The Measuring Success Summer Value Proposition Tune Up

Here’s How to Position Your School for Growth and Increased Vitality

By Dr. Harry Bloom, Senior Vice President, Client Solutions, Measuring Success

The school year is drawing to a close. This is a time for rest, relaxation, and reflection—but also an ideal time to take stock of what went well this past year and what could have been done better. It may be even more important in light of your most valuable school commodity, your school’s relative perceived value proposition—the perceived benefits your students and families expect in exchange for tuition.

Measuring Success' research and experience with scores of schools indicates the single best predictor of a school’s enrollment and advancement success and constituent satisfaction is its relative perceived value proposition. Your perceived value proposition has to be viewed in the context of tuition and competition. While there are a number of ways to think about this, one of the most useful, from a managerial standpoint, is the following equation:

How well current and prospective families and students believe your school delivers on their most valued outcomes minus your tuition ___________________________________________________________________________

How well current and prospective families and students believe competing schools deliver on their most valued outcomes minus their tuition

Or, in Customer terms

If your school aims to ensure a successful future, there are three practical steps you can take this summer.

Step one: Use market research to:

• Identify the most important school outcomes for your current families as well as your highest-priority prospective families; and
• Find out how well your current and prospective families believe your school is delivering on what they are looking for relative to the competition and your tuition.

Step two: Assess the effectiveness of your investment—in staffing, programs, and peers.

• In staffing and programs: Conduct a rigorous comparative benchmarking exercise led by your senior leadership team. What value-add does your programming provide?
• Relative to respected peers: Ask yourself:

• Are you getting maximum “bang for your buck” from your expenditures?
• Are you maximizing your tuition and non tuition income?
• Are you achieving a high return on school assets (facilities, staff, reputation)?
• What opportunities to increase value relative to tuition do the resulting metrics suggest?

Step three: Develop an action plan.

Take stock of what you have learned and develop an action plan with your leadership team.

• What can be done this coming year to enhance relative perceived value?
• What will take longer but can begin this coming school year?

Even though it may be enticing to take the summer “off,” now is a good time to learn more about your school’s perceived value proposition and enhance it in a way to promote long-term success.

Measuring Success consultants have helped dozens of independent schools make meaningful enhancements to their Relative Value Propositions.

Email schoolsuccess@isminc.com to explore strategies to strengthen your school’s value proposition.