MARKETING & ADMISSIONS
AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE THE FUTURE OF PERSONALISED STUDENT RECRUITMENT
Hannah Ball loo s at the bene ts o s hools being able to offer prospe tive international parents ustomise in ormation hi h an be tailore to their nee s at the li o a button
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he UK boarding environment has quickly adapted to the challenges posed by COVID-19. Recruitment of international boarders, in particular, is now taking a far more digital approach to reach a broader audience of parents. But how can schools differentiate and drive maximum parent engagement? The answer is by providing a personalised, digital customer experience. Digital marketing is transforming the admissions process for international boarders. Many schools are using a digital marketing mix to grow their reach in international markets. But it is when these tools are used to personalise the customer journey that schools are seeing real success. Schools are increasingly realising that personalisation should be intrinsic to their marketing activities to make a real impression on the customer. Parents are making a financial and emotional in estment in choosing a school for their child. Only by tapping into this through a personalised admissions process can schools differentiate and drive more admissions.
he benefits of digital marketing long pro en in many consumer arenas are no being rolled out across the education sector. International boarding recruitment needs personalised, digital techniques; online advertising, email and social media marketing are all cost-effective, easy to implement, secure a wide reach and offer a reasonable level of personalisation. Yet it is possible to go further still by using a marketing and admissions tool hich deli ers the exibility and capability to tailor information about a school to each and every family’s needs. The aim is to establish an emotional connection with a prospective family in order to offer a more complete experience of school life. And it works. Ian Hunt, CEO of Kazakhstan-based schools Haileybury Almaty and Haileybury Astana, is using a personalised communications platform to drive more student applications. Ian says; “Each family will embark upon a journey with us and at each stage we acknowledge their individual needs. This is a very powerful way to build up a rapport with a family who are making one of the biggest financial decisions that they ill e er make t certainly helps enormously to secure admissions to the school.”
Digital: moving away from the impersonal
In past years, recruitment in international boarding has lacked personalisation. Most schools have offered a standard brochure or website sharing generic information but with nothing tailored to an individual family’s interests. Parallel, costly and environmentally unfriendly recruitment techniques such as overseas school shows have involved expensive air travel, hotel rooms and print materials. While this in-person approach allowed schools to build a one-on-one connection with the family, often momentum was lost when parents were sent home with a broad-based prospectus which didn’t re ect their interaction ith the school Winter 2022 | schoolmanagementplus.com | 31
