Why Do Schools Suck At Marketing?
March 14, 2011
Author 
In I was fortunate growing up as my parents sent me to a high quality high school: Pine Crest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It was not cheap, but they provide one of the top educations in the nation so worth attending for sure.
Except they suck at marketing. There, I said it.
The teachers at the school? Fantastic. Communications department? Clueless.
Since graduating I’ve received a steady trickle of direct mail and email from them. It has always been pesky, but it has gone from pesky to obnoxious as I concurrently get flooded with physical junk mail I have no easy mechanism to opt out of, plus an ever-increasing amount of email. Check out the below email cadence for March as a recent example:
11 days into the month and 6 emails from them. And not a single one of relevance. Not one.
Let’s go through the email content:
- The president’s communications were boilerplate, boring and full of platitudes. They were littered with fluffy adjectives and sentences you could have copy-pasted out of a management book. Actually surprising since the teachers at the school are so creative.
- Then they realized they sent the wrong message and resent the correct one, but neglected to provide any context (btw, neither were worth reading or had relevance to me as a graduate).
- Next a clarification – oops, we sent the wrong message. They (kind of) apologized in the note, but their director of technology actually did not even take accountability. He merely proclaimed that, and I quote: “As is Technology, this happened due to one wrong click of the mouse.” Seriously?
- Next email – two events both in South Florida to attend. Except I’m in San Francisco, so thanks for those. Again, lack of relevance.
- A tuition raffle for Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale parents? I am not a parent or in those areas. Thanks.
- Most recently, a reunion email. To which I already told them I’m not planning to go to.
My high school and even college (University of Florida) have both been repeat offenders of abusing their email lists. Based on the cadence, subject lines, formatting and content I’d say none of these people would cut it if placed into the business world and had to show marketing ROI. Don’t even get me into the direct mail they send which literally goes from the mailbox to the trash can.
As a communications professional I pose the question: why are schools so bad at marketing? I actually like both my schools and could be willing to donate as my experience with the school, teachers and education were positive.
But when their communications are almost all not relevant to me, they consistently ask for money, invite me to events not close or of interest, send boilerplate/impersonal memos from presidents and school officials, and basically spam me it just leaves a bad impression about what the school is like now.
Yet another reminder that marketing has the power to go both ways: reinforce a great experience or chip away at reputation by abusing whatever trust has been built.
Dani replied | Mar 14, 2011 (1 comment)
I hate those PC emails!!!
Adam Singer replied | Mar 14, 2011 (563 comments)
Yup – they are obnoxious.
CJ Yeoman replied | Mar 14, 2011 (1 comment)
The sad thing is that teachers at all levels have now been painted by some media outlets as being overpaid, over-pensioned and pretty worthless. This is translating into an excuse — at least in my state — to imminent and enormous cutbacks for all public schools. If schools and teacher unions would have used communications better to REALLY show the value of teachers and public for our children, this may not have happened. Not sure what they can do at this point as 100,000 teachers are about to get laid off in my state.
Rob Glass replied | Mar 14, 2011 (1 comment)
Adam, I’ve been trying for 25+ years to lower the marketing obstacles colleges face. Most often the lack of relevance can be traced to a shortage of staff or to the lack of awareness on the part of the person sending out the emails. This is understandable at the secondary school level, but always surprising within higher ed.
An enrolling freshman class of 350 will create a net revenue of about $5mil ($24K tution during the first year) and almost $17mil in four years (factoring in discount rate and attrition). By far, for the majority of colleges and universities, the enrollment office is the breadwinner for the institution. The advancement office pales in comparison for most.
Interestingly, marketing and communications offices and alumni affairs most often report to Institutional Advancement. The folks bringing in the institutions’ operating funds sit within the admissions offices and are often not within institutional marketing efforts. Proper staffing and funding of the guerilla marketing within the admissions office will help to get those marketing messages on point. Deliver the relevant message to the appropriate audience, initiate the dialog, and stand back. Good communications happens.
John Marbach replied | Mar 14, 2011 (2 comments)
As a senior in high school, I can testify that the email marketing campaigns for most colleges are downright terrible. Most messages arrive in my inbox looking like spam and many of them proclaim downright misleading subject lines. Perhaps the communication will shape up when they start asking for money.
Adam Singer replied | Mar 14, 2011 (563 comments)
Don’t expect it to improve unless you provide feedback. Otherwise they will continue to play the numbers game.
Josh Braaten replied | Mar 14, 2011 (31 comments)
As a marketer who works for a school, this blog post particularly piqued my attention.
My only relationship with my alma mater consists of phone calls and emails asking for money, both of which I avoid.
At the school I work for (Rasmussen College), we’re looking to create content that engages, informs and educates our current, and prospective and former students.
I’m curious… what type of alumni content WOULD you like to see?
Adam Singer replied | Mar 14, 2011 (563 comments)
Hmmmm – things of interest, like stories of my teachers and what they’re doing (writing books, mentoring a new generation, etc.) past pictures of my peers on campus, stories of success from fellow students, etc. Things of relevance. If they segmented the list by year this would not be difficult. It is lazy of them to take a spray and pray approach. If they can’t segment the list they shouldn’t email, they should be using a blog or a publishing platform people can throw in a reader or passively check out, not push stuff in front of a massive list.
Grace Rizza replied | Mar 14, 2011 (4 comments)
As a Marquette University Alum, I have to admit that I get contacted by phone or email about twice a year. They request money, that’s all.
I’m a very “solution-focused” person, so after complaining about something, I feel compelled to make a suggestion.
If MU called me once a year to ask about my career path and see if I’d like to come in and speak to advertising majors about career choices… I may feel more attached and more compelled to “give back” later.
As a way to increase enrollment, they should allow internship credit to juniors and seniors in the school of communications for going on high school visits and setting up tables. Those students could collect information from students and hand out promotional materials. They could even hand out T-shirts..which would go a long way to high school seniors (who still think it’s cool to sport a different college T-shirt every day of the week).
Just a couple thoughts :)
Adam Singer replied | Mar 14, 2011 (563 comments)
Indeed – good suggestions Grace!
Craig Cowbrough replied | Mar 15, 2011 (5 comments)
I think it is a classic marketing example of the tail leading the nose. If such organsiations would bother to find out what alumini wanted to hear, how they wanted to hear it and how often then everyone would be whole lot better off. Why not offer them some marketing comms advice in lieu of cash donation? It would work out for them all the better in the long run.
Kelli Helms replied | Mar 19, 2011 (3 comments)
I completely agree. The people in the Communications area at schools just do not put forth enough effort in order to prevent mistakes such as this. The e-mails should be specific to the people being sent to, instead of sending a personalized e-mail out to all those involved, or have been involved in the past. The most important concept I have learned in one of my journalism classes is to NOT let a mistake like this ever happen; such as with sending out cover letters and personalizing resumes to the job applying for.
Dale Hanover replied | Mar 20, 2011 (1 comment)
As a School marketer, I was also interested in your post.
Remember that Schools are not huge multi-national companies and the marketers they employ are second or even third tier. The good ones are snapped up by those companies who can afford to pay $200K.
Although there is no excuse for spray and pray emails these days, we are all guilty of it and, if we had the infrastructure and the manpower (most school marketing departments are departments of one) we would do it better.
Kelly Watkins replied | Mar 22, 2011 (2 comments)
I called alumni for four years to solicit for donations, and we do our best to try and engage them in information they’re interested in. However, sometimes certain departments/organizations don’t keep us up to date with information (or give us no information at all) which is frustrating especially when an alum was really involved with something very specific.
It also seems that by now schools would have figured out for ways to limit the amount of “junk” they send to alumni. I can’t believe they don’t have an option for you to opt out of the e-mails though, that seems shady on their part.
Damian replied | Mar 30, 2011 (3 comments)
I am in college and I receive many e-mails from my High School that just fill up my inbox with information that I will never even look at because I know it is just a mass message and. They teach us from day one in our classes not to make mistakes like this. When sending out a cover letter you need to personalize it for the person who is going to read it. Sending out the same cover letter to different employers does not pass the “eye test” of whether or not to even read it.