All change involves risk. Change that is truly innovative requires understanding and awareness. Research helps minimize the risk inherent in the decisions around innovation. For the school leader or educator, research provides the intelligence to make informed decisions based on real needs and parent expectations. Awareness of what parents (and students) want allows us to respond to those needs and … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 5: Brand Awareness & Perception
In the final installment on marketing research, I want to focus on how awareness and perception impact Christian schools. Awareness is critical to understanding how a school can increase its reach and perception impacts a school’s ability to capitalize on increased awareness. The two should be explored together because change in awareness impacts reach and change in perception impacts conversion. … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 4: Brand Positioning
When working with Christian schools all over the country, one of the first things I hear from leaders or those involved in Christian education is, “we are the best kept secret!” While to some extent this is true, most often your school is known. The problem is what is known is not very significant. In fact, awareness, we often find, … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 3 : Message Testing
Do you know what’s important to your current and potential school families? It’s different from what you may call key distinctives or core values (why we do what we do and the words that best describe our deliverable). Key distinctives and core values may be important ways of talking and thinking about your school, but they aren’t necessarily important to … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 2: Satisfaction in a Changing Market
This is the second blog in a 5 part series on the types of marketing research that prove to be the most effective for Christian schools and how to think strategically about research. My goal is to provide a small toolbox of articles that can be used by Christian school leaders to assess their overall approach, and supplement, where possible, … Read More
Marketing Research, Part 1: Price
This is the first in a 5 part series on the types of marketing research that prove to be most effective for Christian schools and how to think strategically about research. This blog series will explore the following elements of marketing research: Pricing Satisfaction Message testing Brand Positioning Brand Awareness & Perception Let’s start with pricing research – maybe the … Read More
Marketing Research: When is it Healthy to Compare?
I am a marketing researcher by profession and training. I have been conducting research and leading teams that do research for 20 years. Prior to that, I studied statistics and research methods and used what I learned (sometimes with difficulty) for my own research, not realizing that as a student in a political science graduate program, I would actually use … Read More