Many of us develop our marketing campaigns by beginning where we left off. Instead, we should wipe the slate clean and start all over. It allows us to challenge biases we do not even realize we have developed.
Purchase Price Drives Sales Strategy
Products and services require sales efforts commensurate with their complexity and selling price. Those with lower selling prices require less sales effort than those with higher prices. There are often fewer levels of approvals needed. They sell successfully through catalogs and other direct marketing materials. Higher expenditures require more approvals. They need more enticing offers, stronger sales materials, and often a salesperson’s expertise.
Knowing which districts and schools have the most discretionary funds is key to their success.
In our market, products and services must support education goals. Classroom furniture can contribute to providing a learning environment. Purchasing a classroom full of furniture requires a different marketing strategy than replacing a desk or chair. The purchase price and the level of commitment required by the potential buyer drive many aspects of the sales strategy. Knowing the household income of the community where the school or district is located is helpful, even necessary. It is indicative of the level of discretionary funds available.
Qualifying the Audience
Qualifying the audience enhances our likelihood of success. Districts and schools in wealthier communities have more funds available. They are more likely to spend money on facilities, faculty, and resources. Districts and schools in communities with limited funds are less likely to afford spending beyond salaries and operating expenses. They spend much less on supplemental materials or facility improvements, even when they qualify for government financial support.
Does your product or service improve education outcomes? Does it improve teaching and learning? Moreover, does it do so at a justifiable cost? Your promotion message will be subject to these tests beginning with its first words and images.
A Two-Pronged Strategy
Many companies marketing to schools employ a two-pronged strategy. They use catalogs to target the broader market and sales reps to target particular districts. How they define either of these targets varies by company. Knowing which districts and schools have the most discretionary funds is key to their success
Unequal Potential Buyers
Not all educators are equal as potential buyers. Research shows that most educators mature over time. In their first years of teaching, they may not have enough knowledge to know what to purchase. They may be relatively low in the pecking order of who gets to spend school funds. As they mature, they learn which products and services they need and, over time, rise through the hierarchy of who gets to spend school funds. After a few seasons, they have met their need for supplemental materials. The spending baton passes to newer, up-and-coming teachers.
The better education databases enable you to determine which districts and schools are in wealthier communities and how long teachers have been on their database. This information can be useful to target districts, schools, and teachers who are more likely to be candidates for supplemental materials and supplies.
Schools Follow Their Calendar
The majority of school budgets roll over on or about August 1. The goal is to spend the entire allotted budget. The purchasing process goes on all year long but the spending is seasonal. It begins from mid-August through September. However, most spending takes place in January, March, and April.
Approximately half of America’s schools observe a one-week break for Easter. Half of those are off the week before the holiday and the remaining half the week after. Promotion materials accumulate while schools are closed. Attention to email offers diminishes during times when educators are on holiday. Afterward, returning educators are more interested in clearing their postal and email boxes than considering promotion offers. Response diminishes accordingly.
A Dependable Market
The school market is unique. Virtually all spending is subject to an approval process – larger expenditures require more approvals and take longer to come to fruition. It is a dependable market. It always spends the entire budget. It does so following its own rules in its own time.