Marketing toolkit step #10: Choose a parent ambassador (or 4)
We’ve found that the microschools that thrive often have between one and four parent ambassadors whose jobs it is to get the word out to the community.
Having one parent Ambassador is great but beauty of having four ambassadors is that they can each post once a month to the online parent groups so you end up getting one post per week — which is ideal.
Have you chosen a parent ambassador yet? If so, please introduce us and we’ll make sure that they’re mobilized for success.
This job should take no more than
- 5 minutes a week to post to online parent groups
- 1–3 hours to join the groups.
- A few extra hours if you want to enlist them in planning events or attending open houses.
Why is this so important?
- A parent ambassador is someone whose words turn to gold.
- Whose life touches the lives of people in their community.
- This person is the key to the word of mouth, organic advertising that every business craves.
So how do you identify your parent ambassador?
As Matt Candler, founder of 4.0 Schools and one of the most brilliant microschool builders I know put it to me, you’re looking for “a connector”
And to find this connector, you need to build a trust map.
- Make a list of all the families you’ve worked with or have enrolled in your school
- Put the name of the person who referred them.
- Is there a person or people who come to mind who referred many others your way?
- I spoke to one business owner who told me that he traced all 600 of his customers back to 3 people!
That’s your parent ambassador.
- As many times as you post to these yahoo, facebook, meetup groups, nothing is going to be more influential than your parent ambassador and their personal referral.
- Now, a problem that can arise with schools is that there is some amazing person who knows everyone and loves your school but doesn’t want to refer you, because they want to keep you “a best-kept secret,” or a “hidden gem”
- They are worried that if everyone finds out about you, there won’t be space for THEM at your school, or maybe your prices will go up, or who knows what???
- The problem with this theory, of course, is that if no one else finds out about you, then how on earth are you going to bring in income to keep the microschool going?!
There are a few great ways to mobilize a parent ambassador
- Simply ask. “I think you have an amazing family and I want to meet more families like yours. Will you help me grow my school?”
- Offer a financial incentive. For every student you refer, I’ll give you $50 off tuition!
- Make it a work exchange. This can be a good opportunity to offer someone who can’t attend your program without a scholarship.
- Make it a volunteer job. It’s common for microschools to ask parents to volunteer to keep costs down. Also, every parent who participates in your school should participate in marketing it to support you, attract great families to the community and keep costs down.
- If all else fails, the fear factor does tend to spring people to action. If we don’t find more students, the class can’t go on. Could you refer us to some of your friends?
Once you’ve identified your parent ambassador, introduce them to us. CottageClass has a parent ambassador toolkit similar to the teacher marketing toolkit. We can guide them through the process ensure they’re mobilized to make your microschool a marvelous success.
It’s an honor to be chosen as a parent ambassador and we’re eager to support your parent ambassador in being your best partner and advocate in bringing quality education to the children who need it most.
They are welcome to add their title as Parent ambassador at CottageClass to their LinkedIn or resume and we are happy to support them in any way we can.
Please introduce us to your parent ambassador and we’ll be sure to reach out to them this very day!
Here are two cool articles Matt recommended to me on connectors and trust networks.
Thus concludes our 10 step marketing toolkit! If you’d like to take it from the top, start here.
This toolkit is a living document and we’d love your input!
Please live us your feedback on what you liked, what worked for you, what you learned and any additional tips you may have picked up along the way that you’d like to share with other teachers!
