Magnet School
Marketing Workshop
Presenter: Marcus Ortega
This workshop will assist you in the development of your Magnet
School Recruitment Plan and its implementation. The Magnet School
Recruitment Plan should define your mission and outline the best
course of action to achieve your recruitment goals.
Topics to be discussed:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
“Selling Points”
Making the transition as educator to recruiter
Identifying what makes your school unique
Coordinating resources
Working with partners
Following consistent branding
Creating a marketing plan
Defining your magnet program(s)
Identifying your target audience
Marketing channels
Direct marketing
Unique selling proposition
Selling the Magnet Program
Your Unique Selling Proposition
What are the “selling points” of Magnet Programs?
How many times have you been asked,
“What are Magnet Schools?”
Magnet Programs are high-quality and innovative educational
programs that specialize in a particular theme open to all students
who meet the eligibility requirements.
When compared to other schools options such as charter, private or
other public schools the differences are the following:
What are the “selling points” of Magnet Programs?
Selling Points for the Students:
• Magnet Programs offer dedicated classes with specific instruction
of the theme of choice.
• Magnet Programs work within existing M-DCPS schools, which
allows the student full access to other resources within the
school and the school system.
• Magnet Programs attract the finest and most dedicated students
who are passionate about the chosen theme.
• Magnet Program teachers are “highly qualified” through specific
theme-based training and professional development.
What are the “selling points” of Magnet Programs?
• Magnet Programs better prepare students to advance their
studies/career in an accelerated and specialized manner
• Magnet Programs consistently have higher attendance rates,
graduation rates and lower drop-out rates.
• And they’re FREE!
What are the “selling points” of Magnet Programs?
Selling Points for the School and its Staff:
• Increases diversity in the school
• Increases FTE
• Increased FCAT scores
• Boosts parental support
• Generates community and industry partner participation and
sponsorships
• Improves student conduct and attendance
• Enhances school image
What are the “selling points” of Magnet Programs?
So what is Your Unique Selling Proposition?
“Why is YOUR Magnet Program unique?”
Magnet Programs have their collective benefits shared by all Magnet
Schools. It is important to clearly list what makes your program(s) so
special and their own unique benefits.
Here are some points to consider when developing your list;
• Your Mission Statement
• Unique activities/events associated with the program
• Associated partners to the program
• Future careers and/or fields of study related to the program
What are the “selling points” of Magnet Programs?
Marketing Exercise #1
Create a list of “Unique Selling Points” associated with
your Magnet Program
Organize your points in order that they can easily
understood by prospective parents/students
Making the Transition as
Educator to Recruiter
Making the transition from educator to recruiter
As recruiters it is important that you understand
the following concept:
Perception is everything,
sometimes the only thing!
Making the transition from educator to recruiter
Most educators think that their program is outstanding and unique,
and make the assumption that others will automatically see these
features.
They Don’t!
You have an obligation to those visiting to show (by way of
presentations, question and answer sessions, print and digital
materials, open houses) the unique and outstanding features of
your program.
Making the transition from educator to recruiter
As a successful recruiter you must put a recruitment plan in place. A
recruitment plan should define your mission and outline the best
course of action to achieve your enrollment goals. The six stages of a
targeted recruitment plan campaign are to:
• Identify the target audience
• Coordinate with your resources
• Define the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When and Why
• Design the plan of action
• Maneuver personnel and resources to attract the target
• “Close the Deal” register students for your program
Identifying your Target Audience
Defining your Target Audience
Internal Audience:
1). Students currently enrolled in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
All schools are encouraged to promote the Magnet application
option for students transitioning out of their work location (example:
elementary schools should be making 5th grade students aware of
their magnet options, middle schools should be making 8th grade
students aware of their magnet options).
2). M-DCPS students currently enrolled in charter schools. These are
registered M-DCPS students, each with a valid M-DCPS ID. M-DCPS
has access to all registered students’ contact information. Postcards
can be mailed out to specific addresses using this data.
Defining your Target Audience
External Audience:
1). New students to the education system. Primarily PRE-K and
Kindergarten aged students. Also defined in this group are homeschool students.
2). Students new to Miami-Dade County. An example of this is
foreign nationals, military families, work-related relocations, and
general family relocations.
3). Private school students. Students in and outside Miami-Dade
County currently enrolled in a private school.
Coordinating your Resources
Coordinating your Resources
M-DCPS & Your School:
Engage your PTSA, parent/student body and friends/partners of the
school to assist in your efforts.
Promote articulation within M-DCPS directed at the INTERNAL
AUDIENCE.
Coordinating your Resources
Chambers/Civic Organizations/Trade Groups:
Identify various groups in-line with your particular theme(s) in order
to create alliances.
Coordinating your Resources
Fairs/Festivals:
Seek opportunities where you can attend and participate in local,
community and cultural events to attract potential parents/students.
These events also create positive visibility to your school. A repeat
event over time begins the process of positioning your school as
“house-hold” name.
Coordinating your Resources
School Choice & Parental Options office:
The School Choice & Parental Options office is capable of assisting
schools obtain mailing lists, vendor lists for various needs, as well as
working with schools to provide additional marketing presence at
the county-wide level.
Understanding the 5 W’s
Who, What, Where, When, Why
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
Who:
The better any school defines its “WHO"—and the more it can know
about their lifestyles, behaviors, attitudes, opinions, wants, and
needs—the more effectively it can address the remaining four W‘s.
The obvious answer to WHO is, the Target Audience, however there
is more to it than just that.
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
Who:
Consider the following when asking WHO:
WHO can be further defined to a niche group within a general Target
Audience. (example, veterinary assisting is a niche group within students interested in medicine)
Understanding WHO might mean entering their world, swim in their
waters, breathe their air, walk in their shoes; meaning you need to
see the product from their eyes and not yours.
WHO may be a combination of targeting two sets of education
levels, age and cultural backgrounds as is the case with parent and
student dynamics.
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
What:
What exactly is the program you are marketing? And what are the
benefits it brings? If you're not crystal clear on what you're really
offering, there's a good chance your target audience won't be either
-- and a confused mind does not register.
Understanding WHAT is going to require you to have a solid
understanding of your program, its vision and curriculum objectives.
It is important that the school work as a TEAM and have a consistent,
unified understanding of WHAT your program is. This will avoid any
confusion and pave the way for open communication with prospects.
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
Where:
WHERE do advertise your marketing medium?
Marketing mediums are simply the paths we use to communicate
our marketing messages to our target audience, such as a brochure,
postcard, evite or roadside banner.
So where will you do your marketing? What mediums will you use
and why? What mediums does your target audience prefer? Knowing
how your target audience prefers to be communicated with can go a
long way here.
Remember to swim their waters and breathe their air!
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
When:
WHEN an HOW LONG is really the question to be addressed. Timing
is critical. Consider working around fixed dates such as the Magnet
Application Period, school recess, FCAT testing periods, etc.
How long should a campaign last? Typically it takes 4 contacts before
you are officially recognized by the target audience! It takes up to 7
contacts before you have a successful registration!
Plan on making repeated attempts at getting your program out in
the public’s eye. Plan your attempts strategically so you hit
opportune points throughout the year.
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
Why:
There may be many reasons for WHY you are offering a Magnet
Program.
For the purposes of marketing your program, it is important to stick
to reasons that your target audience to which you can relate.
Your reasons for putting together a Magnet Program should be
clearly to offer a benefit to your student body.
Lets refer back to the “Selling Points” for students:
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
Why: Selling Points for the Students:
• Magnet Programs offer dedicated classes with specific instruction
of the theme of choice.
• Magnet Programs work within existing M-DCPS schools, which
allows the student full access to other resources within the
school and school system.
• Magnet Programs attract the finest and most dedicated students
who are passionate the chosen theme.
• Magnet Program teachers are “highly qualified” through specific
theme-based training and professional development.
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
• Magnet Programs better prepare students to advance their
studies/career in an accelerated and specialized manner.
• Magnet Programs consistently have higher attendance rates,
graduation rates and lower drop-out rates.
WHY?
We do it for the students. We do it in the hopes of:
BUILDING A GREATER MIAMI ONE STUDENT AT A TIME!
Understanding the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, Why
Marketing Exercise #2
Review the previous Exercise #1 and use the listed
“Unique Selling Points” to plan Exercise #2.
Think carefully about your 5 W’s: Who, What, Where,
When and Why. On a sheet of paper consider your
Magnet Program’s 5 W’s. You will use this to lead you
successfully designing a plan of action.
Design the Plan of Action
Design the Plan of Action
Branding:
Simply put, Brand is the personality that identifies a product.
Brand should be consistent. Brand should be unwavering and
dependable. Just as you have friends with certain personalities, a
brand is your product’s personality.
People expect a brand to deliver a promise, in other words, the
brand should stand for something, offer something and consistently
produce that promise the audience expects.
Design the Plan of Action
Branding:
Magnet Schools have been aggressively creating a brand image. The
Magnet Schools brand has been publicly released county-wide for a
period of time to consistently and predictably showcase what
products it has to offer.
Your school is a child of the parent brand, Magnet Schools. This is
known as Family Branding.
To successfully market your Magnet Program it would be a smart
move to incorporate yourself within the larger Magnet Schools
parent brand. This would increase your distribution power, associate
yourself to a larger “family” of brands thus increasing your exposure.
Design the Plan of Action
Image Development:
Image Development – This includes a logo, slogan, theme colors and
overall look and feel.
The goal here is to keep within an overall Magnet Schools family
branding but, also inject your own program’s personality too!
Have fun with it, think like the target audience. Swim in their waters;
understand what your program’s personality should be, and deliver
it.
Design the Plan of Action: Image Development Sample
Design the Plan of Action: Image Development Sample
Design the Plan of Action
Communications:
Before moving forward in the communications, it is IMPORTANT to
work in a linear fashion and incorporate all the previous information
collectively. (Unique Proposition, Target Audiences, 5 W’s, Branding)
It is a good idea to study other similar marketing pieces and study
what makes those pieces successful or unsuccessful.
Keep the design simple and to the point.
Keep in mind that marketing materials serve to spark interest and
drive your audience to the next level, commitment.
Design the Plan of Action
Communications:
Copy should be kept brief, to-the-point and free of educational
jargon. Remember that this is a marketing piece for the community
and not an article for an educational journal.
If you choose to use specific names, dates, phone extensions, etc.,
keep in mind that will date your materials and possibly shorten the
life span of the materials.
Design the Plan of Action
Communications:
Always include a CALL TO ACTION!
Make the audience do something, whether its calling a phone
number to apply, driving them to a website to learn more, or
encouraging them to attend an event such as an open house.
This is the most important piece of a marketing plan.
Design the Plan of Action
Basis Startup Set:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Logo and/or Crest
Brochure
Informational Flyer
Postcard
Website
School Signage
Booth Materials (table throw, pull up banners, etc)
Presentation Folder
Design the Plan of Action
Initial Advertisement & Promotions:
•
•
•
•
•
Press release
Public service announcement
Local/Community Papers
Site Banners, flags or signage
Postcard / flyer local
distribution
• Community message boards
• In-school flyers
• Connect Ed messages
Design the Plan of Action
Initial Events & Activities:
August-Spring
Spring-June
• New student orientation
• Fall open house
• Recruitment activities (fairs,
community & cultural events,
business & civic meetings,
store front recruitment)
•
•
•
•
•
Spring open house
Mini-mall fairs
Participation in career days
End of year activities
Awards & recognition
reception
• Recruitment receptions
Design the Plan of Action
Other Communication Ideas:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Posters
Bumper stickers
Acceptance letters
Newspaper/Newsletters
Business cards/Stationary
Outdoor banners, flags
Evites
Video entries (Youtube)
Social networking pages
External links from partners
• Pins
• Wristbands
• T-shirts/hats
• Magnets
• Stickers
CROSS-SELLING
• Pizza boxes
• Coffee sleeves
• Event sponsorship
• Restaurant napkins/placemats
Design the Plan of Action
Other Event Ideas:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Auctions
Mini mall fairs
Open house
Ice cream socials
Parent booster meetings
Pot luck dinners
School tours
Community meetings
Talent based events
•
•
•
•
Community fairs
Event sponsorship
Flyer hand-out day
Theme related event with
program partners
• Event hosting at your school
(ex. Boy Scout meetings at
your cafeteria)
• Participation in career days
Design the Plan of Action
Marketing Exercise #3
Based on what we have determined about your 5 W’s, we
are now going to build an initial Plan of Action.
Considering the importance of Branding, Exercise #3 will
focus on building a Informational Flyer as one of your
initial communication pieces.
Your message is the same regardless of the medium you
choose. A flyer can quickly become a brochure!
Maneuvering Personnel and
Resources to Attract the Target
Maneuvering Personnel and Resources to Attract the Target
Working as a TEAM:
You have learned valuable steps to building a successful Recruitment
Plan. Now it is your duty to educate your team to this information.
As a school YOU MUST ALL AGREE on the program’s:
• Unique Selling Points
• Target Audience
• 5 W’s
• Plan of Action
Maneuvering Personnel and Resources to Attract the Target
Working as a TEAM:
Schedule a time to go over your proposed Recruitment Plan with
your school staff.
Make it a point to spread the enthusiasm! Take ownership of your
school and work to get your community as excited as you are.
We are communicators by nature and marketing is nothing more
than targeted communications.
Maneuvering Personnel and Resources to Attract the Target
Working as a TEAM:
Make a BOLD statement! Prepare your communications to be
relevant to your school and the target audience. (remember, swim in
their waters)
Be ready and have your team ready for questions. Do not ever
assume your audience knows anything about your school.
Remember and reiterate your school’s unique selling points! Make
that, if nothing else, the one thing the audience remembers.
Remember and reiterate your school’s unique selling points! Make
that, if nothing else, the one thing the audience remembers.
Maneuvering Personnel and Resources to Attract the Target
Marketing Channels:
A marketing channel is how you get your communications from the
school to the target audience.
Zero Level Channel
This type of channel has no intermediaries. The communications go
directly from the school to the parent/student. (ex. Event fair, Open
House)
Even though this method is very effective, it does require a lot of
time, work and resources.
Maneuvering Personnel and Resources to Attract the Target
Marketing Channels:
One Level Channel
This method involves another entity such as the School Choice &
Parental Options office or a school partner. Provide these entities
with your message, allow them to also share your Recruitment Plan
and properly “sell” your school.
School Choice & Parental Options is always working on your behalf to
communicate your school’s message to the general public.
Leverage your community, friends of the school, partners of your
program, civic organizations and trade groups to also promote and
communicate your schools Recruitment Plan.
Closing the Deal
Registering Students
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Achieving the Goal:
The ultimate goal of the Recruitment Plan is to register new, and
retain existing students.
Develop and system of being proactive and pursuing interested
parents/students. Encourage them to take a school tour, offer them
an acceptance letter to have them feel as if they are a new part of
your school’s family.
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Building a Reputation:
Some of the most successful M-DCPS schools have kept their brand
promise. They have consistently delivered the product they promised
to their target audience.
A key objective to the retention of existing students and expectation
of new students revolves around your school’s reputation.
You have put together a recruitment plan, use this plan to develop a
consistent brand that will begin to attract students because of its
earned reputation.
Once a brand is brought to life, it must be nurtured and sustained!
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Customer Service:
• 96% of dissatisfied customers do not complain; they simply go
elsewhere next time.
• Of the 4% who do complain, if we handle their complaint well,
between 50% and 74% will return. If we solve their problem
instantly, however, 97% will return.
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Customer Service:
Listen!
The customer is likely to be angry when they complain. You have
probably not lived up to their expectation of your promise and/or
they have not received what they expected.
Quite often just letting the customer talk will be enough to defuse
the anger.
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Customer Service:
Empathize
If you argue with the customer, you have lost. It doesn't matter
whether the customer is right or wrong, as far as he/she is
concerned he/she is right. A very useful technique at this stage is to
say to the customer "You know, if I were in your shoes, I would feel
exactly the same way that you do." This sort of empathy takes the
sting out of any complaint. If the customer thinks that you
understand then he will lower his tone and listen to what you have
to say. This does not mean that you are agreeing with the customer,
just letting him know that you know how he/she feels.
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Customer Service:
Take the complaint seriously
Your customer wants to know that you care.
You may have had 20 people complaining this morning but he/she
wants you to make this complaint is the most important thing on
your mind right now.
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Customer Service:
Don't pass the buck
The person who takes a complaint call is now the person who has to
make sure the problem is solved. Even if you happen to pick up the
phone by mistake, it is your problem now.
Customers do not want to be passed around having to relate their
complaint to a number of different people before they find
somebody who can fix it.
At the very least, follow through with the problem until it is fixed.
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Customer Service:
Write it down
Listen carefully and write down all the details. Make sure you get the
customer's name correct and his/her contact details.
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Customer Service:
FIX IT!
The last stage is to make sure that the solution happens within the
time scale.
You may not be the person who fixes the problem but you are the
person who mediates with the customer.
Get back to him/her at each stage to make sure he/she knows that it
is happening as you promised.
Closing the Deal: Registering Students
Customer Service:
FIX IT!
Lastly, I would like to leave you with one thought: "The sun never
sets on a customer complaint."
If a customer raises a problem with you today, if he/she doesn't have
a solution by the end of the day, it will be a much bigger problem
tomorrow. Sometimes complaints take more that a few days to
solve, so we have to keep in regular contact to make sure the
customer knows we care.
Closing Thought
If you’re not growing,
you’re dying.