March Madness

     It certainly is a "mad" month - and it has nothing to do with basketball!  Budget preparation, financial aid applications, enrollment building goals and preparations for the coming school year are upon us, and will continue until in some shape or form until the 2010-2011 school year begins.

     Five years ago, when a group of us development directors were creating a Yahoo group to communicate with one another and share ideas (the precursor to the eCommunity here on SchoolAdvancement.com) I called the group MAD - since we were all involved in Marketing And Development.  We took inspiration from St. John the Baptist, since we all sometimes felt like we're alone in the wilderness.

     It's important to remember that Development is all about developing relationships - so when you feel you're out there alone, you have to realize you're in relationship - by contacting another development professional, by contacting a donor just to say "Thank you," or by trying to build a new relationship.

     So how does that deal with the "Marketing Matters" for this week?  How will this bring more students to my school, since we're trying to increase enrollment for the coming school year?

     May I be so bold as to suggest that it might be a little late to hope that marketing activities (word of mouth, yard signs, and door hangers) will increase enrollment for the coming year.  Remember that marketing is at the "origin," or the center, of the other four elements of the DREAM paradigm.  You have to market your school's successes to your donors and to your prospective parents...but your also have to market your school in a different way to your current parents and your supporting parishes or churches.  In that respect, marketing is a medium-term strategy designed to increase inquiries to your school.

     This is crunch time.  Follow up with all those families that have expressed an interest in your school this past year - even if they've said that they're not interested.  They may have changed their mind, and unless you invite them in to take a second look, they might feel that they have no time to reach out to your school on their own.

     Perhaps your deadline for financial aid has already passed - make an exception.  Perhaps there's a family with three children that just moved in to a neighborhood - ask your current parents.  Easter is just a couple of weekends away - and you know that a lot of people will be attending Mass.  Who do you have in place to distribute information about your school after Mass and be there to market your school to the large number of people that will be attending.  Perhaps several families can help so that every Mass at every sending parish is covered.

     Perhaps you're saying, "You've really lost it!  It's Easter! You must be mad!"  Maybe.  But if you're involved in marketing and development, you have to have some wild ideas sometimes in order to break through the status quo.

     And if you're looking to speak to a lot of people at once, there's no better time than after they've celebrated the joy of Easter and Christ's resurrection to new life!

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