The School Marketing Plan is strongly linked to the school marketing budget - there is often a reluctance to offer the necessary capital to allow this to be effective. Below are four key strategies to make this budget work - and work well!

1. Invest During Good Times - Financial and Otherwise

2. Invest During Difficult Financial Times and Other Difficult Situations

3. A Realistic Budget is Necessary

4. If Needed - a Shared Budget Across Schools or Regions

1. Invest During Good Times - Financial and Otherwise

Good times are the best times to invest. This enables the school's reputation to be enhanced considerably. Resting on the laurels of the past can become an expensive exercise when the reputation is forgotten or when a new challenge comes from other competing interests, including other schools and distractions within society.

2. Invest During Difficult Financial Times and Other Difficult Situations

However, all schools need to market themselves at whatever stage of the success cycle at which they find themselves. Do not give up in the tough times - all schools will experience these throughout their history. It is a most important time to market, fight for the dollars so you don not get left behind in the marketplace.

3. A Realistic Budget is Necessary

Various people within each school community have differing views on the amount which should be afforded to the marketing budget. School leaders need to be aware that the implementation of a good marketing plan would inevitably drive up community engagement and enrolment numbers!

In today's dollar values spending $20 000 - $40 000  for an average sized independent school (of between 600 and 900 students) would be a good investment. This would need to be proportionately reviewed according to overall School Budget, the number of enrolments and the overall need of the school to build and maintain enrolment numbers.

When the marketing plan is being developed for a specified year, key stakeholders, particularly the School Principal, School Manager and the School Marketing Manager, need to assess the budget requirements. The budget will have a significant impact on a plan for any year. The budget includes all areas of the plan which incur expenses.

4. If Needed - a Shared Budget Across Schools or Regions

Shared marketing budgets across a number of schools may be another way of efficiently budgeting.
This could be regionalized e.g.:
• a combined regional budget to be shared amongst schools or
• a RMM (Regional Marketing Manager) implementing the whole marketing plan for the region and individual schools, which are only required to develop their own essentials such as newsletters.

Or it may be a number of localized schools working together and sharing the budget.

A shared budget may see different schools marketing specific aspects for the cluster e.g.
• one may concentrate on Arts / Sport Education within the cluster
• another may market the varying sorts of key curriculum and extra-curricular areas on offer and differing times for each
• another may emphasize the pastoral, welfare and social justice aspects within the cluster.

For some schools this may be the only way to begin marketing or to maintain a budget in any form what-so-ever.

Caution - even though this may appear to save financially, it takes away from the individual uniqueness of each school. Marketing is often more successful when emphasizing a uniqueness.

A professionally run school will always allow for an appropriate marketing budget to assist with promoting the school - both in good and difficult times.

Good school marketing evaluation practices, methods and surveys are getting lost in this 'quick, give me the answer' or 'I do not need others' views as I know the answer' attitudes which are permeating our professions and businesses in today's digital world!

School Marketing Plans need to be evaluated on a regular basis. Too often these days the 'quick fix' and 'easily implemented' plans are at the forefront of most professional and business thinking. The School Marketing Plan needs to be evaluated at least yearly and more often if changes impacting on your product are being noticed in customer responses.

In the school situation key stakeholders are needed to engage in the marketing evaluation process. It is not wise to only listen to a few personnel who 'should know what is happening out there in the marketplace'. Surveys of key groups are also very important if an accurate gauge is needed - and I would hope this to be the case.

The Stakeholders

Representatives from the Key Stakeholders groups within the school need to give input.

These people would include:

• Principal and Leadership Team
• School Manager
• Parish Priest (if a Church school)
• Staff (as decided in consultation with Principal)
• Parent representatives
• Student Leaders
• Feeder School Principals and Leadership Teams
• Media Representatives (usually media contacts of the School Marketing Manager and advertising consultants the school deals with, as needed)
• Systemic representatives as needed.

Survey and Feedback

Feedback quantity and quality will vary.

Requested replies would be from both specific and general groups, for example, you may target specific groups of Parents e.g. School Board, but also invite interested Parents through the school's newsletters to respond.

A simple questionnaire sent to these people asking three questions will often give enough detail for a fair appraisal and follow-up discussion with the school leadership team and School Marketing Manager (SMM).

You may be inclined to do this through an online survey. The questions could be:

• The School Marketing Plan (SMP) for [School Name] for this year was successful in what ways?
• The SMP for [School Name] for this year was lacking in what ways?
• How would you suggest the SMP for [School Name] be adjusted for next year?
• Other comments

The SMM would then summarize these responses in an honest way and present the views to the school's leadership team.

It is also good to include specific examples from each question from key people e.g.

• a feeder school Principal may be the only one who is aware of issues regarding visitations or school involvement in his / her school
• a feeder school secretary may be the only one aware of specific parental / staff issues she hears espoused in her main office;

It is important that this is not lost in the summary.

A Different Survey Type

Others may like to develop a survey which ranks specific statements about the School Marketing Plan from 5 to 1. The number of statements in the survey would need to be minimal to gain a good percentage of replies.

This type of survey would more than likely achieve a greater number of responses, yet the detail is limited. You may like to try a greater number of statements for groups or individuals you feel are more likely to respond.

You may also like to include a section for written responses to questions similar to the above three.

Support

It is important that the SMM is supported by all groups to continue on the successful way or make various changes to improve.

Most common changes are made each year in the approach and / or forms of marketing used in each subsequent year.

This is normal and leads to a more successful School Marketing Plan each year.

A high quality marketing evaluation plan should be a necessary and integral aspect of a professional or business marketing plan. Listening to both key stakeholders and key groups is fundamental for success.