3 Responses for "I need marketing ideas for a charter school. What are inexpensive ways to advertise & get more kids to enroll"

1. Ron B November 20th, 2008 at 10:34 am 1

   In my opinion, its not really “the kids” you want to attract, is it? Of course not. You want to attract “the persons controlling the purse strings”: the parents and guardians of those children. The children won’t have a choice, will they? OR will they? I think you have to win over the parents and guardians AND the children. The Q is “How?”

   Your Q is at a pretty advantageous time - maybe. School is JUST getting ready to open for a new year. My Suggestions #1: IF NOT for this year, how about for next semester and/or next year? An “Open House”. AND the entire Board of Directors, faculty and staff should be on-hand to answer any and all Qs from parents and children. The Open House should have some light refreshments - BUT NOT “cheap” or inexpensive refreshments. OR
   Suggestion #2: Some of the folks could donate the refreshments, couldn’t they? I’m sure there are some wonderful cooks and bakers on your staff and the parents and guardians of the children attending the school, aren‘t there?

   Suggestion #3: You should focus your enrollment campaign on a more affluent area. Honestly, I don’t know how a charter school works or operates, but it seems to me this is the economic level you should start investing your advertising/promotion funding. This level and higher levels.

   Suggestion #4: You have to make the investment in time with the Board of Directors, your faculty, staff, current students and the parents and guardians of those students. You NEED ideas to get the magnet to start attracting those folks you‘re interested in attracting and enrolling in your school. What does your charter school do - more of and better than any other nearby school? This is where I think it should begin.

   Suggestion #5: You could offer the best suggestion and the runner-ups different fee-paid services for free or at a greatly reduced rate, couldn’t you?

   Suggestion #6: I never saw this in any school or college I attended, but I saw it ALL the time in the establishments where I worked: How about comment cards and suggestion boxes placed in strategic locations throughout the school AND [maybe] in businesses throughout the community? You could offer a monthly prize.

   Suggestion #7: If you wanted to, you could probably set-up an e-mail address for suggestions only, too, couldn’t you?

   Thank you for asking your question. I enjoyed taking the time to answer it. You did a great job - not only for your information, but for every other person interested in reading my answer. Thanks to everyone for reading my answer.

   I wish you well!

   VTY,
   Ron Berue
   Yes, that is my real last name.
   References :
   My wonderful family.

   Graduate of the Culinary Institute of America ["The C.I.A."], New Haven, CT campus.

   Was in the food & beverage business over 26 years. Did EVERY job and held EVERY position in the business: from mopping floors to signing checks. In EVERY establishment I worked and managed, we ALWAYS asked for suggestions to make a better operation for everyone. Were some of those suggestions “off the wall”? Absolutely. Were they totally discounted and eliminated? About 99% of the time, they were. BUT once in a while we received comments cards or suggestions which hinted at one thing, but we “tweaked” it a little bit and made it work in quite another way.

   Here’s an example: A man [he was “a regular”” - there almost every evening after work.] came into the cocktail lounge for Happy Hour. He said he had an appointment in a little over an hour and wanted “something different” besides the usual chips, pretzels, etc. He asked around the bar and someone jokingly asked/said, ”How about pizza?” The manager approached me, the pizza maker, and asked if I could make a pizza for the bar?” I said, “Sure, no problem.” I made the pizza, BUT instead of cutting it in 12 slices, I cut the pizza in little squares - about 2” X 2”. Its what the customers wanted - and got. AND it wasn’t cost-prohibitive. It was a win-win situation - for the customers AND for “the house” - the restaurant.

   This helped to build the bar business.

   A little thought AND some reminiscing.

   "THE University of Hard Knocks"

2. havanerasoy November 20th, 2008 at 11:08 am 2

   How do you want to enroll kids? If you write that you waznt enroll the parents will be better to market ideas in this projects.Looks.
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3. ruth_ruggiero November 20th, 2008 at 11:57 am 3

   I found the http://www.enrollmentresources.com better top performing schools what you think?
   References :