A school is a complex tax-exempt business that also has to consider how to generate more revenue. The foundation for growing enrollment and fundraising is your brand platform, or the common language and stories shared by your faculty, parents, board members, donors, students, and community leaders.
In an interview with Liz Cherry, the brand guru with Cherry+Company, she identified some key questions to ask when evaluating your platform.
- What's your story?
- Who are you? Who aren't you?
- What do you stand for? What do you not stand for?
- Why does your school matter?
- Where are you headed?
Too often perception is reality, so the effective school leader must consider how to narrow the focus of the brand message to keep everyone focused on the important distinctives. This includes training influencers, especially teachers, on the key points of your intended narrative. It must be authentic and actionable.
The faculty in your school are the brand keepers because they have the most interaction with your current students and parents. Recognizing that word-of-mouth marketing is your primary source for enrollment inquiries, it is vital that you keep those stories consistent and on-message.
Once you have a well-defined brand platform, your web site, promotional materials, and events can be structured to properly support it. That's how companies in other industries grow and it's the common practice among the schools that are experiencing consistent enrollment.
