7 Ways to Identify Your School’s Differentiators
To stand out in a crowded market, you need to know exactly what makes you different. Identifying your differentiators will help!
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Today’s post is guest written by Liza Fisher Norman. Liza is “Master Electrician” of InspirED School Marketers, a free, online professional development resource and community for PK-12 private school marketing and communications administrators in the US and abroad. With 25 years of experience working with private schools as principal of Turnaround Marketing Communications, Liza realized that school marketing admins needed a community to call their own. So she created InspirED School Marketers, an online resource for brilliant ideas and brain food to make their job easier. She and her partner, Rob Norman, run both organizations simultaneously.
Today’s parents search for a school like they search for a car. They go online to learn about its features and accumulate quantitative measures to put in a list of pros and cons. They read reviews and ask their friends’ and family’s opinions. They compare prices, and they pay a visit to kick the tires, sit in the driver’s seat, and take a test drive. What kind of warranty comes with it, they want to know.
Directors of admission know this all too well. And they’re ready for any question a parent can ask. Bring it on.
What’s shocking to me is how few parents ask about the teachers—in depth. Yes, they look at the “faculty with advanced degrees” statistic because it’s a number and thus easy to compare. But how many ask about other qualifications (emphasis on “qual,” rather than “quant”)?
What previous experience do faculty have? Did the history teacher work at a think tank before choosing to teach here? Are most of the foreign language teachers native speakers, with a first-hand understanding of the cultures they teach about?
What current experiences do teachers bring to the classroom? Are some doing research, and publishing, in their field? Are there practicing artists and musicians in those departments?
How do teachers feel about the school? Have many been with you for years, or is there a lot of turnover? How many are alumnae/i who couldn’t wait to come back? How many have children enrolled at the school?
Finally, what are faculty really like? What do they do in their spare time that makes them good role models? Do they make themselves accessible to students? Are they good and interesting teachers? Are they good and interesting people?
Chances are that your faculty members are among your school’s top features. Promote them. Your pride in them will make parents take notice. Some ideas:
I’m sure you can think of other ways, too. The takeaway: Instead of burying faculty like the “fine print” mumbled at the end of a car ad, shine a spotlight on them. They should be a key piece of parents’ research and a major reason to choose a school.
Featured Image via wikipedia
This post was originally published at: https://www.inspiredsm.com/blog-1/if-parents-are-shopping-for-a-school-make-faculty-a-key-feature
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