Selling to schools – what do schools buy?
Are you considering entering the school market despite lacking experience? Numerous company owners and senior executives hesitate to sell to schools due to concerns such as the need to join a suppliers’ list (which is not mandatory), potential price competition (where value outweighs price in this market), and the perceived delay in payment (schools are obligated to pay suppliers within 30 days).
If you’re contemplating venturing into selling products and services to schools, this article provides comprehensive insights into this dynamic and promising marketplace.
Navigating the school market: What do schools typically purchase?
Educational products and services fall into two primary categories: those used by educators to teach students and non-educational items for the overall administration of schools.
Decision-makers within schools:
In primary schools, the ultimate spending decisions rest with the head teacher, often advised by key staff members like heads of year and coordinators.
Coordinator titles in primary schools encompass various subjects such as Art, Citizenship, English & Literacy, Geography, History, IT, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education, PHSE, RE, Science, Technology, and Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO), who focus more on student-centric purchases.
Spending authority is more decentralised in secondary schools. While the headteacher remains a decision-maker, spending responsibility is distributed among department heads. Secondary schools typically have a Head Teacher and multiple heads of department, the quantity correlating with pupil numbers.
Administrators and bursars wield spending control, particularly in areas like school efficiency. School business managers, serving as senior financial and administrative contacts, focus on resource allocation, budgeting, accounts, health and safety, and salary processing.
For businesses offering value-driven services to schools, especially those on contract, reaching out to school business managers could be the most effective approach.
How can I effectively promote my product or service to schools?
What marketing strategy should education suppliers employ to attract customers and clients?
Regardless of the chosen education marketing approach, it is crucial to accomplish the following four objectives to maximise returns:
Build Trust and Recognition:
Ensure that your company or brand is recognised to instil trust. Key decision-makers, including head teachers, business managers, and teaching staff, should perceive your commitment to the education market.
Understand and Address Educational Pressures:
Demonstrate a deep understanding of the challenges within the education environment. Showcase practical solutions offered for sale, emphasising how they can effectively alleviate the specific pressures educators and administrators face.
Provide Valuable Content:
Share content generously with school leaders, educators, and administrators. Offer informative and valuable materials that address their questions and concerns about your product or service. Your content should contribute meaningful insights and help them make informed decisions.
Maintain Visibility in a Competitive Market:
Stay visible consistently in the competitive education marketplace. Headteachers, educators, and administrators need to recognise the value of your product or service. Regularly reinforce your presence to ensure your offerings remain top-of-mind among your target audience.
Marketing to Schools – Short-Term Strategies:
When starting with no direct customer base, direct marketing is the least expensive and most profitable way to secure leads and close sales swiftly. It is also an effective means of identifying potential customers promptly.
While speed is essential, ensuring your message is easily comprehensible and provides clear contact options is critical to maximising success. The three primary education marketing approaches are email, telephone, and post.
1. Email Marketing:
Email marketing to schools is the most popular and effective method for companies to deliver promotional messages to educational institutions. Once you have acquired your email list, sending campaigns becomes straightforward, particularly with an email service provider. You can also utilise desktop broadcast programs for free email campaigns.
Our team has successfully run email marketing campaigns targeting UK schools for clients since 2011. Please learn more about our fully managed email marketing campaign service and contact us today.
2. Telephone Marketing:
Telephone marketing to schools is a popular method for identifying strong leads and assessing immediate or future needs. Through telemarketing, you can collect crucial information such as their current supplier, payment details, contract duration, and the optimal date for a follow-up proposal presentation. This approach streamlines long-term education marketing strategies, ensuring monthly warm leads for the sales staff.
3. Postal Marketing / Direct Mail:
While postal marketing to schools experienced its peak popularity until the mid-2000s, it remains a viable option with higher response rates compared to previous decades. Reduced mail volumes in school offices and the tangible appeal of physical materials contribute to its continued effectiveness.
4. Leverage Online Opportunities Through Your Website:
Your wealth of knowledge, informative content, and engaging material make a solid online presence, providing a valuable chance to outshine your competitors. Guarantee that your website is designed with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) essentials and that its navigation and content deliver an optimal user experience.
In the dynamic landscape of education marketing, employing a mix of these strategies can enhance your outreach and establish a robust presence within the school community.
Marketing to schools – Medium to Long-Term Success
Investing in a content marketing campaign strategy is imperative to ensure sustained success over the medium to long term.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing involves creating online written and visual content tailored to promote your brand and offerings to your target audience. The goal is for this content to be easily discoverable by your audience when they search for information related to your products.
Three Stages of the Sales Funnel:
1. Top of Sales Funnel (Awareness Stage):
Potential clients become aware of a problem or desire, initiating the awareness stage.
2. Middle of Sales Funnel (Interest Stage):
Customers seek detailed information about products or services, consider options, and evaluate choices.
3. Bottom of Sales Funnel (Consideration Stage):
The purchasing decision is imminent, often split into the decision and action stages.
Medium- to Long-Term Strategies:
1. Create a library of blogs and articles:
Ensure your company is easily found when decision-makers search.
2. Build case studies and testimonials:
Showcase real-world examples of successful engagements.
3. Launch a social media marketing campaign:
Engage with decision-makers who are actively participating in social media networks.
4. Content distribution:
Be present on respected third-party websites.
5. Send regular email newsletters:
Maintain consistent communication.
6. Create long-form content (white papers):
Offer in-depth insights and expertise.
Understanding the Buying Cycle:
- The buying cycle in the education sector is crucial to recognise.
- Out of every 100 educational establishments targeted, only 2-3 are likely to be in the market at any given time.
- Tailor campaigns to the specific window when institutions are ready to decide.
Efficient Content Creation:
- Tailor content to the awareness stage by highlighting the benefits of your product or service.
- For the consideration stage, provide details on various options and the benefits of choosing your educational solutions.
- In the decision stage, target institutions ready to become your new customers, using concise and relevant messaging.
Optimising for Busy Audiences:
- Keep content concise, particularly for decision-makers with limited time, such as head teachers, leaders, teachers, and educators.
- Deliver information quickly and efficiently to meet their needs and facilitate quicker decision-making.
What you need to know about selling to schools
Consistently establish and strengthen your company’s social proof in the education sector. Schools heavily depend on public funding, necessitating head teachers and business managers to demonstrate prudent and compliant use of allocated funds. Additionally, heads of form, subject leaders, IT managers, and others must justify their school budgets, which the head teacher delegates.
Decision-makers within educational institutions need assurance of their long-term commitment to the education sector beyond a quest for quick profits. Maintain regular contact with them through monthly emails, calls, or mailings. Ensure decision-makers at various stages of their buying journey encounter easily accessible, free, and informative content online. Provide comprehensive information about your company and its offerings, addressing their queries.
Critical Insights into Selling to Schools:
More Than Words Marketing, a prominent direct marketing company, has successfully assisted numerous clients in promoting goods and services to educational establishments. Recent campaigns include products, software, curriculum materials, books, services, children’s books, stationery, and marketing cleaning and hygiene services to schools post-COVID-19 lockdown.
Direct Marketing Services for Companies Targeting Educational Establishments:
For companies equipped with the necessary resources, we offer the following direct marketing services:
- UK schools database (including email, phone, and postal contact details)
- School email address list
- Telephone list of schools
- School postal mailing list
Tailor your selection based on your target schools. If your company needs more capacity for email campaigns or an in-house telemarketing team, inquire about our managed school email marketing campaigns and telemarketing services tailored for schools.
How to find out more about selling to schools
Please call 01752 952100 or contact our digital marketing team.