Excellent Education Programs: Why Don’t Faculty Want to Prove It?
Full-pay families will expect proof that they should pay your program’s full tuition. Hence, in developing your marketing messages, you have to demonstrate why it is worth the cost. However, not all educators agree that the full-pay family should be given measurable reassurance.
In one of my earlier jobs, faculty rejected the idea of bringing prospective parents into their classrooms to observe as they interacted with their students. A high school teacher (whom I would have expected to understand the need to demonstrate our excellence) harshly chastised me. She didn’t feel a need to give families evidence to prove that we can produce the outcomes set out in our presentations. She said, “I didn’t take this job to teach parents. What we do here is good and I don’t want it to get out to our competition. Is this what your marketing is all about?” I learned a lesson from that rebuking. Some people simply do not understand the importance of convincing the consumer about why they should pay taxes and our tuition.
Faculty Reluctance to Support Marketing Education Programs to Full-Pay Families: Caused by God?
Some educators feel that if they believe it, then everyone should believe it blindly, too. I call this the “Inspired by God” syndrome and the symptoms include a lot of passion and plenty self-righteousness about what they do. When schools are flush with students, it looks as though they are right, which further perpetuates the syndrome. But when schools are struggling or working hard to generate enough revenue, someone has to decide if there is another way to look at matters… or did God change His mind?
There is a social and economic disconnect between the faculty and these “entitled” families who seem to “give their children everything.” This doesn’t inspire teachers to want to do more, even though they need their money to get their paychecks. Does the leadership help employees understand the importance of marketing to full-pay families? Teachers ask, “Why are they being so picky?” Admissions says, “Because they can afford to pay for options of their choosing.” Most people are “picky” when they have options, even educators or directors of admissions or communications. (Have you ever been picky about something you can afford, for which you have options on what and from whom you can buy? The wealthier you are, the more often you’ll find yourself in these situations.) For parents, finding the right education solution for their child is a reason to be “picky.” It’s important to help faculty understand this concept if they want the school to reach its revenue goals.
Another faculty member stated, “[Proving the value of a school’s claims] means little when it comes to describing what is meaningful or life-changing in someone’s future.” Here is what this actually meant to this person: “Why put forth energy to explain to parents about the value they are receiving, when what they want to know doesn’t need to be proved (Inspired by God Syndome) and isn’t usually what we (common folks) think is important.” I wanted to say, “Because then you will get paid!”
The Education Program is the Faculty Member’s Child
When it isn’t contrary to your mission and it satisfies the customer, is there a reason not to give them the proof behind the value of your program in return for their full tuition and a student who will help you achieve your mission? What I learned is that the education program is a faculty member’s Child. They refuse to subject their Child to any evaluation or critique. Prospects are expected to accept this Child without question. Although I respect the concept, it doesn’t work as well when you want them to blindly pay a lot of money.
When it comes to asking faculty to demonstrate that their program offers value that is worth the tuition, approach them as though you are asking them to present their child. Furthermore, you are asking them to present their child to a set of people with whom they typically don’t connect on a social/economic front. Schools can live their missions and still accommodate the needs of full-pay families. Most schools can’t not accommodate full-pay families and still achieve their missions. In most cases, demonstrating that you have the solution to the needs of the customer (and it is worth the cost) is important in all significant purchases. Why not when you are paying tuition? Would you buy a house without looking at it closely?
Depending on the culture of your school and how important the full-pay market is to your community’s livelihood, your school may have to move gingerly through the process of getting the faculty to demonstrate the value of your program to parents and students. Nonetheless, if schools don’t buy into providing evidence and the customer needs more to buy, many schools will eventually fail their mission. I wrote the lyrics to a song to describe the up-to-the-closing event – the MarketingtoFullPay Anthem. It’s called, “I Bring Your Paychecks to You.” It’s written to the tune of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic. I will send it to you within a week or so. If you need it sooner, drop me a line.
The Five Pillars can help school leadership to find ways to help faculty embrace the importance of marketing to full-pay families.