You Told Us The Truth About Ourselves and The Results Were Outstanding
Andrew Deyell
Head of school, elmwood franklin school
“I couldn’t have been more excited about what we learned about ourselves, the path forward, the reflective nature of the processes, and the statistics that we needed to change the perceptions we needed to change.”
By Andrew Deyell, Former Head of School, Elmwood Franklin School
No Preconceived Notions
We were in the infancy of our strategic planning and what would be the next phase of the School. Also, we knew we needed data to help us figure out the future direction. We looked at some of the local companies we previously worked with, but we realized that there was such a close connection between these companies and the School. They had this preconception of who we are and this perception was rooted in the past.
We knew we’d get the truth from you. We were put off by companies telling us who we were even before we started the project. That’s exactly what we didn’t want. We knew we needed a proposal from far outside the city of Buffalo.
Even though you were twice as expensive as the other companies we interviewed, you were producing at least 4x the product that the other firms were producing.
So, we pay twice as much, but get four times the data? Not bad.
Outside Perspective From An Expert
You had a fresh perspective. We had been doing most of our marketing in-house, but without any clue if it resonated with the public. We knew we could get that information from you and use it for our strategic planning.
Mike’s specific experience in almost every role at an independent school was very important, too. You’ve walked the walk!
We liked your company’s focus on schools. The other companies we reviewed had clients from various industries. We also liked that you only worked with a small number of schools at a time.
We knew we would get the A team and we would get Mike Connor. We got the attention we wanted from you and for us, that was another deciding factor to go with you.
What We Learned About Ourselves Working With Connor Associates
The Enrollment Feasibility and Five Year Forecast, based on predictive modeling, showed us who could afford our product, who thinks like us, and who would be most likely to choose our product.
Your research and data changed our marketing to a microtargeting view. That was a game changer, because like most marketing teams, we have finite marketing dollars to spend. We learned what the messages were that we needed to share and where the people were who needed to know those message. This gave us comfort and confidence with our marketing dollars.
We had this irrefutable truth of what we did well and this really gave us an overall pride about not only our great education, but pride about having this hard data and proof from your research.
The Image Audit affirmed what we thought we were good at and what we needed to get better at. We were shown our perceptions and challenges from those outside the school. I was able to show my team that the people have spoken and here’s what we need to amplify and promote. I advised our teams to ignore the data and substantiated research at their peril.
The cherry on the sundae was the Alumni Survey work. With a fantastic response rate, we collected data like high school preparation, the level of satisfaction from the students and families about their school experiences, relationships with teachers. We had this irrefutable truth of what we did well and this really gave us an overall pride about not only our great education, but pride about having this hard data and proof from your research. We’re using the numbers and data from this Survey to demonstrate our incredible product as well as change negative perceptions.
Your Mailing List Delivered Results…And Then Some
Of the 24 applications we received on account of your mail list, over 50% enrolled!
Of the mail list generated during the project, I personally went through it, person by person to determine how many of our inquiries and applications came from the mail list. The hit rate from your mail list compared to the national average was astounding for us. My communications lead also confirmed that it was incredible to get that much return from the direct mail pieces.
Implementing and Integrating The Messaging
The combined research is now the basis for the messaging in our internal advertising, in the reels run at a school production, on the wall of our hallways, on our website, on our postcards, on our TVs on campus. Your research was built into a 3-year marketing plan, and to have this path forward is great. Your recommendations were solid and helped us know what to do.
Our Enrollment Is Climbing Where Others Are Losing…Thanks to Connor Associates
Your research has been the basis for all of our marketing for the past couple of years. And frankly, when we engaged with you, we knew we’d get this incredible work. It’s satisfying to get what we knew we would. We went big, we didn’t go cheap, and we feel great about what we did.
The private schools in the market here have lost around 10% of their enrollment over the past 5 years. That’s a huge! The enrollment at EFS is climbing in a market where people are experiencing losses.
I couldn’t have been more excited about what we learned about ourselves, the path forward, the reflective nature of the processes, and the statistics that we needed to change the perceptions we needed to change.