Last Updated on: 28th May 2024, 10:51 am
Success in education marketing often relies on understanding the nuances and complexities of the sector, which is always changing with governmental policy and economic decisions.
Being aware of how these issues affect the individual decision-makers within schools is pivotal for any business looking to make a meaningful impact.
The challenge lies not just in reaching out but in resonating with educators and support staff on a personal level.
At More Than Words Marketing, we offer our clients the benefit of our years of experience in the education and public sectors, and we’re committed to guiding you through the obstacles you may face when marketing to schools.
Whether you want to run your own strategy, or get a head start using our managed marketing services, we are available to give you the insight you need.
To begin, here are some of the basics:
1. Build a Complete Schools Database
Success in educational marketing always begins with a robust, comprehensive schools database.
A great schools database is more than a simple list of contacts. The UK schools database offered by More Than Words include a range of additional information such as:
- type of school including MAT (multi academy trust), SAT (single academy trust), Independent, Academy etc,
- OFSTED rating,
- pupil count,
- stage of education (such as primary, secondary, college), and
- school income & expenditure by category (England only)
This provides our clients with information that helps them to better target the right prospects, and personalise their messaging for each institution.
A thorough, comprehensive database is the first step towards creating campaigns that are relevant, timely, and impactful.
2. Tailor Your Approach
As mentioned earlier, the educational landscape in the UK is always changing, and schools have to work hard to keep up with those changes. For marketers, this challenge is a little more complex, as every school has its own culture, responsibilities, and priorities.
Tailoring different elements of your marketing strategy to reflect these differences helps to make prospects relate to what you are telling them. This means marketers must develop content that directly addresses current issues, shows a good understanding of how it is affecting educators, and provides a solution.
Whether it’s through email campaigns, telemarketing, direct mail or digital content, make sure that your messaging is informed by research, as well as any insights drawn from your schools database.
Research can be done via surveying your existing customer base, running telephone surveys to your specific target audience, and through keeping up to date with popular newsletters and magazines in your niche.
3. Emphasise Value
Marketing to schools is not just about promoting a product or service; it’s about presenting a solution that adds value to the educational experience.
While many marketers create a product and then work to convince prospects how it provides a solution to their problems, the best marketers find a problem, create a solution, and then go about informing their target customers about this solution and how it can help them.
Using this approach, make sure that you are only contacting prospects who have a need for the product or service that you are offering. Focus on how your products/services can enhance learning outcomes, streamline administrative processes, or support educational goals.
Schools and higher education facilities are always looking for partners that can contribute to their goals and objectives—make sure your messaging clearly articulates how you can do just that.
4. Engage Prospects Through Educational Content
According to the findings from Campaign Monitor’s 2022 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report, emails targeting educational institutions have the highest average unique open rates (28.5%) compared to any other sector, as well as the highest position in terms of average unique click-through rates.
This underscores the significance of email as a valuable channel for lead generation, particularly in establishing a direct communication pathway with education buyers.
Email marketing helps businesses to gather valuable insights, customise their products/services to better meet the needs of their audience, and achieve higher sales rates over time.
The effectiveness of this approach is largely attributed to its ability to deliver content that is not only valuable but also capable of making an instant impact, thereby fostering increased engagement among recipients.
By creating and sharing valuable content—be it insightful blog posts, informative webinars, or engaging case studies—you position your brand as a thought leader in the educational space.
This helps to build trust with your audience, and establish a connection that goes beyond transactional interactions.
Use a targeted email marketing strategy, based on your list of school email addresses, to send prospects content that they will find useful and relevant, encouraging dialogue and feedback.
5. Foster Strong, Long-term Relationships
Building and maintaining long-term relationships with schools and public sector institutions is key.
This means continuous engagement, support, and follow-up, ensuring that your business remains a reliable and supportive partner in the educational landscape.
Establishing a feedback loop through school email addresses or direct communication channels can provide invaluable insights into evolving needs and how your business can continue to meet them.
In conclusion, educational marketing is a complex but rewarding undertaking. It requires a deep understanding of the educational environment, a commitment to adding value, and a commitment to ethical and effective marketing practices.
At More Than Words Marketing, we specialise in navigating the education and public sector spheres, offering tailored strategies and solutions that help our clients make a lasting impact in these sectors.
Let’s go beyond the books and create educational marketing campaigns that truly resonate with schools. Get in touch with More Than Words Marketing to discover how we can help you achieve your marketing goals and contribute to the future of the UK’s educational institutions.
