The 6 C’s Strategy for New Parents

It’s been a few weeks now since your first day of school and you are likely knee-deep in implementing your strategy for the 2015-16 school year.

September is a great time to focus on your new parents. The following are six strategies that you should implement with your new parents now that they are enrolled in your school (I call this the “6 C’s Strategy”):

1. Conduct a New Parent Survey – As part of your comprehensive research strategy, you should plan to conduct a new parent survey in September. By assessing their school search process and evaluation of your enrollment and marketing effort, you will gather critical information to help you improve this year’s strategy.

2. Call all New Parents – I had the opportunity to work with Mac Hall at the Canterbury School of Florida a couple of years ago. He personally called new parents during the month of September to welcome them to Canterbury. I really like his approach and how he would call three to four new parents every day. Even if he did not reach them, he was able to leave a personal welcome message on their voice mail.

3. Continue Contact from your Parent Ambassadors – Many schools have Parent Ambassador programs and assign new parents to them to help ease their transition in a school. Although the school year has begun, continued contact from Parent Ambassadors can help new parents navigate the newness of the school during the next several months.

4. Connect New Parents and Students to the Community – I believe that if a parent and student are both connected with their peers and are involved in groups and community on your campus, then they will be less likely to leave your school. Therefore, it is critical for you to make sure that your new parents and students are making connections and developing relationships at your school.

5. Convert New Parents to Parent Ambassadors – Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Mouth Marketing, often talks about the power of new love as one of the best forms for word of mouth marketing. Your new parents represent this new love for your school. They have just gone through the school selection process and chosen your school. They are in love with your school (and nothing has gone wrong yet!). Because of this, your new parents will make great parent ambassadors for your school and should not be overlooked.

6. Collect Stories from your New Parents – Stories are powerful way to market your school. Your new parents have great stories to tell about why they selected your school. Through a personal interview, questionnaire, or video vignette, you could collect stories from your new parents and share them on your website and social media channels. This will help to spread word of mouth by showcasing real people and their real stories of why they selected your school.

Have you implemented any of the above 6 C’s with your new parents?

Are there any additional C’s that should be added?