Strategic Planning for Tutors & IECs – April 2017
April has traditionally been about navigating the high school calendar. Private school and public school spring breaks are generally at different times and end of term grades are on the horizon. Graduating students are hearing back from colleges, and the Class of 2018 stands ready to take their place. The new College Admissions Cycle started in March and, not surprisingly, the Test Prep cycle follows suite. With that in mind, tutoring and admissions counseling firms have common ground in terms of the business cycle..
For these reasons, we suggest adding or amending the product mix to include:
• SAT / ACT – Intensive (long programs of at least 18-21 hours)
• SAT / ACT – Regular (average length programs of 12 – 16 hours)
• SAT /ACT Math or Reading & Writing
• May SAT Bootcamps
• April ACT Bootcamps
• Community Center or/and School Based Summer Programming (Grades K -8 Summer Learning, Camps etc.).
Although a fair number of students will already be in your lead queue (thanks to past inquiries, events, and marketing efforts), there are more students seeking and needing to learn more about their options. As always, a strong event calendar along with timely blogs and an actively managed Facebook Page are key elements to success.
Free Events worth considering include:
• Free ACT or SAT Practice Testing at a local high school
• College Admissions Timeline presentations
• SAT vs. ACT – Which Test is Best?
• College Admissions Roadmap
Some additional detail on our marketing Suggestions:
• Incentives: The Early Bird Incentive from March should shift to a % Savings message -OR-a Value Add message.
• Sales Management: All inquiries should be asked if they would like to register for the Free Event.
• Networking: Current clients should receive notice of any Spring College Fair participation for which you have registered. Guidance officers and parent groups should be contacted as well.
• More broadly when aligning promotional tools such as website, blog, email, and social outlets stick to one clear message. For March, it may have been “Save $200 on SAT Tutoring” but as of April 1, that message should be updated to reflect the April Incentive. Whatever the decision keep the promotional message simple and unified.
• Direct Mail: schedule to be in-homes a week after school break
• Pay Per Click: schedule a free consult to learn more about pay-per-click
Receive these updates earlier through free community membership at testprepprofessionals.com. The following Pulse articles may be helpful: Event Bests – Qualifying Leads, Niche Strategy, Determining Client Acquisition Cost.
