Say Goodbye to Discounts

     Raise your hand if you give 2nd and 3rd child discounts, family discounts, or Catholic student discounts.

     That's what I thought - that's most of you.

     Stop it.

     How many of your believe that life is precious and should always be protected?  That's good.  While the law may not support that belief, we believe that it's right and just.  In the same way, discounts hurt your school in three ways: it's discriminatory, it devalues your school, and it robs you of necessary income.

     The last of those is an easy thing to grasp - since you're collecting less money for each successive student.

     If you have Catholic & Non-Catholic tuition rates, that's discrimination, and it's wrong.  This is where everyone will say, "Yes, but the parishioners support the school by their contributions."  If that's the case, then you're subsidizing your tuition, which will, in time, spell death for your school.  Don't believe that?  Then why have schools been closing?  It used to be that 100 children was the "magic number" - if enrollment dropped below that number, the school was on dangerous ground.  Today, schools with 150-200 students are closing because subsidized tuitions can't support the expenses of the school.

     Now - think of the word, "discount."  Close your eyes, and think of the last thing you purchased at a discount.  Maybe it was at a discount store.  Maybe it wasn't the thing you really needed, but it would serve the purpose you needed it for.  Maybe you couldn't believe the deal you received, and were anxious to tell your friends about it.

     Now apply this mentality to your school.  Does it have less value than the other schools in your area?  Do you want parents to spread the word about the low tuition they're paying?  Is your school's quality so poor that no one wants to pay full price for it?

     If the answer to those questions is "NO!" then stop discounting - NOW!

     Instead, use the word "incentive."  People like incentives - they get more for their money.  If you have two children, then the first pays full price, and as an incentive, the second child is enrolled at 80% tuition.

     Same effect, but I didn't use the word "discount."

     "Discount" cheapens the best educational environment for today's children.  Parents want discounts, but, as we all know (to quote those modern day philosophers, The Rolling Stones): "You can't always get what you want.  But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need."

© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2009 (Original Publication Date: 20090406)

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