Marketing for Teachers Day #1

Been trying to figure out why conversations in our finance and marketing classes make me squirm. I know that schools need money to do the great things that they do for students, and I know that money comes primarily (in the cases of independent schools) from people who can afford to pay tuition.

So why do I not want to talk, hear or read about this?

Here is one idea: Today we learned that marketing moves in three phases, from research, to strategy and finally, to execution. The first phase, research, is market research about what people's desires are. Schools are meant to find out what people want-- not (as one might think) what their customers want, but what their potential customers might want. To do this they do research. One good student asked, "So where do we find this research?" Well, you can't; it is proprietary. Might this be a root of the ickyness for me? Marketing and business thinking is built on secrecy in an effort to keep information from the competitor so that you can out-do them. Academia is not set up like that. As an educator we are used to having information be out there for us and our students. And, personally, I get ornery when it isn't. I am already anticipating really hating having to pay for the New York times in 2011, by the way.

All of the secrecy and cloaking of data and intention seems like what we try to avoid in general school cultures. Maybe I am on to something, and maybe not. I sense this will be an ongoing exploration for me.