1
Value Propositions
2
How to Participate in Today’s Webinar
•
Open and close your Panel
•
View, Select, and Test your audio
•
Submit text questions
•
Q&A addressed at the end of today’s
session; written answers to the questions
will be made available after the call
3
Goals for Today’s Webinar
• Get everyone really thinking about what it takes to
get parents to pay their money to let you serve their child(ren).
• Provide thoughts and examples you can take back and
work on with others at your school.
• Encourage you to start hands-on efforts to enhance the quality
and communication of a more compelling value proposition.
• Share ideas with each other and help each other improve
our chances of successfully enrolling children.
4
Tie to the Enrollment Management Framework
5
What’s a Value Proposition?
“… an offer defined in
terms of the target
customers, the benefits
offered to these
customers, and the
price charged relative to
the competition.”
(Knox et al, 2003)
“… describes the total
customer experience
with the firm … over
time, rather than [being
limited to] that
communicated at the
point of sale.” (Molineux, 2002)
• Prices up to 40% below MSRP
• Millions of books, movies, and other products
• Acts as a trusted online retailer
• Guaranteed overnight delivery
• Goes above and beyond to keep commitments
• Easy to do business with; consistent across
locations, countries, lines of business, etc.
• Friendliness, cleanliness, consistency, and
convenience
• Individual food products meeting individual
customer taste preferences
6
What Do Parents Look For from Your School?
Why should I spend my
money to send
my child to
your school?
“will they really
help my baby
to…”
“hmm, money’s
tight … the public
school is free …”
“do I trust them to
really be better?”
AND IS IT REALLY – REALLY – DIFFERENT THAN MY OTHER OPTIONS?
7
What’s NOT a Value Proposition?
Slogans and mission statements are – by themselves – NOT value propositions!!
• Fedex: “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” is close as it
embodies the underlying value proposition. FedEx’s operations make this true.
• McDonalds: Is “I’m lovin’ it” really their value proposition?
Things that I/we value don’t qualify, unless the customer values them too.
• “Catholic and Safe” are relatively more/less meaningful based on the target market.
• Educationese risks being meaningless unless we give it meaning
– e.g., “we do RTI” or “our students are in the 9th stanine.”
Simple lists of programs don’t constitute a value proposition either.
• Does a 2-page long bulleted list of all the “stuff” you have fully address the
very personal decision a parent is making?
• Creating an understanding of our programs is relevant, but only after the harder
work of answering “why should they send their child to our school” and
“what differentiates us.”
8
Brand Success Requires:
• Relevance to our target’s core need
• Distinctiveness
• Delivering against the promise made (i.e., it’s real)
• Top of mind
• Consistency
Key Point:
“It’s better to meet 100% of the needs of 20% of the audience
than 20% of the needs of 100% of the audience.” John Sheehy, Leo Burnett and Co., 10/21/09
9
Differentiation (“Distinctiveness”) Requires:
• A combination of a functional offering (e.g., education) and a
related emotional reaction (e.g., trust).
• The best differentiators are clear, unique, and easy to explain.
• Differentiating on something other than a core need
is nice, but not particularly impactful; making up a
“core” need to fit our differentiator doesn’t work.
• We have to be aware of and work to minimize negative
differentiators versus competing alternatives.
Key Point:
“Without a rational / functional base it is extremely
difficult to ladder up to an emotional benefit.” John Sheehy, Leo Burnett and Co., 10/21/09
10
Let Me Propose…
• Value isn’t just a slogan or a mission statement
– value has to be real to the potential customer.
• “Catholic and safe” are core, but not enough by themselves
any more … we all have the enrollment stats to prove it.
• Consumers demand proof, especially if they have choices.
• Schools are a VERY individual value decision; we benefit by
making our value address objective and subjective needs.
• The real competition isn’t St. Cecilia down the street; we need
Catholic parents considering non-Catholic schools.
• Parents demand value, and they deserve real value.
• It would be illuminating to listen to our target market’s real
value assessment for each school. Do we? Why can’t we?
11
Is Our Traditional Value Proposition Compelling Enough?
Traditional Catholic
School Selling
Points
Public School
Selling Points
Faith-Based

= w. CCD?
Better Education
than Public Schools
??

Safe

??
12
Is Our Traditional Value Proposition Compelling Enough?
Traditional Catholic
School Selling
Points
Public School
Selling Points
Faith-Based

= w. CCD?
Better Education
than Public Schools
??

Safe

??
13
Is Our Traditional Value Proposition Compelling Enough?
Traditional Catholic
School Selling
Points
Public School
Selling Points
Faith-Based

= w. CCD?
Better Education
than Public Schools
??

Safe

??
Free


And oh, by the way, how are we really differentiated?
14
Which is a More Compelling Value Proposition?
WHAT DO YOU GET FROM THIS MARKETING PIECE?
15
Which is a More Compelling Value Proposition?
WHAT DO YOU GET FROM THE VIDEO?
http://www.academystbenedict.org/
16
What’s Their Value Proposition?
HERE’S WHAT I GET FROM THE VIDEO:
•
Love
•
Safety
•
Mission
•
Faith and values
•
Student growth and success
•
•
Happy, healthy kids
Outdoor space in the
inner-city
•
“Deshanae became a whole
better person”
•
Many programs
•
Before and after-care for
working parents
•
Dedication
•
Personal attention,
small class sizes
•
Testimonials from parents
•
Testimonials from kids
•
Committed to
student success
•
“Peace of mind is worth
any tuition payment”
•
Prepare for selective
high schools
•
I see my child being
happy and successful here
Important for Any School
17
What’s Their Value Proposition? (cont.)
THE SCHOOL WANTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND:
•
Our teachers know the students and their families by name, and keep
them safe.
•
We are a community rooted in faith, love, and values.
•
We ensure that students succeed academically.
•
Our graduates are admitted to selective magnet and private high
schools, often earning scholarships.
•
Busy working families are served from 6:15am until 6:15pm.
•
We utilize technology to enhance our students’ learning and growth.
•
Our teachers meet the individual needs of each student.
•
Our academic program is enriched by extracurricular activities, including
sports, art, music, and dance.
•
We work with families to make this investment affordable.
18
What Makes an Exemplary Value Proposition?
•
There is a clear and prioritized message to families we don’t already have.
•
There is a compelling statement that we’re better than free;
they answer clearly “why should I send my child to your school?”
•
There is at least some uniqueness and differentiation.
•
They evoke a positive reaction – on both emotional and objective levels.
•
They do this in a way that’s creative, visual and eye-catching.
•
They talk to prospective families in multiple voices
(parents, students, teachers, etc.).
•
There is a clear call to action (e.g., “Road to 180”, enroll today, visit, etc.).
19
What Can We Do? Use the Value Proposition Template
Key Value Statement
Potential Proof Points – i.e., Why Should They Believe Us?
Potential Communication
Methods / Tools
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
• Our recent graduates have attended St. Ignatius, Loyola Academy,
Fenwick, Mother McAuley, etc.
• Our graduates received $XX,000 in merit-based scholarships to these
high schools.
• The high schools report that our graduates consistently place on their
honor rolls for academic achievement, demonstrating the strong
academic base they formed at our school.
• Testimonial – “We find the graduates of St. Cecilia School to be very
well prepared for our demanding college prep program. We also find
them to be very mature and service-oriented – St. Cecilia School
should be as proud of their graduates as we are.”
• Story Line(s) – “Jane Doe was a member of our Young Leaders
Program, where select 7th and 8th grade students are given additional
learning and growth opportunities. Jane participated in … Now that
Jane is attending Fenwick she has continued her success by…”
EXAMPLE
• Pictures of graduates – at
both elementary and high
school levels
• Pictures of junior high
students taking exams,
participating in service
programs, etc.
• Testimonials from parents,
high school
• Video interviews with high
school students who
graduated from the
elementary school
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Our students are accepted
and excel at the best
selective high schools in the
Chicagoland area
The completed template easily becomes
the basis for the marketing
Testimonial – of web sites, brochures, etc.
section(s)
•
•
•
•
•
Story Line(s) –
•
We’ll be tempted to let our value
proposition get buried or stale
(e.g., on our web site) – DON’T!!!
20
What Can We Do? Utilize the Entire Framework
Putting all this work into our value
propositions only has impact if we are
proactive in the rest of the framework too!
21
Questions & Discussion
22
Future AMEN & ADC Offerings
• AMEN Dates: 12/7, 2/17, 4/17
• ADC Dates: 11/30, 1/25, 3/28, 5/2
• Annual Fund Workshop Series: 1/18, 2/15, 2/29, 3/21, 4/4
• Other Webinars – TBD
23
Sources
Knox, S., Maklan, S., Payne, A., Peppard, J. and Ryals, L. (2003) Customer Relationship Management:
Perspectives from the Marketplace. Butterworth Heineman, Oxford, UK.
Molineux, P. (2002) Exploiting CRM. Connecting with customers. Hodder and Stoughton, London, UK.