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School is a time for growth, for expanding one’s horizons, learning to work with others and gaining knowledge. Often, it’s a complicated place, full of challenges and rules, but ultimately a rewarding experience that stays with you all your life. Not surprisingly, marketing to those responsible for school administration often is just as complex, but also rewarding for those marketers who take the time to learn about the needs and dynamics of this customer base.
Reading, Writing and Everything in Between
When looking at the kindergarten through 12th grade school market, there are more than 138,000 district-level administrators in the United States serving approximately 16,000 school districts across the nation, according to Bob Stimolo, president of School Market Research, a direct marketing agency that works with marketers catering to the school market. These districts have a broad range of needs, both in the way of educational materials, as well as the products and services that help sustain students, faculty and school facilities throughout the year.
This customer base responds to both B-to-B and B-to-C offers. Of course, instructional, educational and assessment materials are some of the more obvious products sought out by school administrators. Besides the traditional textbooks and school supplies, “there’s a real growth in digital formats,” notes Lisa Schmucki, chief marketing officer for list brokerage and management agency MKTG Education Services, which compiles and manages lists for the school and college markets. As well, with the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002—which makes federal funding dependent on the average yearly progress of students in the districts—much more emphasis has been placed on assessment materials that help chart students’ progress.
To meet instructional and operational needs, schools also are likely to purchase computers and software, such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop, to name a few. “The push toward accountability has really created an enormous market for student information systems,” Schmucki adds. “Purchased at the district level, these are significant software installations that enable districts to track the progress of all their students.”
A school is, of course, more than just textbooks and computers. “[Administrators are] worried about purchasing everything from parking lot stripes to paper towels,” says Linda Winter, president of The Winter Group, an Aurora, Colo.-based marketing communications and research agency serving the educational market. “On the operations side of a school or district, there’s that usual set of purchasing needs and that goes all the way from very simple hard goods to very complex technology systems that have to do with student management, student information and registration, and running athletic and performing events.” Everything from doors, windows, roofing, security, lighting, medical supplies and lockers have to be taken into account. Not to be overlooked, most schools also offer lunches, snacks and often breakfast for their charges.
There is a significant amount of movement within the school administrator segment, with roughly 20 percent of these posts turning over each year, according to Stimolo. Out of this group, he encourages marketers to pinpoint educators who have been teaching for a few years, but might be new to their post as, say, the reading program administrator. These individuals are more receptive to offers, because they are likely “to encounter problems that they don’t have solutions for,” says Stimolo.
Additionally, the faculty themselves are open to more B-to-C types of offers. “Companies have discovered that educators are a really desirable market segment for things like travel, retirement and financial planning services, and insurance,” says Winter.
Know Your Numbers and Dates
This also is a thoughtful and cautious decision-making group, which has to make sure it gets the most out of every dollar it spends. Although the needs of the education market are great, funding always is at a premium. According to Susan Lustig, executive editor for American School & University magazine, which caters to education facilities and business professionals, the market hovers at approximately $148.5 billion. When it comes to education spending, “the United States spends over $900 billion a year on all levels of education, with approximately 59 percent of that spent on elementary and secondary education. Approximately 8 percent of spending comes from the federal government, 49 percent from the states and 43 percent from local sources.” Top of mind for administrators is the need to stretch the value and efficiency of every purchase.
Depending on the type and cost of your product, some professional titles to look for when marketing to school administration decision makers include school superintendents, district level administrators, business/purchasing agents and teachers. Important also to note, since the school budget runs from July 1 to June 30, many of the purchasing decisions will be made in the months of March, April and May.
“Typically, the mailing windows are anywhere from January through May, to attach to the spring spending cycle,” describes Stimolo. “The deciding factor as to whether it should be January, February, March, April or May typically is how much of an expenditure [the product/service being marketed] is.” Smaller purchases may be decided by one or two people. However, the larger the expenditure, the more people are involved in the decision-making process and, thus, the longer it takes to make a sale.
Presenting Your Case
Given that school-related purchase decisions take time and deliberation, reaching out to this market warrants careful planning and a personal touch. Direct marketing still is a very effective way to reach these folks, at all levels. “More than 90 percent of educators say the most common way they learn about and purchase products is through catalogs and direct mail,” says Stimolo. E-mail also is effective, although there are not as many e-mail addresses available at this time. Administrators also actively gather information via professional journals and conferences.
However you choose to relay your marketing message, it’s important to talk to this audience from a personal perspective that addresses their particular needs. “The more you can send out something that is uniquely directed to an individual for their circumstances, the better,” says Schmucki. After all, the administrator of an inner city district will face very different issues than an administrator of a suburban district. It may be better to forego the graphics and the glitz for a more one-to-one approach, such as a letter or e-mail from the head of your company to the head of the district.
Stimolo suggests tailoring your sales argument to the school environment. For instance, “it’s easier to sell soap in a hand-washing machine when you’re talking about reducing absenteeism in the classroom or the spread of germs,” he describes. Likewise, educators will be more responsive to offers where the emphasis is on how the product or service can improve efficiency, is more cost effective and helps kids learn better and faster.
“If your thought is to get in and get out quickly, this is not your market,” Winter concludes. “This market takes a lot of presence, a lot of investment, and it takes time, particularly with curriculum, instructional and assessment products. On the other hand, it’s also a very loyal market, so once you have them as customers they do buy, and they’re loyal to the brands they know and trust.”
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