Word of Mouth is the Best Marketing Tool
For our school, word of mouth has been the best marketing tool. We have tried movie theaters to reach the younger crowd, magazines, fliers, and none of them have worked for us like word of mouth. We try to provide the best training possible and get a personal interest in our students and they do the marketing for us.
Very good idea Isabel. It takes a lot for a school to count on word of mouth. But it does mean that the school is student focused and that students are happy, successful, and get jobs. Student retention and satisfaction takes the efforts of the entire school. Faculty and staff have to be trained to put the student first. When all this happens, students are happy to refer other people to the school. Of course you may have to remind students and grads to do that. It means staying in touch with students and alumni so they know when a program will start and how to recommend their friends. It takes cooeration from everyone to count on marketing by referrals and not by dollars. Thanks, Susan
I agree with Isabel. We have found that this is the most effective way for recruiting marketing. We have done TV shows, expos, or job fairs or even paid for the leads. However, we have never had successful results as we have expected. Instead, our patients, our students and alumni have referred prospective students to our school. For students they are happy with what they are learning. For patients they get very good results from our interns' treatments. And for our alumni they are doing well in their practice. That's why they like to refer students to our school. Their good examples convice the prospective students best. It is same with the our faculty and staff's referals.
This is great, Johanna. A very good reason why schools need to strive for excellence and great student service. Word of mouth is the best testimony about the effectiveness of a school. Word of mouth is more than students and grads referring others. It is also employers and anyone who knows about your school telling others. So job fairs and other community activitiy can be very positive. Also good public relations, announcements, press releases and more to get good articles published in your local news. Thanks, Susan
Word of mouth is the best advertising tool a school can have. A referral system must be in place right from the initial prospect phase. When a prospect calls into the school, the school should ask how the prospect heard about the school. Track who told them about the school. Then once this person graduates from school. Ask for a referral at graduation. They will spread the word about the school positively and tell their friends about their experience. Like mentioned before it comes from the whole staff to help with their training experience. It comes from the front office personnel, admissions personnel, instructors and job placement. All these departments help make a student a happy graduate who will inturn be our best free advertising.
Hi Kimberly, You are so right. A happy, successful, and satisfied student is the best advertisement for your school. And keep in mind how important it is to stay in regular contact with your grads. That's why schools are starting to seriously think about Alumni Associations. But bottom line - word of mouth gets the word out and keeps your school on the minds of everyone when they think about training. Thanks, Susan
I agree and it has worked very well for us. We use television, radio, and other forms of popular media to market but given that our campus is in a 'small' town, we have a lot of referrals! It works both ways though, so if one student has a bad experience, it can really hurt. We do our best to remain student centered in all aspects of our business.
Good reminder, Melanie, that word of mouth does work both ways. The goal is to constantly assess how you are doing by surveying and asking your entire constituency. When there is good news it is a clue to continue doing whatever is working. When there is bad news it's an opportunity to fix things and put better plans in place. Thanks for bringing this up. Susan
Word of mouth is a great marketing tool, you must make sure every student has something good to say about the institution and you will see results.
You are right, Miguel. Word or mouth and referral is the best kind of marketing. And some schools actually enroll most of their students this way. It means that the entire school has to be dedicated to ensuring that every student has an outstanding experience. Student and customer service has to be the watchword. Faculty and staff have to be trained on being very student focused. Thanks, Susan
Word of mouth can work sometimes ,however to be more objective during the process program evaluation and surveys can be used to measure school success and students satisfaction.This tools can be used as a marketing tool. (if the outcome is positive)
Word of mouth and referral leads do tend to be the best leads. Prospects are already "sold" on your school before they step in the door. To really work, students have to have great experiences at your school. And grads have to be placed. Then they have a lot of great things to say about your school. It is worth the effort to focus on student satisfaction all around. Your students stay, pay, graduate, find work, and have a lot to brag about when talking about their school experience. And they may stay on as alumni referring new students, enrolling in other programs, helping out, telling you about the hiring decision makers at their work, etc. Susan
Isabel, word of mouth has worked the best for our school, as well. Our students are excited about the quality of their training and share their feelings with others. Fliers, newspapers and feature articles in local magazines have not worked as well. However, we are continuing to monitor what brings people in the door by asking, whether prospective students or just information seekers.
Word of mouth is the best marketing. YOu're right. The key is to offer quality training and quality customer service and care so that grads want to recommend students. We find that an alumni association is also key to referrals. Stay in touch with alumni from the minute they graduate. You'll have testimonials, referrals, and ways to reach hiring decision makers in your community. It's one thing to encourage students and grads to refer others. It's another when their experience has been so great at your school that they don't need to be asked. Thanks, Susna
Word of Mouth and graduations tend to be a good marketing tool for our school.
We agree. Imagine enrolling all qualified students from referral and word of mouth. That is saying you are doing most everything right. And you'll really cut your adv. budget. Thanks, Susan
Word of Mouth is a great marketing tool, especially when your field is limited in number. We also have have a student centered approach and we have found that when our students refer people, they are usually more adept to what we have to offer. And when they struggle, they have that support system outside of the campus to assist them making things easier to deal with.
I agree that word of mouth, referrals, PDL's, etc are the best lead. Can you explain how you utilize word of mouth? What approaches do you take? How do you utilize all staff?
PARIS,
Word of mouth referrals occur when your customer (student in this case) is satisfied and happy as a result of going to you institution. Ideally they have a great job because of your training. Suggest you sit with everyone on your staff plus students and Alumni too. Ask they how their experience was as a student. Ask them what was great. Ask them what needs improvement. Make the changes they suggest. You'll have great word of mouth referrals. Some schools are so effective they spend little on paid marketing. Take the challenge, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
Don,
Good points. We also find that students who are referred are highly qualified. The person who referred them has already provided the pros and cons of attending your institution. All you have to do is qualify them and sign them up. Great point that the referred student has their friend or relative to go to when they have problems. It is also essential that you have go-to people at school to assist students as well. In addition, foster communication among students and they can coach each other. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
