When a school decides it needs “marketing training”, the request usually comes from one of three places: a head who wants more applications, an admissions officer who has been handed the website and the Facebook page, or a small training centre whose founder does everything. The training that helps each of them is not a general marketing course. It is a short list of specific skills, taught in the order the enrolment calendar needs them. This is that list, with what each role should learn and what can safely be skipped.
Who needs training, and for what
| Role | What they need to be able to do | What they do not need |
|---|---|---|
| Head, principal, owner | Set the positioning, decide the season plan and budget, read the enrolment numbers | Run the social media account |
| Admissions or front office | Handle enquiries as marketing, run open days, follow up, keep the enquiry list | Advertising platforms |
| Communications or marketing person | Local search, the website’s program pages, reviews, content that supports open days, small paid campaigns | Brand theory |
| Teachers and coordinators | Contribute stories and photos, understand why open days matter, give consistent answers | Anything else |
The seven skills, in order
1. Positioning in one sentence
Who the school is for, what makes it different, and what families get. Everyone who speaks to a parent should give the same answer. Training starts here because every other skill depends on it.
2. The enrolment funnel and its numbers
Enquiry, visit, application, enrolment: what each step is, where families drop out, and how to read the numbers monthly. Leaders need this most; it turns marketing from a cost into a managed process.
3. Program pages that answer the five questions
Who it is for, results, a typical day, fees and how to apply. The person who owns the website learns to write these plainly and keep them current. The full list is in how to market a school.
4. Local search and reviews
Completing and maintaining the Google Business Profile, asking parents for reviews each term, and responding to them. Small, technical, and the single highest-return skill for a local school.
5. Enquiry handling and follow-up
The first call or email is where most enrolments are won or lost. Front-office staff learn to answer within a working day, capture the enquiry, invite to the next open day, and follow up on a schedule. This is customer service taught as marketing.
6. Open days and taster sessions
Planning, promotion six weeks out, the visit itself, and the follow-up within 48 hours. Teachers are involved here, so they need to understand the purpose.
7. Content and small campaigns in season
Two or three social posts a week showing real school life, an email to the enquiry list every few weeks, and small local search and social campaigns during application season. The communications person learns to run this on a calendar rather than reacting.
Formats that work for school teams
- A half-day workshop for the leadership team on positioning and the funnel, once a year before the season.
- Short self-paced lessons for admissions and communications staff, done in the quiet weeks, with one task each: fix the listing, rewrite a program page, set up the enquiry list.
- A one-page playbook for everyone who answers the phone: the positioning sentence, the five answers, the next open-day date.
- A monthly 30-minute numbers review, which is training in itself.
Long generic marketing courses rarely stick in schools because most of the content is about products, e-commerce or corporate brands. Choose training written for enrolment, and keep it short enough to finish between terms.
What to skip
Brand-identity workshops before the program pages are fixed. Advanced advertising before local search and reviews work. Anything that trains staff to post daily on every platform. A school’s marketing capacity is a few hours a week; training should protect that time, not consume it.
The marketing course for educators is built as the self-paced part of this plan: 39 short lessons on positioning, enrolment funnels, program pages, local search, open days, referral systems and in-season campaigns, written for schools and training businesses without a marketing department. One-time $39, lifetime access, certificate on completion, 14-day money-back guarantee, and one purchase can be worked through by the whole admissions team together.
Frequently asked questions
Does a school need a marketing person?
A small school needs an owner of the process, often the admissions officer or a deputy head, plus a few hours a week. A dedicated marketer becomes worthwhile when enquiries exceed what the front office can follow up.
What marketing training should admissions staff have?
Enquiry handling and follow-up, open-day organisation, and keeping the enquiry list. Those three skills convert more families than any advertising course.
How much should a school spend on marketing training?
Very little in money; the cost is staff time in the quiet weeks. A short course per role and an annual leadership workshop cover most schools.
