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INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONCHARTER SCHOOL MARKETING

Understanding your environment and your customer

December 11, 2018

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OUR SERIES

Date Topic

10/16/18 @ 12:00 Introduction: Understanding the foundations of enrollment marketing

11/13/18 @12:00 Operations: Utilizing Data to Shape and Inform your Enrollment Marketing

12/11/18 @ 12:00 Operations: Your environment and your customer

1/8/19 @ 12:00 Marketing: Inbound marketing and building your culture of marketing

2/12/19 @ 12:00 Marketing: Lead nurturing and social media

3/12/19 @ 12:00 Recruitment: The school tour

4/9/19 @ 12:00 Retention: From first to last day

5/14/19 @ 12:00 Retention: Surveys and communication at your school

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ABOUT BRIGHT MINDS MARKETING AND NICK LEROY

• Bright Minds Marketingo Boutique marketing firm specializing in helping schools improve their

student enrollment.

o Over 60 clients in 9 states

• Nick LeRoy, founder and principal consultanto 2 years as ED of the Indiana Charter School Board

o 15 years as a global marketing executive with Eli Lilly & Co.

o MBA (with honors) from Emory University

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REVIEW OF OUR LAST LESSONS

Session 1

• The importance of enrollment to your school

• Changing student landscape and the Indiana charter school sector

• The enrollment funnel and the 4 pillars of enrollment marketing

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THE 4 COMPONENTS TO A STRONG ENROLLMENT SYSTEM

Operations: Know your self, your environment, your competition, and your customer.

Create messages that resonate with her and have ways to deliver those messages

1. Attracting

prospects

2. Identifying

those prospects

3. Nurturing those

prospects

Come to a

recruiting event

Marketing

1. Positive experience at every recruitment event

2. Closing the deal / enroll

3. Create a positive onboarding experience

Enrolling students

Recruitment

1. Listening to your

constituents

2. Measuring your

constituent’s

satisfaction

3. Improving based

upon their

feedback

Retaining students

Retention

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REVIEW OF OUR LAST LESSONS

Session 2

• Your key data points:

• 5-year enrollment trends

• 5-year retention trends

• Student locations

• Student sources

• Closure rate

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KEY DATA METRICS

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STUDENT SOURCES

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UNDERSTANDING YOUR ENVIRONMENT AND YOUR CUSTOMER

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ENVIRONMENT

• What is your area and what are the demographic trends?

• Who are your competitors?

• How do you compare?

• Who are potential partners or feeders

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• Are the population trends favorable or unfavorable to your school?

UNDERSTANDING YOUR ENVIRONMENTStudent numbers

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INDIANAPOLIS IS PROJECTED TO SEE A POPULATION INCREASE OF HS AGED STUDENTS

Indianapolis Population Projections - Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metro Area

Year 0-4 5 - 9 10-14 15-192010 135,781 137,048 136,146 131,228

2015 142,050 141,236 141,247 135,405

2020 149,379 146,698 144,805 139,990

2025 155,569 153,636 149,854 143,211

2030 159,174 159,633 156,638 148,129

2035 161,862 163,090 162,600 154,869

2040 164,532 165,651 166,041 160,770

2045 167,898 168,216 168,579 164,053

2050 171,718 171,572 171,128 166,542

This region includes the following counties: Boone County, IN; Brown County, IN; Hamilton County, IN; Hancock County, IN; Hendricks County, IN; Johnson County, IN; Madison County, IN; Marion County, IN; Morgan County, IN; Putnam County, IN; Shelby County, IN

Source: Stats Indiana

http://www.stats.indiana.edu/pop_proj/

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THE GARY REGION WILL SEE A POPULATION DECLINE IN SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN

Gary / Region Population Projections - Total

Year 0-4 5 - 192015 42,127 142,912

2020 41,725 134,498

2025 45,163 132,053

2030 44,459 134,774

2035 43,534 139,239

2040 42,210 141,302

2045 41,932 138,281

2050 42,532 135,640

Source: Stats Indiana

http://www.stats.indiana.edu/pop_proj/

This region includes the following counties: Jasper County, IN; Lake County, IN; Newton County, IN; Porter County, IN

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• What are the ethnicities of your area?

• Are you providing an experience that resonates with them and their culture?

CENSUS DATA CAN HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE ETHNIC MAKE UP OF YOUR AREAwww.census.gov/quickfacts

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WHAT ARE THE CHOICE TRENDS IN YOUR AREA?Indianapolis Public Schools

24164, 46%

1526, 3%22893, 44%

3763, 7%

26656, 51%

IPS Mobility

Residents who stayed in a public district school Transfers in (includes innovation schools)

Transfers out (includes innovation schools) Choice scholarships

IDOE Mobility Report, 2018-2019

https://www.doe.in.gov/accountability/find-school-and-corporation-data-reports

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WHAT ARE THE CHOICE TRENDS IN YOUR AREA?Gary Public School System

4578, 38%

0, 0%6835, 57%

578, 5%

7413, 62%

Total Students

Residents who stayed in the public school system New transfers in Transfer to other public (charter) schools Choice Scholarships

IDOE Mobility Report, 2018-2019

https://www.doe.in.gov/accountability/find-school-and-corporation-data-reports

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HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE COMPETITION

• Parents in Indiana have several choices on where to send their childreno Public District, Public Charter, Private, Homeschool, Virtual

• How many competitive choices do your parents have?o How does your school compare from external quality measurements?

• Does your school offer something unique to parents?

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GREATSCHOOLS.ORG

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GREATSCHOOLS.ORG

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GREATSCHOOLS.ORG

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CHART OUT YOUR COMPETITIVE SCHOOLS

School name School address City State Zip Grade configuration

Type (Public, Charter, Private)

Main Street

Academy

123 Main

Street

Indianapolis IN 46205 K-8 Charter

Public

School

450 Oak

Street

Indianapolis IN 46222 K-8 Public

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GOOGLE MAPS

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GOOGLE MAPS

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GOOGLE MAPS

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COMPETITIVE MAP

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IDOE COMPASSA wealth of information about other schools in your area

• Enrollment and enrollment trends

• State Accountability score

• Academic results

• Graduation rates

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HOW DOES YOUR SCHOOL COMPARE TO THE OTHER CHOICES THAT PARENTS HAVE?

• Quantitative academic measureso ISTEP, State Grade, I-

Read, Graduation rates

• How well are you performing against the competition?

• Do you have a compelling academic story?

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School Status Grades served

Impact to client

Carpe

Diem

Closing 9-12 High – 2% of students

came from Carpe

Diem

Nexus

Academy

Closing 9-12 High

Indiana

College

Prep

Closing K-8 Low

Hoosier

Academy

Virtual

Closing K-12 High – 3% of students

came from Virtual

schools

Tindley

Middle

Schools

Consolidating 6-8 Low

School Status Grades Served

Impact to client

Vanguard Collegiate Opening fall of 2018

5 – 8 High – Could be a feeder opportunity

Urban Act (Washington Irving #14)

Restart K-8 Medium – no students come from this school – but could

become a feeder

Northwest High School Becoming a dedicated jr.

high

7-8 High – could be a strong feeder opportunity

Arlington High School Becoming a dedicated jr.

high

7-8 High – could be a strong feeder opportunity

Purdue PT 2nd campus Approved to start

9-12 High

Paramount Community Heights

Opening fall of 2018

K-4 Low

Matchbox learning (Wendell Philips #63)

Restart K-2 Low

Allegiant Prep Opening fall of 2018

K-1 Low

CHANGING COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT

What changes are happening in your environment?

Schools closing or consolidating Schools opening, restarting or changing

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WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE?

• “Brands have four strategic choices: they can be better, different, cheaper or not around for very long.”

Graham Robertson

Marketing professor University of Chicago

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WHO ARE YOU?

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MORE SCHOOLS ARE STARTING TO DIFFERENTIATE THEMSELVES

Result of a mature marketplace

• More and more schools are beginning to “specialize” and create innovative school models

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Private

1. Park Tudor

2. Brebeuf Jesuit

4. International School

6. University High School

7. Guerin High School

9. Cathedral High School

12. Heritage Christian School

14. MTI School of Knowledge

Public

3. Carmel High School

5. Zionsville High School

8. Hamilton Southeastern High School

10. Fishers High School

11. Brownsburg High School

13. Westfield High School

15. Center Grove High School

COMPETITIVE STEM SCHOOLS IN INDIANAPOLIS

Niche.com rankings of the “2019 Best STEM High Schools in Indianapolis”

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WHAT IS YOUR POINT OF DIFFERENTIATION?

• If you asked a parent – would they say the same thing?

• If you asked a teacher or a student – would they agree with you?

• How do parents know about what makes you different?

• Is it experiential or can you market it?

• Is this appealing to a large enough segment?

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FEEDERS

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GREATSCHOOLS.ORG

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• What schools around me could send students to my school?

• Understanding your feeders and leveraging them is critical for developing pipelines to your school

FEEDER MAPS

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RANKING YOUR FEEDERSPre-school example

Name Address City Zip Type Distance

(1-4 pts)

Early Learning

Center

Public 0.5 miles

Susie’s in-

home day

care

Private 3.0 miles

Happy kids'

daycare

Church 1.0 miles

ABC

Preschool

Private 2 miles

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RANKING QUALITY OF PRESCHOOLS

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LISTING OF PREK IN ZIP 46205 BY PTQ RANKING

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RANKING YOUR FEEDERSPre-school example

Name PTQ Ranking

(1-4 pts.)

Type Distance

(1-4 pts)

Relationship

(1-4 pts.)

# of kids in

2017-2018

Score

Early

Learning

Center

4 Public 0.5 miles Strong 3 12

Susie’s in-

home day

care

1 Private 3.0 miles None 0 3

Happy kids'

daycare

2 Church 1.0 miles Weak 2 6

ABC

Preschool

3 Private 2 miles Medium 2 8

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K-8 school working with preschools

• Kindergarten readiness check

• Support for graduation parties

• Reading parties from your 8th

graders

• Extending your curriculum to their school

• Professional development of their faculty

High School working with K-8 schools

• Free admittance to sporting events

• Hosting specific performances for their kids

• Buddy programs

• Joint service projects

• Summer camp opportunities

• Sharing resources

• Tutoring services by your students

HOW DO YOU ENGAGE OTHER SCHOOLS TO BECOME FEEDERS?Relationships are built on shared benefits

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UNDERSTANDING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: COMPETITIVE MAPPINGTools for competitive mapping

• School Addresses

o www.greatschools.org

o Lists all the competitive schools based upon geography (distances from your school)

• Department of Educationo https://compass.doe.in.gov/dashboard/overview.aspx

o Provides a quantitative look at performance of competitive schools

• Authorizer websites

o ICSB - https://www.in.gov/icsb/2375.htm

o Mayor’s office - http://oei.indy.gov/charter-applicants/

o BSU - https://www.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/teachers-college/centers-schools-and-offices/charter-schools/start-a-charter-school

• Mapping software

o https://www.google.com/mymaps

o www.mapline.com

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WHAT DID WE LEARN IN OUR ENVIRONMENTAL MAPPING

• The size and strength of competition in your area

• How your school matches up against the competition

• The importance of differentiating your school from others

• How to identify and engage your feeder opportunities

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UNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMER

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YOUR CUSTOMER

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CUSTOMER PERSONAS

• Customer personas represent a fictional potential customer

• They are designed to allow the organization to tailor their marketing to the appropriate “Target Segment”

• Customers share demographics, beliefs and motivations. By identifying these commonalities – we can better market against our target customer’s needs

• You should strive for between 3 – 4 customer segments

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A FEW KEY CUSTOMER DEMOGRAPHICS TO BE AWARE OF:

• The majority of America reads at a 6th grade level

• More web traffic is on a mobile device than a desk top computer

• Women consume more social media than men

• Facebook is the number one social media platform

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HOW DO YOU DEVELOP A CUSTOMER PERSONA

• Demographic data

• Customer surveys

• Individual parent interviews, focus groups

• Anecdotal knowledge

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BUILDING A CUSTOMER PERSONA

1. Name

2. Demographics1. Age, Race, Education, zip code, HH income

3. Goals and needs1. What is she looking for?

4. Barriers to choosing your school

5. How to reach her?

6. Are there ways to influence her?

7. Day in the life

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• Though this school pulls from 28 zip codes, most students reside close to the Binford corridor

• 5 zip codes make up 87.7% of all students:

o 46220: 31.7%

o 46256: 25.4%

o 46250: 10.4%

o 46236: 10.4%

o 46226: 9.8%

STUDENT LOCATIONS

Example map

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Goals and needs

1. Education?1. That results in X

2. Activities1. That allow for y

3. Environment?1. That provides what benefit

Barriers to choosing your school

1. Awareness?

2. Transportation / Distance?

3. Mistaken belief about your school?

IDENTIFY THEIR GOALS AND NEEDS (WHAT YOU PROVIDE) AND WHAT ARE THEIR BARRIERS (REASONS WHY THEY AREN’T CHOOSING YOU)

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Communication channels

1. Traditional media

2. Online information

3. Radio

4. Community groups

5. Etc.

Influencers

1. Guidance counselor at current school

2. Pastor

3. Friends and other family members

4. Etc.

IDENTIFY HOW TO COMMUNICATE TO HER AND INFLUENCE HER

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DISENGAGED DAVE (STUDENT)

Demographics

• Age 15 – 19

• Behind on credits

• Has attendance or behavior issues at his high

school

• Does not show an interest in a typical HS

curriculum / environment

Goals / Needs

• An educational experience that is more

tailored and individual to what he finds

interesting and engaging.

• To escape a bad situation at previous school

• To satisfy parental desire / court ordered /

societal expectation

• Complete HS requirements

• Learn skills for the future / Job training

Barriers to choosing “client school”

• Doesn’t want to continue to attend school / Wants to drop out

• Doesn’t want to change schools• Doesn’t know about “client school”• Transportation to local campus• Faith based education

How to reach him

• Current school system (Primary)• Digital advertising• Traditional advertising• Social / Affinity groups• Current Students

• Former Students

Influencers

• Parent• Current school system• Social / Affinity groups• Court system• Current Students• Former Students

Goals

1. He is aware of

“client school”

2. He believes that

“client school” will

provide him the

opportunity to

accomplish his

goals

3. He believes that

“client school” is a

better fit for him

and embraces the

approach of the

school

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DAY IN THE LIFE

• Dave doesn’t enjoy school. He doesn’t like the teachers and doesn’t feel that the education that he is getting is relevant to him. He often skips school to hang out with his buddies and is increasingly using drugs and alcohol.

• Though he doesn’t like school, he knows he needs to complete his high school diploma if he is going to have a shot at a decent job. Not necessarily college, but something with his hands since Dave likes tinkering with things

• Dave spends a lot of time on social media and is an avid gamer. Dave is currently on parole for a petty larceny charge.

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PERSONAS CAN BE FOR STUDENT TYPES

•An environment where she can be an individual and focus on completing her school work

•A social environment where she is not bullied and feels respected

Social Sally

• Individualizedacademic environment

•A personalized relationship with a teacher to reinforce the progress that she is capable of making

Academic Amy

• Individualizedacademic attention to allow Mike to leverage his strengths and address his weaknesses

•An environment where he is not singled out or made to feel inferior due to his medical issue

Medical Mike

•Flexible academic environment but with more structure than an online only environment

•A supportive peer group of students like her

Life Lisa

•An individualizededucational environment that is more intimate than the larger public high schools

•More structure and accountable than online systems

Alternative Andy

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OR PERSONAS CAN BE FOR PARENTS

“Satisfied” “Wants More” “Working Mom” “Different”

“Complacent” “Tiger Mom”

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WHAT DO WE LEARN IN CUSTOMER PERSONA CREATION

• Who is our customer?

o Where does she live?• Is your marketing directed to that area?

o What is she looking for in a school?• Are you telling her that?

o What are her barriers to attending your school?• Are you addressing those?

o Where does she get her information?• Are you present there?

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OUR SERIES

Date Topic

10/16/18 @ 12:00 Introduction: Understanding the foundations of enrollment marketing

11/13/18 @12:00 Operations: Utilizing Data to Shape and Inform your Enrollment Marketing

12/11/18 @ 12:00 Operations: Your environment and your customer

1/8/19 @ 12:00 Marketing: Inbound marketing and building your culture of marketing

2/12/19 @ 12:00 Marketing: Lead nurturing and social media

3/12/19 @ 12:00 Recruitment: The school tour

4/9/19 @ 12:00 Retention: From first to last day

5/14/19 @ 12:00 Retention: Surveys and communication at your school

CONTACT US FOLLOW US

THANK YOU!!!

Facebook.com/brightmindsmarketing

@brightmindsmktg

531 W. 83rd Place, Indy, IN 46260

317-361-5255

nick@brightmindsmarketing.com