henn, Senior Research Manager Baltimore Research, Towson, Maryland

Designing a successful marketing research study is not hard. The challenge is…

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Market research Analysis of your competitors, analysis of your landscape, where you currently fit in, macroeconomic data on an industry, growth of a particular segment, population trends. Sometimes can be a part of your marketing research plan - especially when getting competitive intelligence.

Marketing research Analysis of your marketing, advertising, social media, print materials, website, etc. Anything to do with how you communicate to your target audience usually can be deconstructed with marketing research. Product & customer service = how your consumers feel about your brand.

Anytime you see MR in this deck = Marketing Research 11

This is key: What is your business problem and what do you expect to get out of the research endeavor? Most of the time we hear from schools that they want to “widen the admissions funnel” and ultimately get “more full-pay families in open seats.” Often this means that a rebrand or at least a refresh of the school’s image is in order.

Sometimes the goals are more focused and a school needs specific research on media, messaging and local media channels. Either way, don’t shoot from the hip. Get periodic objective feedback from prospective and current parents, as well as those that kicked the tires but didn’t bite (ANCs). Be informed before you execute your marketing.

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Dovetail qualitative with quantitative Usually start with focus groups and / or interviews (qualitative) Interviews can be done in person or over the phone Tap into your three core segments: current parents, prospective parents, and ANCs Prospects = general population that meets your demographic target criteria such as boy and / or girl coming of age, minimum household income, and proclivity for independent school. ANCs = Accepted Not Coming. Where did they end up and why? Can be difficult to cobble together a group. Phone interviews are a good substitute.

Validate with survey (quantitative) Sample prospects and current families How good is your internal database for current parents and ANC families? Small sample size paper-based questionnaire is an effective alternative to online for ANC families. Test what you discovered during the qualitative phase. 13

Focus group = very flexible, directional, exploratory, deep dive understanding of “why”, conversational However, not conclusive

Survey = conclusive, somewhat flexible, consistent way of measuring, one-way However, not as in-depth, more rigid, can omit sources of insight

No question is bad. Research is nuanced and the art deals with “where do you use it?” Is a given question better in a conversational qualitative setting, or in an anonymous oneway questionnaire? A good rule of thumb for each… If you want to understand decision-making processes, then you probably want people to articulate their thoughts, to think out loud, in group conversation, hence a focus group. If your question can be answered with a poll, a ranking scale, or multiple choice, then it can be saved for a survey. In many cases the themes overlap from qualitative (focus groups) to quantitative (online questionnaire). The phrasing changes between the two formats. The latter often validates the former. 14

From start to finish expect six-eight weeks One week to develop recruiting screener for focus groups / interviews Two-three weeks to recruit One week to develop discussion guide(s) for groups / interviews (runs concurrent to recruiting process) One-three days to host focus groups One week to analyze findings and write up results Two-three days to draft questionnaire One-two weeks in field One week to analyze results and add to report

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Qualitative: Three focus groups or two focus groups and a series of phone interviews for ANC families Usually focus groups are 90 minutes to two hours in length and held in the evening. Recruit eight-ten per group. Incentives of $150 or more per person (depends on region of country and tuition level)

Quantitative: 30-40 multiple choice questions with a few open ends No incentives required – length is usually ten minutes or less 200-300 completes with a representative sample of prospective parents Or Survey with current parents Typically done online, but can be administered over the phone or via US Mail.

These figures depend on your local market, and the breadth of your marketing research.

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Option A: $15K-$20K Two surveys (current parents + prospective parents) Or a focus group plus a small series of ANC interviews Or current parent survey and single focus group

Option B: $20K-$30K Prospective Parent Survey Two focus groups

Option C: $30K-$40K Prospective parent survey Three focus groups In-person presentation of results to board of trustees

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We spoke to 16 Heads of School from around the country to get their take on whether or not the marketing research is worth it. Only one was a former client of mine. All others used other agencies / researchers. Having done MR they have… Improved their brands Clarified their messaging Greater prominence in the community Strengthened admissions pipeline

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“We’ve moved away from anecdote toward data driven decisions.” “We’ve better defined our niche.”

“It helped us bring our value proposition into alignment.” “It helps us distinguish our school in our market.” “It validated our marketing practices.”

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“MR helps you figure out your value add beyond academic excellence. Having a third party researcher is another point in your triangulation. It’s helpful to hear from an objective person who is not emotionally attached to the school. If you want to create a sense of excellence for your brand across the board, you have to do it in a variety of ways. MR enables you to do that. If we find out through research that people are down on the Catholic Church, we’re not going to change being Catholic. So rather than promoting our Catholicism, we ARE going to promote universal values.” - Sister P., Head of East Coast Catholic Girls School, 6-12

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New logos

New taglines Updated print publications Refresh of website

We now use less print and more social media We developed a more focused advertising plan with limited dollars Having accurate recognition in the community leads to improved WOM.

Revamped admissions tours

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If you have the money for it [MR], do it. Do the exercise of MR, but retain some skepticism throughout the process. [Don’t be afraid to] push back on the consultants a bit. Be clear on the outcomes you seek. Make sure your board is on board. MR, advertising and marketing were not my strong suit, so I appreciated the support. Make sure the firm is a good fit! Better branding leads to more inquiries. More inquiries leads to more applicants. More applicants leads to more new families.

You have to take the long approach when thinking about ROI. Getting confirming feedback during your focus group phase does not signal a wasted exercise.

We focused on an increase in applications, but gave ourselves a three-five year window to see an effect.

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A conversation with Jonathan Oleisky, President Kalix Communications, Baltimore, Maryland

Your marketing research needs to inform your admissions engagement materials. From the voice, to the look and feel, the creative needs to be informed by the research.

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The results showed that The Country School was viewed as an institution that provided a great foundation academically, but had little recognition outside the Easton area. Their biggest competitor was the local public schools. Many parents felt it wasn’t necessary to invest in independent school tuition for the primary and middle school years because the public schools were adequate.

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After reviewing the research and market conditions, Kalix proposed an advertising and social media campaign to communicate a distinct positioning: “You only get one chance to raise your child, and The Country School offers the best education and preparation for life.”

Old Logo

New Logo

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We proposed a multimedia advertising campaign focused on the theme “Start Right Here.” The campaign included print and radio advertising, new admissions materials, a new website, an online video, and a social media strategy. We advised the school to create a part-time marketing manager’s position. We helped the Head draft a job description and then assisted with the interviews. We coached the school’s marketing manager, and launched an ambassador campaign made up of core parent volunteers.

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Neil Mufson Headmaster The Country School 716 Goldsborough Street Easton, MD 21601

Jeff Henn Senior Research Manager Baltimore Research 8320 Bellona Ave, Suite 210 Baltimore, MD 21204

Jonathan Oleisky President Kalix Communications 1014 W. 36 th Street Baltimore, MD 21211

410.822.1935 x112 [email protected] www.countryschool.org

443.632.2166 [email protected] www.baltimoreresearch.com

410.662.5925 [email protected] www.kalixcommunications.com

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