Welcome to Episode 17 where my guest is James Collins. James is a Regional Director at School Admin, where for the last 7 years he’s worked with a variety of admissions offices. James has managed anywhere from 10+ admissions offices to one-person shows. He is a leader in best practices as they relate to enrollment management.
Our topic today is communication plans. A communication plan is a plan from first inquiry to enrollment, and the touchpoints along the way. The communication plan is how you communicate with families to move them from Point A to Point B. Also, we talk about the technology.
Today’s podcast topic is near and dear to my heart, something I’ve talked about for years. I really enjoyed my conversation with James; I know you’re going to enjoy what he has to say and the information he has to share.
In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover
- Other names for a Communications Plan, such as an Inquiry Path or Prospective Student or Family Journey
- An in-depth focus on inquiries and applicants in your school’s funnel
- How to send the right message to the right person at the right time
- How to develop a plan from the first time a family is aware of your school until they enroll
- Why having a communication plan is so important
- Why having pre-defined steps that are easily set and communicated with the family will help your school
- Why taking the time to have a pre-fined plan is worth the time and effort
- Is a communications plan more than lead nurturing emails?
- How specific you should be with a communications plan
- What types of communication are most effective
- The difference between informational and interest-based communication
- Why EVERY school should be developing these types of communications plans
- How to create a plan – next steps
- How – and why – to use a variety of media for your communications plan
- How to use a video in your communications plan
- An example of a communication plan
- How technology supports a communication plan
- How technology has trickled down to K-12 admissions offices
- How automation can play a role for marketing your school
- Why automation is not cold and impersonal
- The importance of setting triggers throughout the sales funnel process
- How to leverage technology to maintain personal interactions with families
- How to leverage technology to get more done
- A positive impact of this process is getting people from different departments on the same page and communicating about the marketing process
- Why you should start with a simple process at first
- How to keep your process simple
- Why you should blend different types of messages
- Why you shouldn’t compare your school’s reality today to another school’s reality today.
- Why you should just get started with a communication plan
- Why new technology can be very helpful for your school
Items mentioned in this episode include
Exclusive FREE Bonus:
Download the Communication Plans Resources to reference in the future and/or share with colleagues at your school.
How to find today’s guest:
James Collins, Regional Director, SchoolAdmin
Twitter: @jmcollins
Email: james@schooladmin.com
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