Marketing
Top Tips on How to Market to Schools in 2024
Schools in the UK rely on a vast number of suppliers to deliver vital services and solutions to ensure they operate efficiently and deliver the best education possible to their pupils.
Historically, when schools mainly operated under local authorities, buying decisions were controlled by a central budget for everything from buying big-ticket items, such as computers, to everyday supplies like stationary. This limited the opportunities for businesses that wanted to sell to schools, especially SMEs, as a few select big players dominated the market.
That all changed in the early 2000s with the introduction of academies. This blog considers the evolution of academies, how they have opened the market to SMEs, and provides tips on how to market to schools in 2023/24.
The evolution of academies and what this means for suppliers
Academies are state-funded schools, independent of local authorities and directly funded by the Department for Education. The important distinction between an academy and a maintained state school funded by the local authority is that academies make their own buying decisions. Read more about academies and types of schools on the government’s website here.
Multi-academy trusts (MATs) are not-for-profit companies that run more than one academy. There are currently more than 1,460 Multi Academy Trusts(MATs) that manage at least two schools. Not all academies are part of a multi-academy trust; they can run in isolation.
According to the latest government figures, 40.4 per cent of primary schools and 80.4 per cent of secondary schools are now academies or free schools. A great deal more schools are in the converter pipeline.
The political will is to make all schools academies. But the Department for Education’s (DfE) target that all schools become academies by 2030 has recently been dropped.
That said, the Department for Education is committed to increasing the number of academies. In some cases, the change is compulsory. The law requires schools with an ‘Inadequate’ rating from Ofsted to become academies. Schools that have received two or more consecutive ratings below ‘Good’ may also be converted into academies. This change in the education landscape offers various opportunities for third-party suppliers.
Whether you develop e-learning tools for students, manufacture classroom furniture or school sports equipment, provide cleaning and security services on school premises, design school uniforms, or build software to manage a teacher’s workload, you must understand how best to market to schools.
Top tips on how to market your services to schools and academies:
Understand pain points affecting schools
Schools rarely stand still and face constant challenges throughout the school year. This could be related to changes in education policy, skills shortages across different departments, resourcing, or funding.
If you are marketing your products or services to a school, academy or MAT, you must take the time to fully understand the pain points of the institution and adapt your messaging to show how you can solve these problems. Typically, schools will only have the money to spend on services and solutions that will offer clear value – so invest time to ensure your marketing messages are fit for purpose. Case studies are a great way to demonstrate value for money.
Understand the role of head teachers and school business professionals
While teachers will have input about classroom-related products, many suppliers will need to speak with non-teaching staff or members of the senior leadership team, such as the school’s headteacher. Furthermore, the roles and responsibilities of a school business professional will vary across different schools and academies; however, it can incorporate procurement, marketing, finance, HR, and infrastructure. Make sure you talk to the right people.
Timing is vital when marketing to schools
We are all jealous of our teacher friends who receive 13 weeks off each year, including six long weeks during the summer (although we don’t envy the marking and preparation work outside school hours). It is essential to factor this in when mapping out your marketing campaign’s start and end dates. In addition to the summer holidays, Christmas and Easter are best avoided. Research suggests teachers and school business professionals are more likely to make buying decisions in the summer term.
Remember your audience when marketing to schools
In a school, each day is fast-paced, with teachers moving from one class, or even classroom, to another. For most teachers, there is minimal downtime to reply to emails or take calls – so it is essential to keep this in mind when marketing your products. If you need to call them, you are far more likely to speak with the correct staff member from 3:30 p.m. Headteachers and school business professionals will spend more time behind their desks but will be equally busy during term times. Factor this in when sending follow-up correspondence and proposals.
Invest in inbound marketing to attract schools
We understand that selling to schools is incredibly time-consuming and requires effort and patience - so how would you like schools to come to you directly? Strategically investing in inbound marketing can ensure you have a ready-made pipeline of warm leads wanting to know more about the value you can add to their school.
HubSpot has done a lot of work defining inbound marketing, describing it as a “method of growing your organisation by building meaningful, lasting relationships with consumers, prospects, and customers. It’s about valuing and empowering these people to reach their goals at any stage in their journey with you”.
Your inbound marketing strategies should be designed to attract schools and education professionals. This will typically be achieved by publishing high-value content like blogs, articles, content offers, and social media posts. You should also optimise this content as part of a broader SEO strategy to attract potential customers through search engine page results (SERPs).
Join the social conversation
When posting on social media, don’t publish continuous messages that simply outline your services. Instead, try to add value and insight when engaging with your followers. You will find many exciting conversations by monitoring the relevant industry hashtags, such as #ukedchat #sltchat #uksbmchat.
Follow key industry authorities and news sources, such as Tes, The Schools & Academies Show, Schools Week, Inside Government, and Education Technology. They provide a vital source of information for you to learn from and share.
A website that ticks the boxes
If you’re using inbound marketing effectively, you will drive relevant traffic back to your website – therefore, it must look the part. School leaders and business professionals will want clear and concise messaging regarding your services and be able to see the value you deliver. Steer clear of jargon and huge blocks of text – the key is to make the information as digestible as possible.
Positive reviews can be vital to buyers at schools
If you have delivered a brilliant service, why not ask your existing school customers to write a review for your website? You can add these recommendations to Google, Trustpilot, or education-focused supplier directories. This is a highly effective form of social proof that helps to build trust and authority.
Create compelling case studies
If one of your customers is happy to write a review, they could be perfect for a case study. These can be published on your website and used as crucial sales literature that can be sent to prospects and leads.
Outline the brief/challenge you faced, what solution you put in place, and the results before including testimonials and soundbites. This doesn’t just have to be in written form – a video case study can be even more effective.
Don’t be afraid to use Google AdWords
While inbound marketing methodology is highly effective, it can take time to generate results – especially in competitive sectors such as education. You may wish to roll out a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign to ensure your website (and services) can be easily found on search engines.
Get in front of schools at trade shows
Trade shows and conferences offer the perfect opportunity for suppliers to the education sector to get in front of a large proportion of their target market. By exhibiting at industry events, you can converse with school leaders and build those all-important face-to-face relationships – which can make all the difference in pitching later. Event organisers will work closely with you to ensure you can maximise your return on investment.
At GovNet, we continue to build a strong portfolio of specialist exhibitions and conferences dedicated to the education sector, including The Schools and Academies Show, The EdTech Summit, The Higher Education Conference, The Independent Schools Conference, and many more, including hundreds of training courses through Inside Government.
Prioritise an exceptional customer experience
Word of mouth and referrals is a key part of the armoury of every marketer. If you deliver a professional service or valuable product to a school and supplement this with a first-class experience, the teacher or department heads holding the purse strings are likelier to return throughout their tenure. They are also likely to share their experiences with fellow teachers at industry networking events (they are not stereotypical competitors, after all).
How to market to independent schools
There are currently around 2,600 independent schools and colleges in the UK, which educate approximately 7% of all British children. As you’d expect, private schools are more cash-rich than state-funded schools, so they will have more money to invest in industry-leading services and solutions as they compete with fellow schools. The selling process to independent schools is more aligned with typical business sales, and you will need to identify the most appropriate contact to speak to.
Successful marketing to independent schools requires a switch in mindset and strategy. School fees are costly, so independent schools will naturally target affluent parents. They will look to advertise in publications or on websites that reach this key demographic. Many magazines and websites offer guides to independent schools, which is an excellent place to start. High-end publications such as Country Life or County Life magazines will also run regular independent school education supplements. If you have a presence in these spaces, you will get noticed, but beware, advertising costs may be prohibitive.
Some useful links include:
The Independent Schools Magazine
The Attain Guide to Independent Schools
The Boarding Schools Association
Basic marketing principles apply when selling to council-run schools, academies, or independent schools. You should identify what the schools need and want and then show them you can provide the service to meet those needs. Ensure your website offers clear messaging, utilise the power of social media and build connections at expos and conferences. To sell to a school, you need the appropriate procurement decision-maker to be aware of your services.
Your marketing campaign starts by getting in front of the right people, and there’s no easier way to do that than attending a GovNet Event for the education sector. See more about GovNet’s events for primary and secondary education, independent schools, higher education, emerging technology, international schools, and more.