Ben Lippen School

Ben Lippen School
Columbia, SC

A conversation with Kelly Adams, Director of Admissions; Rebecca Austin, Director of Marketing and Communications; and Margaret Porter, Associate Admissions Director

Describe your school’s enrollment and marketing situation before you hired Rick Newberry and Enrollment Catalyst:

Ben Lippen School was hovering around 735 enrollment for quite few years. We were doing minimal social media with a website that was neither user friendly nor visually pleasing. We used a static billboard alongside multiple short-term digital billboards with print advertising in local magazines for about a year along prior to hiring Rick.

Why did you decide to partner with Rick Newberry and Enrollment Catalyst?

Tony Fajardo, our new head of school, had worked with Rick at Northside Christian in Charlotte and had positive results with enrollment. Rick thinks strategically and gets the big picture. He has lots of creative ideas and connections with professionals in similar roles at schools comparable to ours.

What were the results of working with Enrollment Catalyst? What were your greatest accomplishments?

Our greatest accomplishment is an increase in enrollment of 70 students from two years ago. This year we enrolled over 830+ total students and 223 new students for an increase of 50 students this year. Ben Lippen has not been over 800 students since 2004.

Our social media presence has greatly expanded and we have a new website that is both user friendly and extremely functional. We have put processes in place to help streamline efforts in both admissions and marketing. We also have added an employee to the admissions team per Rick’s advice.

What did you like best about working with Rick Newberry?

He imparts useful information in a fun and engaging manner.

What was the biggest surprise for your team when implementing recommendations from the Enrollment Catalyst Program?

I (Kelly) was familiar with Rick’s work before Tony arrived to Ben Lippen School. I had been following the works, blogs, podcasts, and conferences that Rick had done for a couple of years.

Were there specific programs from the Enrollment Catalyst Program that generated the biggest impact for your marketing and enrollment efforts?

Lead Nurturing; Ambassador Group which spun off the N.E.W. group through connections at Charlotte Christian; Pastor Luncheon; Touch-a-Truck event

What would you say to another school leader to recommend Rick Newberry to help them in their enrollment and marketing effort?

It has been an enjoyable and helpful experience. We have made many new connections with other schools who are sharing the same struggles. We have also implemented a lot of Rick’s strategies with much success.