A Marketing Tip That Costs Nothing

I was in the public school system for k-12 and even college, but I have to say one thing I have noticed during our focus groups: students and staff at private Catholic high schools are nice and helpful.

When we went to do one focus group two weeks back, the janitor in the hallway greeted us with a warm, "Hello. Welcome to our school." At our focus group today (which involved 3 hours of driving time, hence my short post), one of the students asked if he could help my coworker and I unbox our items and set up.

I don't know what you're teaching at those schools -- maybe something with that 10 Commandments thing I've heard tell about -- but it's working.

It also got me thinking about what students tell us loud and clear during this year's round of focus groups: the school visit is the most important factor in the college decision process.

So if these high school students went on a higher ed campus where people were smiling, said "Hello", and offered to help them find their ways if they were lost, I'm sure they'd have as great of an impression of that college as I have about a lot of the Catholic high schools in our area of the state.

Remember: effective marketing doesn't have to cost loads of $$$; it can be as simple as a smile and a handshake.