Do head teachers care what you have to say?
Who is this article for?
This blog post is written for education suppliers deciding who to target in their school marketing campaigns, using real engagement data to question whether seniority is always the right way to choose.
Why targeting the most senior person in a school isn’t always the best marketing strategy.
Who should we send this campaign to? It’s one of the most common questions we’re asked when putting together an education marketing campaign. And quite often, the first answer is:
“Head Teachers.”
You can understand why. They’re ultimately responsible for the school. They’re senior. They have influence. And if you’re looking for somebody with the authority to make a decision, the Head Teacher seems like an obvious place to start.
But are they actually the person most likely to care about what you’re selling? Our campaign data suggests it’s a question worth asking.
What does our education marketing data tell us?
As part of our analysis of 1,365 education marketing campaigns, we looked at engagement across campaigns that included different school job roles. There were some interesting differences.
So campaigns including Heads of Careers achieved around 25% higher average engagement than those including Head Teachers. That doesn’t mean you should stop emailing Head Teachers.
It tells us something much more useful. Seniority and relevance aren’t the same thing.
Schools don’t buy. People do.
We talk about “marketing to schools” all the time. We do it ourselves. But, of course, a school isn’t one person.
There can be numerous people involved in identifying a need, researching the options, recommending a supplier, finding the budget and ultimately approving a purchase. And each of those people will have different priorities.
If you’re selling a careers platform, the Head of Careers has an obvious reason to pay attention.
If your product supports pupils with SEND, the SENCO is much closer to the problem you’re solving.
If you’ve developed a Maths resource, the Head of Maths will be far more interested in what you have to say than the Head Teacher.
And if your service has a significant financial or operational impact, the School Business Manager could be an important part of the conversation.
So instead of simply asking:
“Who has the authority to buy this?”
Try asking:
“Who cares most about the problem we solve?”
Relevance gives you a better starting point
Imagine receiving two emails. One is about something you’re ultimately responsible for but rarely deal with personally. The other addresses a problem you encounter every week.
Which one are you more likely to read?
That’s why job-title targeting matters. It isn’t simply about finding an email address for somebody senior enough to make a decision. It’s about understanding who is likely to recognise the problem you solve and have a reason to engage with what you’re saying.
The person who discovers your organisation doesn’t necessarily need to be the person who eventually signs off the purchase. Your first job is to get the right person interested.
Don’t rely on one contact
For many education suppliers, there won’t be one perfect job title. A purchase might involve a Subject Leader who identifies the need, a Deputy Head who champions the idea, a Business Manager who looks at the numbers and a Head Teacher who ultimately approves it.
Your marketing should reflect that. That could mean targeting several relevant roles within the same campaign. It could also mean changing the message depending on who you’re talking to.
A Business Manager may want to understand value and affordability. A teacher might be more interested in whether something will save them time. A member of SLT may want evidence of the impact on pupils or the wider school.
Same product. Different priorities. And if we send exactly the same message to everyone, we’re potentially missing an opportunity.
So, should you market to Head Teachers?
Absolutely, when they’re the right audience. The point isn’t that Head Teachers don’t engage with marketing. Our own data shows that they do.
The point is that the most senior person in a school isn’t automatically the best person to start with. Before your next campaign, by all means ask:
“Who can make the decision?”
But don’t stop there. Ask:
“Who is most likely to care?”
Because sometimes the person closest to the problem you solve is the person you need to speak to first.
What did 1,365 education marketing campaigns teach us?
This was just one of the findings from our latest research. We’ve analysed 1,365 education marketing campaigns, alongside our A/B testing and wider experience of working with education suppliers, to identify 16 lessons about what actually works when marketing to schools.
We’ve brought them together in our Education Marketing Insights Report.
Download the FREE Education Marketing Insights ReportFAQs
Who should education suppliers market to in schools?+
It depends on the product or service and the problem it solves. The most senior person isn’t necessarily the most relevant. Consider who experiences the problem, who is likely to research solutions, who can influence the decision and who ultimately approves the purchase.
Are Head Teachers the best people to target when marketing to schools?+
Sometimes, but not always. In our campaign data, campaigns including Heads of Careers averaged 35.0% click-to-open engagement, compared with 28.1% for campaigns including Head Teachers. Relevance can be more important than seniority when deciding who to target.
Who makes purchasing decisions in schools?+
There often isn’t one single decision-maker. Depending on the purchase, teachers, Subject Leaders, SENCOs, Heads of Department, School Business Managers and members of SLT may all be involved at different stages of the buying process.
Should I target more than one job title in a school marketing campaign?+
Often, yes. If several people are involved in identifying, influencing and approving a purchase, there can be value in reaching more than one relevant role. The message may also need to change to reflect the priorities of each audience.