Essentials Magazine Essentials Fall 2017 | Page 27

Or does the school secretary see the
sales person as more of a customer
service representative?
Does Email Marketing Work in
Education?
Just under one-third of the school
secretaries saw email as an effective
marketing medium, but only 11% of
school marketers agreed. How would
school secretaries know? Are teachers
commenting on their email promotions
to the secretary? Does one teacher
open a promotional email and for-
ward it to a number of other teach-
ers? School marketers ranked email
relatively low as compared to some
other media. In my conversations with
marketers they complain about low
open rates, low click through rates, and
great difficulty tracking sales back to
the email effort.
I think it fair to say that when
secretaries and marketers agree that
a medium is effective it most likely is.
But I also think it is fair to say that it’s
also the case when a medium is rated
“best” or effective by one group and
not the other.
As an industry, we have struggled
for at least the past five years. Educa-
tors have reduced their spending on
supplies and supplemental materials.
A large portion of education budgets
now is spent on assessment and other
software. Consequently, most school
marketers have made serious attempts
to reduce their marketing expense and
the places where they cut are those
where they don’t see evidence of an
acceptable return on investment.
But the lesson here may be that
some media can be effective even
though it can’t be measured. The effec-
tiveness of a sales force is a subject that
has been debated for years. But even
if they’re primary role is perceived as
servicing the account that in itself may
protect and grow sales.
There is evidence that email is an
effective medium. That evidence is in
the form of testimony from one-third
of all school secretaries. Emails are a
convenient way for teachers and ad-
ministrators to share and disseminate
information. They may not be easy
to track back to sales but that doesn’t
mean they aren’t facilitating sales. n
BOB STIMOLO, EDmarket’s Official School
Market Consultant, is President of School
Market Research
Institute (SMRI)
a full service
marketing and
research firm.
Please join our
quarterly survey of
school marketers.
Only those that
participate receive
complete, detailed
results. The survey
is free and can be completed in less than
one minute. To participate visit http://www.
smriinc.com/survey.html.
Nothing But Net (working)
at EDfest
Thursday, October 26 • 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
College Bask etball Experience
EDspaces full conference registrants and exhibitors are invited to the all-industry event on Thursday night at The College
Basketball Experience (CBE) that includes dinner, dancing and a 3-point shot! The interactive nature of the museum sets
the CBE apart from others. Here you won’t just come and watch – you’ll get off the bench!
Fans of any age can immerse themselves in the game. Wander through
the CBE and take turns at shooting contests, passing games, free
throw competitions and dunking drills. Explore the museum and learn
about the legends that make the game great. Players, coaches, teams,
media personalities — basketball wouldn’t be what it is today without
the contributions of the fearless visionaries you’ll walk among in the
College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Whether you are a fan or not, it’s a slam dunk you don’t want to miss
as you make personal connections with customers and colleagues.
Be part of the EDfest fun!
EDfest Co-Sponsored by
essentials | www.edmarket.org 27