Teachers Attitudes Toward Promotions. A New Opportunity: Summer Marketing Programs

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1 Teachers Attitudes Toward Promotions A New Opportunity: Summer Marketing Programs

2 Teachers Attitudes Toward Promotions A New Opportunity: Summer Marketing Programs In the first two weeks of April 213, over 1, educators responded to surveys regarding their habits and attitudes toward s. These surveys were co-sponsored by MCH Strategic Data and School Market Research Institute, Inc. More than three quarters (76.7%) of the respondents said they have been teaching for 1 or more years. More than half (57.1%) of the survey respondents said they taught at the elementary level a percentage that is consistent with the distribution of teachers between elementary and secondary grades. No Man s Land of Federal Legislation These surveys were conducted in the midst of a changing education market place. Educators have been caught in a no man s land of federal legislation. No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the George W. Bush administration s name for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is generally regarded as a failure. Its stated goal, that all students shall be equally proficient in reading and math by the year 214, is universally considered by the education community as unattainable. The Obama administration has been unsuccessful in working with Congress to reauthorize the legislation. As a result, it has embarked on a policy of issuing waivers from the penalty provisions of NCLB for those states and school districts that can demonstrate a commitment and better way to achieve education reform. For the first time since the legislation was passed, school administrators have the opportunity to sidestep some of the more draconian aspects of the legislation in order to make progress in education reform. These measures are largely seen as giving state and district administrators a way to develop local solutions to improve education outcomes that are both more practical and generally less expensive than those legislated by NCLB MCH Strategic Data 2

3 A Computer in Every Classroom Technology has been growing in the PK-12 market over the last three decades. Virtually every survey respondent (98.1%) has a computer provided by the school in his/her primary classroom. More than three out of four respondents said they access s on their school-provided computers during school hours most of the time. Accessing During School Hours Do you use the computer in your primary classroom to access your s during school hours? 77.6% 6% 17.5% 3.% 1.9% Yes, most of the time Yes, some of the time Hardly ever Never Nine out of ten respondents (89.4%) said they have two addresses, one for school and another for personal use. Less than 6 percent (5.7%) said their school and personal addresses were the same. None said they only have a personal address. 6% Addresses Do you have one address for school and another for personal use? 89.4% 5.7% 4.9% Yes No, both are the same No, I only have a school address No, I only have a personal address MCH Strategic Data 3

4 When asked where they preferred to receive information regarding educational products, the overwhelming majority said their preference was to receive this information at school. The majority (7.9%) preferred to receive such information via compared to 38.7% who preferred direct mail. Where to Send Product Information Where do you prefer to receive information regarding education products? 7.9% 6% 38.7% 8.4% 6.7% at school at home Mail at school Mail at home Teachers Care About Their Jobs Teachers said they are most likely to open s when the topic of the related directly to their job (76.4%), consisted of a free offer (58.%), contained a special offer (37.5%) or an offer related to professional development (34%). Topics What types of s are you most likely to open? 6% 76.4% 58.% 37.5% 34.% 16.% 8.8% Topics that relate directly to my job Free offers Special offers Professional development offers Newsletters Beta test offers MCH Strategic Data 4

5 Conversely, teachers said they were most likely to ignore s when the topic was not related to their job (88.8%), was one of too many s from the same vendor (85.7%), was from an unknown vendor (85.3%) or was a newsletter (52.8%). Ignored s What types of s are you most likely to ignore? 88.8% 85.7% 85.3% 6% 52.8% Offers not related to my job Too many s from the same vendor from an unknown vendor Newsletters School s at Home Do you have access to your school inbox from home? 95.5% 6% Yes 4.5% No MCH Strategic Data 5

6 Teachers Stay Connected Through the Summer Virtually all respondents (95.5%) said they could access their school inbox from home. Three out of four respondents (77.1%) said they access their school during the summer. This is not surprising since any professional that doesn t keep up with is likely to return to school in the fall to find a full inbox. Not to mention that they may also miss timely communications from administrators and colleagues. Accessing in the Summer If you have access to your school inbox from home, do you access your school during the summer? 77.1% 6% Yes 22.9% No Eight out of ten respondents (78.9%) said they are more likely to open and read s about special offers at their school address as opposed to their home address (6.3%). Fifteen percent (14.8%) said they would do so at both addresses. Which Address to Use At which address are you most likely to open and read about special offers? 78.9% 6% 6.3% 14.8% School address Home address Both MCH Strategic Data 6

7 When asked what percentage of s offering educational materials do you open and read, one in three (35.1%) said they open and read 3% or more. Sixty-five percent of respondents said they open and read between 1% and of such s. Percentage of s Opened What percentage of s offering educational materials do you open and read? 6% 65.% 19.1% 11.7% 4.3% % More than 6% Business s are Read at Work Asked when they are most likely to read s in their school inbox responses were consistent for week days ranging from a high of 93.1% on Monday to a low of 85.7% on Friday. Weekends were considerably lower with 28.9% of respondents likely to read s in their school inbox on Saturdays and 38.7% on Sundays. Day of the Week What day of the week are you most likely to read s in your school inbox? 93.1% 87.% 88.1% 86.6% 85.7% 6% 28.9% 38.7% Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday MCH Strategic Data 7

8 Respondents said that the most popular times for reading s in their school inbox were before and after school. Fifty-eight percent (58.1%) said they read school s before 8 a.m. and 94% (94.4%) said they read school s after 2 p.m. Time of Day What time of day are you most likely to read s in your school inbox? 6% 58.1% 36.1% 27.% 29.4% 44.1% 5.3% Before 8: AM 8: AM - 1: AM 1: AM - 12: PM 12: PM - 2: PM 2: PM - 4: PM After 4: PM Surprisingly, slightly more respondents said that a special offer was not likely to motivate them to make a purchase (52.4%) compared to those who said it would (47.7%). A little more than 4 out of 1 respondents (41.4%) said they liked to hear from vendors about educational products during the summer compared to 6 out of 1 (58.6%) who said they did not. Desire for s in the Summer Do you like to hear from vendors about educational products during the summer? 6% 41.4% Yes 58.6% No MCH Strategic Data 8

9 Four in Ten Spend $5 or More The respondents were split as to whether they purchase or request educational materials for the upcoming school year with 51.2% saying yes, and 48.8% saying no. Purchases in the Summer Do you purchase/request educational materials for the upcoming school year during summer? 6% 51.2% 48.8% Yes No When purchasing educational products, most (82.4%) said they used personal funds followed by 61.5% saying they used the school budget funds. Type of Funds What type of funds do you use when you purchase educational products? 6% 82.4% 61.5% 16.2% 13.2% 9.1% Personal funds School budget PTA funding Grants Fundraising proceeds MCH Strategic Data 9

10 Four out of 1 respondents (4.3%) said they spent more than $5 on educational products. Total Spent In total, approximately how much do you spend on educational products? 6% 59.7% 26.7% 13.6% Under $5 $5 - $999 Over $1, Every Teacher Surveyed Made at Least One Purchase Every respondent to the survey said they clicked on a link to learn more about an educational product or service in the past school year. More than one-third (35.9%) said they did so 1 or more times. Number of Links Clicked How often in the past school year have you clicked on a link to learn more about an educational product or service 6% 64.2% 2.1% 15.8% 1-1 times 1-2 times More than 2 times MCH Strategic Data 1

11 Every respondent said that clicking on that link resulted in a purchase one or more times, regardless of who funded the purchase. Number of Conversions How many of those times have resulted in purchases, regardless of whether they were funded by the school or yourself? 96.5% 6% 2.8%.8% 1-1 times 1-2 times More than 2 times Three quarters of the respondents perceived that they received way too many s offering educational materials and services, an indication of the highly competitive nature of this medium. is no longer a novelty in education. It s serious business practiced by numerous participants. Three out of four teachers are saying that there are too many companies vying for their attention. Number of s What is your perception of the number of s your receive offering educational materials and services? 73.6% 6% Way too many 2.5% The right amount 2.4% 3.5% Not as many as I would like to receive I rarely receive these s MCH Strategic Data 11

12 Getting Better Results from This is an evolving form of marketing. The odds that you will discover the next breakthrough in marketing are low. You are better served to follow the best practices of the medium as shared by those with considerable experience. You can improve your emarketing results by following best practices. These include such basics as making sure you use a tantalizing subject line and always using a supporting landing page. You can find a complete list of best practices on the MCH Strategic Data website () or by searching the web with the query emarketing best practices. Give Teachers the Content They Want Our survey clearly showed that you will benefit if you can develop content with which teachers can identify. Teachers told us the number one thing they look for in s is information about their jobs. They seek relevant information first and special offers second. This includes information such as how to be a better teacher, how to motivate students, how to impress administrators, and how to involve parents. However, it s still important to compete for teachers business by employing proven marketing techniques such as a powerful offer and promoting a new or popular product or service. Merchandising strategies such as discounted pricing with expiration dates can be very effective. Solid service features such as easy ordering, fast turnaround, reasonable shipping terms, and warranties and guarantees continue to have a positive influence on teacher purchasing decisions. Remember that online companies like amazon.com set the expectations for teachers. When they go to your website to order they expect to be treated the same way they are on amazon.com good value, fast service, and low or no risk purchasing. In the early days of emarketing to educators you could be successful using a shotgun approach to list selection. That is no longer the case. To succeed now you need to target your audience. Better targeting includes reaching recent customers, prospecting to educators in affluent schools, and including teachers not new to teaching, but relatively new to their positions. For More Information For more information, please contact Bob Stimolo, President, School Market Research Institute, Inc., , ext. 25, rstimolo@smriinc.com, or Lynn Schear, MCH Sales Director, , lynns@mchdata.com, MCH Strategic Data 12