Effective Marketing
My organization does not invest much on marketing. I see billboards and internet adds for most career colleges. Does the return on investment on advertising beat the enrollment contributions of recruiters?
Mercedes,
Very true! Every school is different, and the marketing should ave that individual approach.
Patty Aronoff
It is different for all the schools. Every school has their own tools to do their adds
John,
Over the past few years, the billboard industry has been hammered pretty hard financially and the cost for a billboard is significantly lower than it was in the past in many markets.
One way to reduce your billboard cost is to work with a billboard sales rep at one of the major companies in FL (Clearchannel, Lamar etc.) and tell them that you want to put up a billboard on their unused billboards and give them the option of moving your vinyl ad (billboards are now big plastic printouts strapped to a frame) to a different billboard if the one you're on sells. The cost of doing this can be very, very low - often times 1/5 the cost of locking in a specific billboard. The net result is good advertising exposure within a less specific physical location (i.e. 30 mile radius vs. a specific billboard location). Since most schools recruit from a larger geographic area than one exit on the highway, it is a great way to get exposure for the lowest finacial investment possible.
Internet ads haven't paid off for us - make sure you do a trial and track your data or you'll be at risk of throwing money away with no benefit.
Good luck!
John, I do believe that marketing has a lot to bring into admissions. Once your school is being advertised you will see a great change in the way that the school functions. I also work for a very little school. The school operates by flyers on the street and also by word of mouth. It has been doing average for the past 5 years. Every institution has a way to grow and depending on their projections and the way they want to invest is the results they will get.
John,
Each area, each school is different. Marketing plans should be developed on the objectives st by your school and tailored to your particular area and the student you are trying to enroll.
Patty Aronoff
