129. How to Build a Parent Feedback System That Improves Retention and Marketing

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Aubrey: Welcome to Mindful School Marketing Podcast. I’m Aubrey Burch. 

Tara: And I’m Tara Clays. Today we are gonna talk about something that sounds simple, but actually has a huge impact on both retention and enrollment, and that is parent feedback. 

Aubrey: I, I’m excited about this one, Tara, because I think a lot of schools are working really hard to attract new families, but they’re not really always doing, um, enough to understand what current families are feeling and, you know, where friction might be building or what parents are saying when they talk about the school to other people.

Tara: And that matters, right? For retention, but it also matters for how you market your school. [00:01:00] 

Aubrey: I’m so glad you mentioned that because it is, it’s about retention, but so much is about marketing as well. ‘Cause if we’re not asking questions or listening, as I like to say to parents and families we’re, we’re kind of guessing on a lot of different fronts, both for retention and marketing.

So really, schools right now, especially in. You know, market that we’re living in need a better system for listening. They need to know what kind of feedback to gather, uh, when a quick survey is enough and when to actually, they might actually need something much bigger than that. 

Tara: Yeah. So I’m excited to talk about this with you today because this is something that you work with schools on a lot about how to gather better parent feedback and use it to improve the family experience and how that’s gonna strengthen messaging and marketing for a school.

Aubrey: Yeah, because I think some, some people, you know, schools don’t think about it, but the best language for your marketing is often sitting right inside those parent comments or conference notes or surveys and conversations. You kind of just have to actually [00:02:00] gather it, organize it, and use it. 

Tara: Yeah.

Well, let’s dive in. Let, I’m gonna start, I wanna ask you why do you think schools might wanna pay more attention to parent feedback right now? 

Aubrey: Yeah, so right now it’s spring. And so I mean, whatever time of year you’re at, but right now with Spring, you’ve probably already kind of heard from parents. Um, and families who are not returning.

So you’re getting some information about attrition, like you’re, and so now as you’re looking forward into the summer, into the next school year, this is a time when you’re like, planning for next year, you kind of wanna understand why, you know, what are the key challenges? What are the, you know, opportunities before us?

Why did people decide to leave? Why are they staying right? Um, what are they happy about? What, what do they wish were different, you know. What, you know, a lot of different things. So this is a, a great time to be having this discussion. I would also say, you know, it, you know, that parent feedback piece, it is so key right now to people’s [00:03:00] to schools because it helps them think about like, okay, so if parents are saying this and we need to take note and maybe plan around, uh, what people are saying.

And I’m, I, I highly recommend schools pay attention to that right about now.

Tara: So what kind of feedback should schools be gathering right now? 

Aubrey: Yeah, so I like to say schools. So when we think about parents and, and gathering feedback and listening, really it is. An entire year approach, and it’s a multi-pronged approach. It’s not like just one and done like now is the time, so we’re just gonna hit this.

End of year survey, which is a lot of what a lot of schools do is they wait till like the last month of school when everything’s crazy and then they survey their parents and they take that data. Um, but really gathering feedback is an incredibly, you know, thoughtful process that, um, is multi-pronged. So it doesn’t always have to be survey.

So a lot of times when we’re working with schools, we’re looking at like their, their communications and their schools. [00:04:00] Flow of like what’s happening during the year. Um, we often encourage like new family surveys in the fall, a mid-year check-in survey because that’s when you’re gonna catch. Key issues before they potentially turn into attrition risks.

And then we talk about, okay, like what happens during the admissions process? Are you’re serving around that? Are you, um, making sure that you are, you know, during conferences and stuff like that, you’re gathering. Feedback from parents, and you’re listening to parents then, and then you’re collecting all that information and really using that in a meaningful way to help you make decisions about, uh, what’s currently happening in your school year and what you need to change, uh, potentially, um, what could impact your enrollment, um, and how you might use some of the data that you receive for marketing efforts.

So really it is a lot of different ways that you are gathering this, this parent feedback, and a lot of different ways, um, that you’re using it as well.

Tara: Okay, so that’s all great. But [00:05:00] now how do schools do it? Like can they do it themselves? Is it, I mean, they’re multi-pronged, so I assume some of the things they can do themselves and maybe some can’t talk a little bit about the process. 

Aubrey: Yeah, I think a lot of schools already have. All, all this data available to them right now.

Obviously you can hire someone you know who does you know something we do. But you can do it yourself. Like you can hire a third party to come in and conduct your surveys and stuff like this, but you can also do it yourself. So I, if you just look at your year and say, okay. So when do we want, when do we wanna gather data?

Why do we wanna gather this data, right? And then put together like, okay, so what are we gonna do with this data too? Right? Because a lot of schools might ask questions because they think they should ask them, but they don’t know what to do when people give, give them responses to them. So, um, it’s understanding like, what is your main goal?

How do, what do you wanna do with this data? What kind of data do you want and, and why? And then coming up with a plan around that. So then once you have that plan, it’s [00:06:00] figuring out, okay. So when are we going to, like, do we need to, you know, put together some surveys? Are we going to have some sort of conference, like report back forms so we can collect data that way so we can house it all in one place?

Figuring out what system works for your school because you know. Coming up with a complex system that nobody uses is not gonna benefit the school. Right. Um, so really it’s coming up with like, what is a system that works for our school and what is like the bare minimum, but we can stick with that will get us the data we need to make key decisions, um, now and in the future.

Tara: Excellent. I’m gonna go off, off topic, or not off topic, but a little bit off of what you and I talked about before this call. So we might end up editing this out everybody. We’ll see putting Aubrey on the spot. So is there a problem if a survey or questions are coming from the school or parents less likely to be honest in their answers?

And also part two of that [00:07:00] question is. And statement is that I almost never fill out the surveys when I get them. So any tips you can share on, you know, getting people to be honest and to answer the surveys, 

Aubrey: oh, I love this question so much. I love being put on the spot. Um, okay. So be honest and then actually fill them out.

Right. So, um, one I would say I think. Anonymity is key. A lot of schools don’t, they have, you know, a, a name tied with a survey. I think especially if a school school is sending a survey, that’s gonna automatically detract from the honesty factor because parents are, they have relationships with the staff members.

They’re not going to feel comfortable being honest in a survey at all if, if their name is associated. And I schools will swear that they will, but I’m like. Have you ever been a member of a school and been like, you know, I really wanna say something about, you know, what happened over here with this teacher, but I do not want my name associated with it.

So anonymity is, is [00:08:00] key I think, for a successful survey. Now, I’ve seen some schools where they’ll have a midyear check-in survey that maybe is. Not anonymous and then an end of year one that is, so you can play with that for sure. Um, but I do recommend that honesty piece right there. Um, and then let me see, did I answer that question fully?

Tara was there. 

Tara: Yeah, that was good. Yes. Thank you. 

Aubrey: Uh, okay. And then the second one was how do you get them to fill it out? Right? 

Tara: Yes. 

Aubrey: Okay. So I think this is, first I would look at your school community, and I think part of this is building in the expectation for how we. As a school, wanna hear from you? So from the very beginning, from back to school night to the, your summer communications, how are you telling your parents and, you know, school body, like, this is how we want to hear, we wanna hear from you.

The, these are the ways that we’re. That we would like to hear from you and that you can give us your feedback, right? If you’re not a survey person, you know, schedule a call. If you’re not, like, if, if you, um, wanna meet with a [00:09:00] certain administrator, here are the ways you can do that, right? Um, and here’s the way you can give feedback.

You can give it to your teacher. This way, you can give it to administrator this way, like really being open about your process. Also, if you have surveys going out during a certain time of year, you can say, okay, so. In October, we send our new families a survey. Here’s how we use that data. Here’s when we’re reporting back about it.

Reporting back is another thing I will get to in just a sec, and like then it’s like maybe December or January we have our mid-year check-in survey. Here’s what we do with that information and here’s when we report back, and then here’s our end of the year survey and here’s the purpose and goals, all these surveys, and here’s how we report back to you.

I think when people. Um, you build that into the expectation of like, this is, we wanna hear from you and these are the ways that we, and this is how we use your, the information you give us. People are more likely to participate. Also, I think building the trust and the building, the trust around that is really that feedback loop.

Because, I mean, one of the reasons I, I can’t tell you how much I can’t stand, like filling out a survey and then like. For [00:10:00] example, I, I complained to my gym. I don’t know if you’ve have this with gyms. Like there are a bunch of Instagram influencers at my gym and they have their cameras out filming everyone.

During their workout sessions, and I’m like sitting there. I’ve been in the background of, I can’t even tell you how many Instagram fitness videos. Who knows who these people are? And it, I’m like, I’m sweaty. I don’t want to be online. We just did like the deep fakes episode with, you know, Evan, and I’m like, I’m very mindful of all this.

And so I, I’m like, okay. So I, I sent a survey, fill out a survey. I’m like, I am unhappy with this. What is your gym policy regarding. You know, um, video videoing people without their permission and consent. Right. And, you know, nothing happened. Like, no one like responded back to me about that survey and I’m like, and I haven’t seen any changes in the gym.

Like, I’m like, well, I feel like that was a waste of my time. Right. So if you look at parent, if you look at, think about parents, if they’re filling out, taking the time to fill out that with like their heartfelt concerns of [00:11:00] like, this is impacting my child, this is impacting my family, and they don’t see any response by the administration, that they’ve read the survey and that there’s some key issues that they’ve.

Take a note in what they’re doing to improve them and then also following up when they’re actually doing the things, they’re less likely and invested to fill out that survey. But if you can train your community to about what to expect, and then yes, we value what you say then you’re gonna have more successful completion on your survey.

Tara: Awesome. That’s really helpful. I love the idea of starting out with your conversation at back to school night with, you know, here’s how you let us know how we’re doing. We really wanna hear. I think that’s really helpful. So let’s talk about how all of this information can be used for marketing. 

Aubrey: Oh yeah, for sure.

So, I mean, once again, like you have a built-in marketing base, right? So anytime you’re especially think about your new families, they’ve just gone through your process, like why did they select you, your current families, why are they staying? Like, these are key value proposition pieces and key [00:12:00] messaging that you can use for your own marketing.

So anytime you’re collecting this information, understanding that these are are data points for you, it’s a built-in audience. People have just. Selected your school. They are, they, they selected your school. They, they did amongst like the other schools in your area. They chose you. So why did they choose you?

And, and making sure that you’re, you’re mapping out those data points and benchmarking them year to year, um, so that you can, um, you know, work on your messaging and marketing around those points I think is really helpful. I mean, that’s just one of many ways that you can use these things for marketing. I would also say that.

Indirectly kind of this feedback from parents can help with marketing because the more your parent, current parent body, your, your families feel listened to, and re kind of have that collaborative relationship with you that they know you’re listening and they know that you’re understanding their concerns, the less likely they are to end up on one of those review sites.

Really angry. Not to say you won’t have. Some angry parents out [00:13:00] there, but like you’re, you’re, you’re more likely to have a po a a way for them to channel their feedback to you. ’cause you’ve outlined, these are the many ways that you can, can give us feedback, right? Um, and you can do so anonymously too, right?

Instead of going on, you know, niche or something like that. And. Unfortunately telling everyone else like why you’re upset with the school. So those are just a few of many, um, ways. I mean, you can use them for FAQs, especially the new parents. Like what do you wish you had known before you started school?

Well, you can make the new parent journey so much better and like make sure your FAQs are better on your website and stuff like that. There’s so many different ways you can use the information gathered to help you improve your marketing. 

Tara: I love that. Thank you. So. Uh, as we kind of look to wrap this up a little bit, I wanna kind of broaden, like come out and think more broadly.

So when a survey isn’t enough, when does a school need something bigger than that? 

Aubrey: So surveys and like your multi-pronged feedback approach within your [00:14:00] school is a great way for, you know, year to year, annually to, to check in with your families. However, if you are seeing tremendous attrition, especially in certain grades, if you are, um, having leadership transitions or challenges around leadership, um, maybe you are you know, considering an expansion to your school anything that’s like considered maybe.

A, a deeper challenge within the community or opportunity within the community. That might be a time when you step back and say, we need a little bit more and we probably need some third party help. Um, because you’re definitely gonna wanna do some interviews with key stakeholders. You’re definitely gonna wanna have a deep data dive so you truly can say.

Pointing at data, like these are the, this, this is, you know, the challenge and here’s what we are hearing and here’s why, and all sorts of stuff like that. So that is when you might wanna consider, you know, a little bit of a market research piece. 

Tara: Mm. Okay. And what are some of the biggest mistakes that schools make when it [00:15:00] comes to gathering feedback and doing surveys?

Yeah, I, I know you mentioned like, not anonymous. That’s a, that’s probably a big 

Aubrey: one. Not anonymous. Not anonymous. The, the feedback piece is key. I, I’m, I. I understand how busy school leaders are, but remembering that there’s a feedback loop, like you have to report back out about the survey. You don’t have to share everything.

Just share like three main points from the survey that you are addressing. Um, ’cause that builds the, you know, uh. That builds, um, that, that relationship with your community. Also, you know, going into a survey without having a plan of like, or goal, just like, oh, these are some nice questions to ask.

And then being like, oh, look at those answers. You know, is that like, why are you asking the questions? What’s, what’s your goal with the survey? And also then. Really looking at how, I mean, I know AI can analyze surveys. I will say it’s not always accurate, so be mindful of that. But, you know, analyzing your survey not only to deal with the data points, but looking at the comments and then making sure that you’re not weighing those [00:16:00] negative comments too much.

Um, because oftentimes as school administrators, we get hung up on like that one negative comment that some parent gave, but like. There were 50,000 positive ones, but that one negative one stays with us. So really being mindful about how you are kind of reviewing the data and, um. You know, making sure that you’re doing it in a way that is representative of all the data that you’re receiving.

So definitely those things. And then also just making sure you have an overall plan for your feedback. Like, just sit down this summer, map out a plan with your admin about like, this is how we gather feedback. This is how we communicate about how we gather feedback. This is how we want people, you know, this is what we’re gonna do with the feedback.

This is how, when we’re gonna meet about the feedback. Like from the survey, from the conferences and stuff like that. So you do have a plan because as busy school leaders, time flies and your plates are full and you, you probably in the heat of the, that month of like feedback, you know, [00:17:00] when you’re getting back your surveys and stuff like that, you, you’ll probably forget one of these things if they’re not scheduled and there isn’t a plan to go along with it.

Tara: Excellent point. These are all, this is all so interesting, and I don’t do the surveys myself, but I can definitely identify with focusing on the one negative. It’s like a human trait, not just a school administrative trait, I think. Well, let’s, let’s ask one more question before we run out of time, which is, once schools gather the feedback, what should they actually do with it?

Aubrey: That’s a great question. I think really it’s, it’s first of all, scheduling time to review it. Number one, schedule time to review it both individually, so whoever’s on your review team, right? And then, um, also it’s often helpful if one person on your team wrote the survey. Maybe they’re not in the review group.

Um, just like try to vary it up a bit. And then, um, making sure that. You schedule time as a group to review it and then sort your responses into strengths, like what are your challenges, [00:18:00] opportunities, what are urgent issues and longer term fixes. Because some things you know, and, and, and not trying to please everyone, like you have to know who your school is and who they aren’t.

If you’re a school that is like. Doesn’t have great athletic teams and they want you to build out and like don’t have the bandwidth to expand athletics and they want you to build out like one person asks for a volleyball team and you’re like, we don’t have any coaches. Like clearly that’s not something that you can give your community, right?

So being very mindful of who you are in the process of what you can realistically do and what you can’t do. And then, you know, I would say really looking at. You know, what, what is usable and what you can, can move on and, and making that list and maybe your top three of what you’re gonna report back on.

So AI can certainly help with this but definitely making sure that you are all on your administrative team of whoever’s your survey team survey, you know, is, is looking at not only the surveys, but then I would focus on like what you’re receiving from conferences, from [00:19:00] teachers and everything like that and making sure you’re bringing that into the conversation as well.

Tara: Super helpful. That’s really great information, Aubrey. Thanks for sharing all of that. I think people are gonna really be able to take this, especially at this time of year, and think about how they’re gonna approach the new year next year and getting off on the right foot, but also what they can be doing over the summertime too, with information that they have.

Aubrey: Yeah, I think this is great. I’m so excited for schools. Hopefully they found something actionable that they can take from this episode. Short, sweet, right. 

Tara: Exactly. Exactly. Thanks so much.