Gone are the days of stab in the dark marketing – developing a campaign or piece of content, publishing it, and hoping for the best. In the digital world of today, we have been granted insight into the behaviours, needs and trends of consumers like never before. By grounding a marketing strategy in customer analytics, we are able to generate personalised communications and targeted marketing which makes a greater impact and builds deeper relationships with your audience. This is called data-driven marketing.
Why is Data-Driven Marketing Essential?
Data-driven marketing involves analysing the data you extract from interactions with parents, students and staff and using it to create personalised campaigns that target your audience. Data eliminates guesswork around marketing, helps direct strategy, and improves customer relationships.
As technology progresses, we have a new world of marketing at our fingertips. We can use Google Analytics to determine what blog pages are visited most and see how certain topics resonate with audiences. We can utilise surveys to analyse feedback from parents and staff to implement change and better systems. We can use data to determine where website traffic comes from and identify new markets to pursue to grow enrolments.
Defining Your Audience
Using data allows us to define our audience and tailor marketing strategies to them. When you capture this information through lead generation, you can be sure you understand who your target market is. Most people find schools through word of mouth, social media, or online. If you are able to draw your audience to your school through valuable, relevant information, you can provide content that resonates with your ideal audience.
Targeting Your Message – A Case Study
In 2019, we were engaged to conduct a survey on behalf of a school to discover ways in which they could improve. The data showed that a significant amount of parents weren’t confident in the school’s ability to handle and address bullying concerns. This feedback was used to develop further strategies to communicate and inform parents of the policies in place. Examples of this included tailoring social media posts (i.e. about the school engaging in National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence etc) and highlighting the policies in the handbook. In 2020, a subsequent survey was done and the data showed significant improvement in this particular area.
By having access to survey data, we are able to see what is important to an audience and redirect the marketing towards it.
How Do We Gather Data?
There are lots of great ways to gather data from your audiences. You can do this through:
- focus groups;
- surveys;
- Google reviews;
- Google analytics; and
- By creating regular opportunities for feedback.
All of these sources can provide useful insight for your school.
The tools available to schools today can be used to develop and ensure marketing that is tailored to their ideal families. Leaning in and investing into data-driven marketing can set your school up for long term success, provide greater direction for marketing strategies and lay the groundwork for a thriving culture for years to come.
For more information, contact the team at Bright Ed Media to learn more about how we can help gather your data and build solutions for your school.
Interested in arranging a survey?
We have developed 3 key surveys that are ready and available for your use. Not only will you receive all the feedback and data, but we work to analyse that data and compile it into a report that shows you where you are succeeding and areas that need improving.
Our key survey offerings:
1 – Parent Satisfaction Survey
Parents are your primary customers, and it is so important to measure their experiences at your school. This survey is a critical assessment, retention and marketing tool that provides convenient, confidential feedback to school leadership and stakeholders on an annual basis. This survey captures satisfaction ratings, the Net Promoter Score, areas that need improving and areas where your school is succeeding in parents’ eyes.
2 – Staff Satisfaction Survey
Your staff are on the front lines when it comes to building school culture, morale, and environment – undoubtedly, their satisfaction is critical. Usually, when things are not working, your staff are the first to know and often have many useful ideas for solutions. The employee satisfaction survey provides an opportunity for staff to confidentially provide feedback about their experiences, their ideas to better your school, and their views on areas that need more work. This is also a great way to assess the work of your leadership team and ensure a healthy and enjoyable school environment.
3 – Student Satisfaction Survey
So often we hear of school’s taking on board the feedback from parents and staff but miss out on the reports of their students. Schools are in the business of supporting students in their academic, spiritual, sporting, creative journeys and to do so effectively, it is important to understand where your students could use more from you and your team. This survey assesses student satisfaction, room for improvement and areas where they feel they could use more support.
These surveys are available individually or as part of a complete package.