Marketing expert and co-host, Emily Richards from The Stickman Consultancy told the panel that parents were able to research schools in greater depth and now expected information to be easily available at the click of a button.
This had led to parents researching a higher number of institutions, she said, something that made competition stiffer.
Guest panellist John Knight, head of secondary school at the British School in Brussels, said that the switch to digital options had made parents more likely to ask to be connected to other parents who already had experience of the school.
He said: “Parents want to hear first-hand from a family that’s like them, that they can relate to and have their questions answered based on experience.”
The panel also heard how parents are more concerned than ever about how institutions contribute to their child’s wellbeing and happiness post-pandemic.
Ian Hunt, CEO and chair of Haileybury Schools in Kazakhstan, said: “The pandemic has re-centred most people’s views on life and parents are no different…everyone still wants to get into the top universities, but actually now there’s a subplot and that’s happiness and wellbeing and making sure the mental side of the experience is as positive as it can be.”
Panel co-host Steve Spriggs, managing director of School Management Plus agreed that parents were now looking more closely at the “wrap-around” experience of children at a school, not just the academic opportunities.
The panel also heard how parents looking for international schools now had more questions about flexibility and whether pupils could join and leave at unusual points in their education or the school year.
The positive impacts of the pandemic were also highlighted, with panellists mentioning the advantages of online one-to-one and group meetings for busy parents.
Digital tools are also allowing schools to create a very personalised process and opportunities to draw parents into the school community before their child has even started.
Emily Richards concluded the session with some key points for school marketers, which included:
*Know your market and try to avoid being “all things to all men”.
*Know what those families want – what will resonate with them?
*Where do these people hang out? How can you reach them?
John Knight highlighted the importance of schools identifying their unique selling point and Ian Hunt said it was important to keep families engaged at all times.
“Always over-communicate” he advised.
Interested in watching the full expert panel session? Watch the full recording here.