Why are Emotions the Currency of the K-12 Education Sector?
“When companies connect with customers’ emotions, the payoff can be huge.” (Harvard Business Review, The New Science of Customer Emotions)
Education, starting from early childhood, is linked directly with our future as adults. Education, as an industry overall, finds itself at crossroads and the future it is supposed to prepare the new generations for, is very much uncertain. However its role - as the most crucial social system for investing and believing in a better future, has remained unchanged.
In this “new normal for schools” parents expectations from all educational institutions and players (from kindergarteners, early-age tutors, private and public schools and universities) have changed, or better put - parent expectations have evolved, have multiplied and updated, all at the same time.
“Education is no longer just about teaching students something but helping them develop a reliable compass and the tools to confidently navigate through an increasingly complex, volatile and uncertain world.” (Building the future of education | OECD Education and Skills, 2021).
The future of education is a student-centered one, with personalized and technology empowered learning journeys, shifting focus from the teachers and the traditional curriculum. What children learn early-on has a high impact on the kind of adults they will become, their future aspirations, the role they play in the society, how they behave, communicate and network. Parents know this and they intrinsically wish and want the best for their kids.
With expectations running always higher, the process of researching and selecting a school or educational program for parents of K-12 kids has become an even more stressful journey, especially when there is no shortage of options to choose from. Parents of K-12 kids are put in the position of making several important decisions for the education of their children and emotional triggers and motivators have a high impact on their behavior and the choices they make.
This is not meant to say that parents are not rational in the school selection process. The objective is to point out the importance of understanding the position they are in and the criticality of catering to their needs and alleviating the stress and hurdles they are going through.
Throughout our work with education providers, we have been in touch, directly or indirectly with parents (via enrollment consultants, program sales teams and school staff) and we tried to listen to them very closely because understanding your audience and keeping up with its needs and expectations is critical in education - and any other industry for the matter. Let’s consider the points here below.
The pressure is high
Every family and every culture has its specificities but up to a certain age, close to the teen years, parents will make decisions for their children and this includes also the selection of educational programs and institutions they will attend. With the obviously high importance of the learning experience during these early years, the pressure is high for parents and they feel twice more responsible for the choices they make.
The future is uncertain
Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity - all of them together describe the times we are living in now. Is the more traditional education still relevant? Should we enroll the kid into rather innovative education programs, are they here to stay or just a fluke? Which education provider will instill the knowledge, skills and values that will matter the most in the future? Is today’s education still relevant for the jobs and social context of the future? All these questions and many more cross the minds of parents of K-12 children every day.
Worries eat everything else for breakfast, every day
What if starting a language course at the age of 4 is actually too much too early for my kid? Will my daughter be safe at this boarding school abroad? How can I know if the school and the staff are truly inclusive and diversity embracive? The academic results promised by school X are very attractive but is student well-being also a priority there?
Parents are “built” to worry and they will naturally try to address all the concerns they have when selecting a school. Any misalignment in a school’s proposition, any unnecessary complication in the communication with the school can easily send off prospecting parents because their kids’ future is at stake.
When a school connects with parents’ emotions, the response is highly positive and the payoff can be huge for both sides, as long as the connection is not superficial and purely commercially driven on the school’s side.
Across the more traditional schools and educational system the focus has always been the in-school operations, pursuing academic excellence and a highly qualified faculty line-up, a complete curriculum. More recent and innovative players, especially within the K-12 EdTech sector, prioritize technology, renewed and adaptive learning processes with a focus shifted from the teacher to the student that sits at the heart of the product. Nothing wrong with any of these approaches but from a marketing perspective, could they get better at addressing and speaking the language of the decision makers - the parents?
“Emotional motivators provide a better gauge of customers’ future value to a firm than any other metric, including brand awareness and customer satisfaction…The most sophisticated firms are making emotional connection part of a broad strategy that involves every function in the value chain, from product development and marketing to sales and service”. (Harvard Business Review, The New Science of Customer Emotions)
This is valid cross industry but we believe it to be significantly strong for the K-12 education providers scene and pursuing emotional connection with the prospecting parents, as well as with existing families who have enrolled to their school, should be a key component of a schools communication strategy.
If you are in the K-12 sector, we wrap up by leaving you with some questions to ponder.
Is your communication strategy talking to parents or at parents?
Is your strategy focused on building an emotional connection with the families overall and the parents in particular?
Do you know what are the emotional motivators at play for your core audience?
If you want to put our heads together with your team, to discuss the emotional component of your strategy or any other digital marketing for schools project, do contact us.
Bibliography
The New Science of Customer Emotions, Harvard Business Review
Building the future of education | OECD Education and Skills, OECD papers
Image Credits
Bruno Nascimento via Unsplash
About Journee - Digital at Ease
Founded by two digital marketing professionals with extensive international experience, Journee GmbH is a female owned digital marketing and technology boutique consultancy.
Education is a darling among all industries in which the founders have worked and accumulated vast international experience across all facets of digital marketing and digital technology.