If you know anything about school finances, you’ll know that school spending decisions can be influenced by a lot of different staff members.
And with over 422,000 teachers and decision makers on our schools database, you need to choose the right ones.
When identifying key school decision makers, there are:
The Teachers who use the product or service in their classroom.
The Support Staff who need your help to perform their role.
The Heads of Department who manage the budget and makes decisions.
The Business Managers or Head Teachers who approve the purchases.
We often find that targeting multiple decision makers, with tailored marketing messages, is most effective.
"School spending is influenced by a lot of people – the end-user, the decision maker, the budget holder…We always see better results when clients email a range of contacts within one school."
Andrea
Email Campaign Manager
So how do you market to multiple decision makers?
Now, you could take the easy option here and send the same message to all the teachers and decision makers you want to target. And in some cases, this will work.
But if you really want your marketing to succeed, it’s important to understand what motivates different staff members. You need to identify the information that’s most relevant to them and think about how they might behave when they receive your email.
Here’s an idea for targeting 3 key school spending influencers:
Target 1 – the Teacher – the end user
Teachers are interested in products or services that will support their teaching and help them to develop and inspire their pupils. Anything that can support them with this, and make their heavy workload a bit lighter, is of interest.
They want to know what you’re offering and see how it will benefit them and their pupils.
"Tell me all the key information and
how to find out more in a quick and easy way"
Use this email to introduce your product and show them why they need it in their classroom.
We know teachers love to receive free samples, free teaching resources and free trials or demos. What better way to get them hooked than to offer a free trial of your amazing new teaching resource? Or a free sample of your fantastic new homework planners?
Target 2 – the Head of Department – the decision maker
Heads of Department are often the key spending decision makers. 71% of school departments manage their own budget, which means they can make their own decisions about spending.
These key decision makers not only want to know about your product or service and how it will benefit the school, they also want to know about you and your company.
Use this email to introduce your company and explain why you are the right choice for their school.
Before making a purchase, they need to know that you’re a trusted supplier who will deliver what you’re promising.
When looking for a new supplier, 100% of school decision makers look for good reviews and testimonials from other schools and teachers.
Make sure you include testimonials and links to case studies in your email campaign.
We also know that Heads of Careers, Heads of Sixth Form and Heads of Subject Departments are the most engaged with subject related email marketing so they’re a great choice for your marketing.
Target 3 – the Business Manager or Head Teacher – the budget holder
70% of Head Teachers and Business Managers need to approve all school spending. This often means approving various products and services, approving suppliers and authorising purchases.
"All orders need a spending form to be completed, which has to be signed by the Head of Department and the Head Teacher before being passed to the Business Manager to process."
As the main budget holders, they are focused on cost and cost saving benefits so will look for this information in the email, along with confirmation that you’re a trusted company who will add value to the school.
Use this email to introduce your company and the cost saving benefits you can offer.
Our email campaign analysis shows that Head Teachers often click on company logos in email campaigns. Make sure your landing page is clear, easy to navigate and tells them everything they need to know about why they should choose your company.
And there you have it – your 3 step email marketing strategy for schools. Just to recap:
Step 1: Introduce your product to the end user
Step 2: Tell the decision maker why your company is the best choice
Step 3: Highlight any cost saving benefits to the budget holder
But that’s not all – there are a few other things to think about when developing a really amazing marketing campaign, including:
Which teacher to target, when to send your email, how to grab their attention and make them want to open your email, what your email should look like, what to do after your email has been sent…
You’re in luck though – our amazing team of experienced marketing and education experts can give you all the support you need to develop an amazing email marketing campaign.
You can also browse all of our resources to find everything you need to get started with marketing to schools, to becoming a true email marketing to schools expert.
Go there now*All information is taken from our own internal email campaign analysis and teachers who completed our 2019 Schools Surveys.
