Marketing to schools – do’s and don’ts
It seems everyone from the smallest B2B home business to the largest global corporation is targeting schools. Marketing is a process driven discipline – not a leap into the unknown.
There are 4 steps to success when marketing to schools:
1. Getting emails opened
2. Elicit a response with a clear call to action
3. Communicate with prospects on a personal level
4. Understand the customer’s requirements so the sale can proceed
Getting emails opened
· Subject line must be relevant and intriguing. You will only put schools off with slogans in your subject line or words like “sale” or “discount”. These words may also set off spam filters and thus reduce the number of emails delivered. Read more about subject lines HERE.
· Don’t say too much. The most common fault suppliers make when sending emails is they try to say too much. The purpose of the promotional email is to tease the prospect into wanting more information.
· Include case studies and testimonials. A case study should talk about how your product or service added value to the customer. Include real life examples and photographs of your solution being used in the school. Be sure to seek permission to publish the pics.
Call to action
This is the point when you begin to engage with the prospect on a deeper level. Completing a call to action is a step of trust on behalf of the prospect. They may have to supply their personal details, which can create concerns over their privacy, or they may have issues they want addressed before they take further action. Make sure information they need is readily available. For example, they should not have to go hunting for delivery charges or a return policy. You will need to advise those signing up for a newsletter about the frequency you will email them. They will also want to know it is easy to unsubscribe.
Communicate with prospects on a personal level
Create a 1:1 communication by personalising emails with name, position and school name at the top of the email then use the person’s name and / or school name within the body text.
The key to dealing with schools effectively is connecting with decision makers on a personal and emotional level. While it is easy to break up the school market according to geographical location or type of school, it is important to remember that behind every school are people.
An accurate and reliable list from an experienced list supplier should be sourced that provides comprehensive contact information for all education sectors, including all contacts in Schools (Public, Private and Catholic) and cover positions including Principals, IT managers, Librarians and more. This allows you to tailor the contacts you require and create a target marketing campaign.
For more on this go to Selling to Schools Part 2: Tips to monopolise the K-12 market.
Understand the customer’s requirements so the sale can proceed
Pre-qualify the prospect by getting the answers to the following questions:
· What needs to happen before they can buy?
· Timing - when do they intend to purchase?
· Do they have the authority to make a purchasing decision?
· Do they have the ability to pay?
· Have you provided everything they need in order to make a purchasing decision?
For further reading go to:
Marketing to Schools – How To Get Started
10 Tips to Successful School Marketing
Education Mailing Lists - schools, unis, TAFEs
Educational Mailing Lists
A-ZGovBIZ Education mailing lists will help you get your message out to over 28,000 decision makers in all schools, universities, TAFEs and RTOs throughout Australia and over 2,500 Principals in New Zealand schools.
School Principals | Universities | TAFE | IT Decision Makers | Lists of Lists
Spending on education in Australia has grown 20% over the last 5 years to now well over $80b a year. This is split with 51% spent on primary / secondary schools and 36% on universities and TAFEs. Each year the amount spent on education in Australia continues to grow keeping pace with population growth and demand for better education outcomes. Approximately 50% of school expenses are spent on staff – the rest goes towards running schools, building new campuses and purchasing equipment.
During the 2013-2014 financial year, the number of school students in Australia rose by 1.3% to almost 3.7 million students, with around two thirds of those students attending government schools (source: Australian Bureau of Statistics).
Decision makers in the education sector have lots on their plate at any given time so suppliers must compete for their attention. There are numerous strategies available to suppliers. According to a leading UK marketing company – the top of the list is to target a specific person using their first/last name. Each record on an A-ZGovBIZ Education list includes first and last name, email, phone and fax number, postal address, job title and numbers of staff and students - just what you need to get the prospect’s attention. See A-ZGovBIZ' top Ten Steps to Successful School Marketing.
So why use A-ZGovBIZ Education lists?
At A-ZGovBIZ we understand that suppliers don’t want to waste time and resources targeting prospects who are irrelevant to their campaign. Our contact lists only include people who are in a position of authority to make or influence purchasing decisions. This includes principals, IT managers, finance managers, administration staff and librarians. This ensures that our customers aren’t wasting precious time or money contacting people who are unable to respond to your campaign.
Schools
The above graph shows the distribution of Australian school contacts by state.
The graph above shows the breakdown of Australian school contacts by Public, Private, Independent Public and Catholic schools.
How can you use A-ZGovBIZ Education mailing lists?
A-ZGovBIZ Education lists can be customised to your precise needs. Whether you’re looking to reach principals in Victoria, purchasing officers in Perth or IT managers in Tasmania - get in contact with us on 02 9516 4703 or
Facts and Figures
- 53% of schools are in Australian capital cities
- Over 9,500 IT managers in Australian schools
- 4,162 Australian schools have over 100 computers
- There are over 350 different job roles in our University and TAFE list
- 57% of university and TAFE staff are female
Our educational mailing lists are fully Privacy Act compliant and have a guaranteed 98% data accuracy.
Universities and TAFEs
Need more information about our educational mailing lists?
See our List of Lists. To speak to a representative about your next marketing campaign, or for more information about how A-ZGovBIZ can help improve the results of your educational mailing campaigns, call us at: 02 9516 4703 or
Catholic Schools Mailing Lists | Private Schools Mailing Lists | Government Schools Mailing Lists | University Mailing Lists | TAFE Mailing Lists