In today’s digital age, moving from traditional methods to modern solutions isn’t just a choice—it’s a must. For schools, as in businesses, embracing this change is key to staying ahead, especially in admissions. Parents today expect a smooth, efficient, and personalized admissions process, and that’s where lead management can make all the difference.
Now, let’s talk about some of the most important factors for School Marketing:
What is Lead Management?
Lead management is the strategic process of capturing, nurturing, and converting potential leads into loyal customers. For schools, this translates into managing prospective parents, who are the real decision-makers in the admissions process. By utilizing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, schools can optimize their approach to admissions, ensuring no lead slips through the cracks.
Learn from the expert as Mr Murali Krishna Kantipudi, the Vice President of Sales & Operations at LeadSquared, shares insights on the transformative power of lead management in the education sector.
What is the Lead Management Journey?
The lead management journey is a systematic approach to engaging with potential parents and guiding them through the admissions process. Here’s how it works:
- Capture: Attract potential parents through various channels like school websites, social media, and events. Collect their contact details to initiate further engagement.
- Qualification: Assess and prioritize these leads based on their interest, demographics, and level of engagement. This helps in focusing efforts on the most promising prospects.
- Tracking & Organization: Centralize all lead information within a CRM for seamless tracking and organization. This ensures that every interaction is documented and easily accessible.
- Nurturing: Build relationships with potential parents through personalized communication, guiding them towards enrollment. This step is crucial in converting interest into commitment.
- Conversion: Successfully transition prospective parents into committed enrollees, ensuring they choose your school. This is the final step where all efforts culminate in a successful admission.
How Does Lead Management Work for Your School?
The pandemic has accelerated the integration of technology in education, making digital tools indispensable. Lead management systems digitize and optimize the school admissions process, ensuring no lead is lost and every prospective parent is given the attention they deserve. By implementing a lead management system, schools can achieve better organization, increased engagement, and higher conversion rates.
Let’s Learn from a Case Study: Oakridge International School
Oakridge International School, part of Nord Anglia Education, faced challenges that are common in many educational institutions: high dependency on tele-callers, low lead engagement, and a lack of insights into top lead generation sources. To overcome these challenges, they implemented LeadSquared CRM and witnessed remarkable results:
- 100% Increase in Applicant Engagement: By automating communication and follow-ups, Oakridge significantly improved their interaction with prospective parents.
- 3X Rise in Applicant Conversion: The systematic nurturing and personalized communication efforts led to a threefold increase in conversions.
- Zero Missed Follow-Ups: Automation ensured that no lead was neglected, enhancing the overall admissions experience.
- Reduced Applicant TAT (Turnaround Time): The time taken to process and convert leads was drastically reduced, leading to a more efficient admissions cycle.
By moving away from manual processes, Oakridge International School freed up time and resources, allowing their team to focus on high-quality leads and achieving better results.
Why are Marketing & Branding Important?
Today, any business, organization, or institution thrives based on how its audience perceives it, that perception is its ‘brand.’ Marketing is the story they tell to shape or change that perception. For a school, your brand is what parents think of you. If parents associate your school with state-of-the-art infrastructure, that’s your brand. If they link it to the success of your students, that’s your brand too. You get the idea, your school’s brand is defined by how parents view it.
Effective branding relies on two key ingredients: the story you tell and the person who tells it. Luckily, your school already has both-
your alumni success stories and your alumni as brand ambassadors.
Alumni, having been part of your school system, bring real and credible experiences. Their success stories are proof of your school’s effectiveness and serve as a trusted source of information for prospective parents.
By utilizing your alumni and their success stories, you have the perfect recipe for successful school marketing and brand building. These stories not only highlight your alumni’s achievements but also reflect the quality of education your school provides. In short, your alumni are the ideal voices to share the story of your school.
Your school website is the primary information centre for prospective parents looking for their children’s admission. Showcasing your Alumni and their achievements on your website would allow parents to see the success stories you have helped create over the years. The following steps can be really helpful when it comes to school marketing & branding-
- Social Media: Posting Alumni stories on your school’s social media channels is another way to catch parents’ and students’ attention. It will also strengthen your connection with your Alumni who will feel recognised by their school.
- Marketing & Admission Videos: ‘Looking back at School’ by Alumni can be a powerful idea for your school marketing and admission videos. Your Alumni’s positive words can motivate parents in their admission decision.
- Admission Open Houses & Campus Tours: Inviting your Alumni to speak during admission open houses or conducting campus tours allows parents to interact with them in person and hear about their experiences in school. This will add to your school’s credibility in the eyes of parents.
- Advertisements & Marketing Collaterals: All your marketing efforts should carry the same message – reflect your Alumni’s stories. Only then parents will come to associate your school’s brand with student success.
Editor’s Note: Check out Level Up Chapter 1 here and learn more about the winning strategies that bring 161% growth in school admission from our speaker Mr. Udayan Verma.
Ready to Level Up?
The future of school admissions is digital. By harnessing the power of lead management and automation, schools can elevate their success, ensuring that every prospective parent receives the attention they deserve. Your alumni are an invaluable and ever-growing resource for school marketing and brand building. Each graduating batch adds more unique success stories that can be associated with your school’s brand. It’s time to start tapping into this potential and make those success stories work for you.
Partner with Univariety to effectively leverage your alumni network, turning their achievements into powerful tools for your school’s marketing and branding efforts. Connect with us and make your school stand out from the crowd.
Sayantika is a psychology student who likes poetry, music, and movies. Her writing style is engaging, informative, and tailored to the specific needs of each subject. Whether it's blog posts or product descriptions, she knows how to create content that resonates with search engines and human readers.
