Aaaah. The group that you picked, and that picked you! A treasure trove of information awaits when you survey families that are newly enrolled at your school.
- They have (probably) just gone through the admission process at more than just your school, so have front-of-mind the ways you knocked it out of the park and ways other schools managed their process more effectively.
- You picked them, and they picked you, fitting them into the ideal customer persona that you are trying to get more of. What matters to them is, in theory, a "perfect fit" for what you should be focused on.
- They are excited about your school and have a lot of skin in the game in this moment, so they are likely to be more responsive and forthcoming than in subsequent years as “current” parents.
A survey of newly enrolled parents can be simple, asking a couple of key questions such as “why, ultimately, did you choose our school?”, or, you can use a very detailed survey in order to dive in more deeply.
Don’t be afraid to ask about ways you can improve your process, as well. Again, these are friends and fans, and you want to attract more of people like them! So, their constructive advice is very useful.
Many schools will use online surveys for this group, which can be very effective. To uplevel your efforts, offer an opt-in phone call for follow up. Remember that it is hard to capture emotion and story online, so the phone call route generally garners more complete information.
If I can be of any assistance as you develop your surveys or in the interpretation of them, feel free to reach out at any time. I’d be happy to hop on the phone to help!
