March Madness

Remember back in 2020 when they announced that the NCAA Tournament would be cancelled due to the coronavirus worldwide pandemic? It certainly didn’t stop “March Madness” – it just morphed into a different kind of madness!

It’s still a “mad” month – with people upset at politicians to rising costs when lower prices were promised; from changes that force us outside of our comfort zones to those things we wish we could change but cannot.

In schools, the madness encompasses budget preparation, financial aid applications, and enrollment building goals for the coming school year are upon us, not to mention those who just make a phone call or send an email and expect everything will magically fall into place because, well, that’s what technology does, right?

20 years ago, when a group of us development directors were creating a Yahoo group to communicate with one another and share ideas (the precursor to the eCommunity on the original SchoolAdvancement.com Web site), I called the group MAD – since we were all involved in Marketing And Development. We took inspiration from St. John the Baptist, since we all sometimes felt like we were alone in the wilderness and crying out in the desert.

It’s important to remember that Development is all about developing relationships – so when you feel you’re out there alone, you have to realize you’re in relationship – by contacting another development professional, by contacting a donor just to say “Thank you,” by trying to build a new relationship, or just by praying.

Getting together for lunch with a colleague invites another person into the conversation too. Jesus told us He’d be “where two or three are gathered in His name,” and that’s a better alternative to using social media to spew hatred and abusive commentaries.

So how does that deal with this week’s “Marketing Matters” column? How will this bring more students to your school, since I’m sure you’re trying to increase enrollment for the coming school year amidst all this insanity.

May I be so bold as to suggest that it might be a little late to hope that marketing activities (like your school’s Web site, positive word of mouth, yard signs, door hangers and social media) will increase enrollment for the coming year. Indeed, some schools have already made the difficult decision that this year will be the final year for their school. Remember that marketing is at the “origin,” or the center, of the other four elements of the ARMED framework. You have to market your school’s successes to your donors and to your prospective parents…but your also have to market your school in a different way to your current parents and your supporting parishes or churches.

In that respect, marketing is a medium-term strategy designed to increase inquiries to your school.

This is crunch time. Follow up with all those families that have expressed an interest in your school this past year – even if they’ve said that they’re not interested. They may have changed their mind, and unless you invite them in to take a second look, they might be making alternative plans for the coming year – or they might be worried about getting through the next couple of months. Giving them a call to talk with them and calm their fears will help to further develop the relationship and deepen the engagement with your school.

Think about it – who are they going to remember: the school that wanted to know how they were doing, or the school that expects them to adhere to deadlines in the midst of uncertainty. It’s crunch time for them, too. Taxes are looming, Easter is just around the corner, and who knows what else is going to happen in the coming months that will be a priority for them.

If your school’s deadline for financial aid has already passed, then consider making an exception and extending that deadline. Perhaps there’s a family with three children that just moved in to a neighborhood. Ask your current parents if anyone’s moved in to their neighborhood recently.

Easter is just a couple of weekends away, and while you can’t do it this year, plan for next year by PERSONALLY distributing information about your school at every Lenten fish fry as well as every worship service and Mass on Easter! You can also plan for doing that during the Christmas Masses and services later this year, since people are having a reawakening regarding the importance of faith and prayer in these truly disruptive times!

Perhaps you’re saying, “You’ve really lost it! That’s the time I need to relax! You must be mad!” (See what i did there?)

Maybe.

But if you’re involved in marketing and development, you must have some wild ideas sometimes in order to break through the status quo.

And if you’re looking to find where a lot of faith-filled people will be, there’s no better place that where they have gathered to celebrate the joy of Easter and Christ’s resurrection to new life!

For now, let’s pray for one another, growing closer to our Lord.

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