Most effective ways to market field trips to teachers?
February 9, 2016 9:15 AM Subscribe
I need help getting people to sign up for my programs, and I've hit a roadblock. I develop and deliver field trips to school groups, in theory it’s great. In practice, nobody is signing up for field trips and my job is on the line. I am good at developing and delivering programs, but I am a novice at marketing. What are your favorite resources to teach me how to market towards and/or interact with classroom teachers?
I am really nervous about asking this question, because I feel like essentially I am asking other people to do my job for me. There is little on-the job training for me in marketing, no possibility for professional development unless it is free or I am willing to pay out-of-pocket. I don’t have any coworkers, so I’m at a loss as to who would be the best person to bounce ideas off of. If you have any ideas about a more professional way to address these issues, I'd love to hear that, too.
Thank you so much for your help.
Background:
I was hired last Spring to deliver already-established programs for a non-profit. I did that, and also streamlined their field trip registration process. Someone else coordinated initial contact with teachers, and I just followed through. I eventually became the point person for all the teachers contacting the organization about Field Trips.
This spring, it’s all on me and I am screwing up big time.
The acting president of our board told me in a performance review that if I don’t get Field Trip enrollment it up to Historic Levels, I will be laid off in the fall. It also doesn’t help that in the same review, I was evaluated as being “Uncooperative” and “expressing emotions in a negative way”. [See: This previous question about caring for an educational animal.]
In the past (A decade ago? 15 years ago?), Organization has booked 2 field trips a day, 5 days a week, season total 30 -50 groups. Last Spring, we booked 6 groups. So far for this spring, I have booked 1. ONE. There are no records from 1995 – 2015 about marketing strategies, marketing suggestions, or even what schools booked when. It is worth noting that within the last 15-ish years, our field has gone from “So wonderful and novel! Anyone can do it!” to a field where there are standards, guidelines, and expectations…and Organization does not recognize that.
Regardless of how I feel about Organization, I have got to up my marketing game. It doesn’t really matter how I feel about it, I need to be better about doing my goddamn job. My experiences in marketing is limited to posting events on Facebook and putting up flyers in coffee shops. My current teacher-contacting strategy of emailing schools and teachers hasn’t worked out. I sent an email in the fall and another in December. Three people were interested, but none of them panned out.
My board tells me that I should just “Sit down and talk with the teachers! Call them on the phone!” To me this sounds really antiquated and unlikely to be successful. Since when do teachers have any time to meet with people? They’re so busy. It seems like the marketing equivalent of “Just stop in and hand them your resume, you’ll get a job!” and likely to waste everyone’s time. I also do not trust the board entirely, as they were under the assumption that it was completely professional to do the majority of field trip booking correspondence by snail mail postcards in 2015.
Foreground:
Email marketing doesn’t work for us. (Or it doesn’t when you only do it twice…) What are some resources about other methods for getting teachers interested in programs? Just send more email? Are in-person visits really the best way to connect positively with already phenomenally busy people?
Things that I am likely to try: Telling my ego to simmer down. Reading books, reading online articles, posting in teacher-frequented online/physical spaces... anything free. Meeting with teachers in person, too, if that's appropriate.
Things I am unlikely to try: Expensive marketing plans, hiring someone to help me, etc. Things that cost Money.
I am really nervous about asking this question, because I feel like essentially I am asking other people to do my job for me. There is little on-the job training for me in marketing, no possibility for professional development unless it is free or I am willing to pay out-of-pocket. I don’t have any coworkers, so I’m at a loss as to who would be the best person to bounce ideas off of. If you have any ideas about a more professional way to address these issues, I'd love to hear that, too.
Thank you so much for your help.
Background:
I was hired last Spring to deliver already-established programs for a non-profit. I did that, and also streamlined their field trip registration process. Someone else coordinated initial contact with teachers, and I just followed through. I eventually became the point person for all the teachers contacting the organization about Field Trips.
This spring, it’s all on me and I am screwing up big time.
The acting president of our board told me in a performance review that if I don’t get Field Trip enrollment it up to Historic Levels, I will be laid off in the fall. It also doesn’t help that in the same review, I was evaluated as being “Uncooperative” and “expressing emotions in a negative way”. [See: This previous question about caring for an educational animal.]
In the past (A decade ago? 15 years ago?), Organization has booked 2 field trips a day, 5 days a week, season total 30 -50 groups. Last Spring, we booked 6 groups. So far for this spring, I have booked 1. ONE. There are no records from 1995 – 2015 about marketing strategies, marketing suggestions, or even what schools booked when. It is worth noting that within the last 15-ish years, our field has gone from “So wonderful and novel! Anyone can do it!” to a field where there are standards, guidelines, and expectations…and Organization does not recognize that.
Regardless of how I feel about Organization, I have got to up my marketing game. It doesn’t really matter how I feel about it, I need to be better about doing my goddamn job. My experiences in marketing is limited to posting events on Facebook and putting up flyers in coffee shops. My current teacher-contacting strategy of emailing schools and teachers hasn’t worked out. I sent an email in the fall and another in December. Three people were interested, but none of them panned out.
My board tells me that I should just “Sit down and talk with the teachers! Call them on the phone!” To me this sounds really antiquated and unlikely to be successful. Since when do teachers have any time to meet with people? They’re so busy. It seems like the marketing equivalent of “Just stop in and hand them your resume, you’ll get a job!” and likely to waste everyone’s time. I also do not trust the board entirely, as they were under the assumption that it was completely professional to do the majority of field trip booking correspondence by snail mail postcards in 2015.
Foreground:
Email marketing doesn’t work for us. (Or it doesn’t when you only do it twice…) What are some resources about other methods for getting teachers interested in programs? Just send more email? Are in-person visits really the best way to connect positively with already phenomenally busy people?
Things that I am likely to try: Telling my ego to simmer down. Reading books, reading online articles, posting in teacher-frequented online/physical spaces... anything free. Meeting with teachers in person, too, if that's appropriate.
Things I am unlikely to try: Expensive marketing plans, hiring someone to help me, etc. Things that cost Money.
Best answer: Who is your target audience? Is it elementary schools or high schools? In either case start making calls and making appointments. Perhaps you can start by bringing an animal to a class and giving a little talk about it. Then you can ramp up from there.
Teachers ALWAYS have time to talk to people who bring value. You need to understand the value your center provides and to express that succinctly. That said, don't call teachers, call administrators. Describe what you offer and ask them to whom you should talk about setting up field trips.
Don't assume automatically that people don't want what you have to sell. This is not true, and you're defeating yourself before you even start.
Don't get discouraged by lots of rejection. It happens. It might be budgetary, it might be a new policy. Keep good records of your contacts, and ask when you can call them again. If it IS budgetary, discuss that with your manager and show her the information you've gathered.
Figure out the ratio of contacts to visits. Then resolve to make that number of contacts until you're back up to the levels you need to be at. If you run out of contacts, you can circle back around to people who were on the fence.
Also, find out if the programs you offer are relevant. Things change, and with budget cutbacks and emphasis on testing it may be that what you used to offer isn't needed by the schools anymore. Ask a few questions about that.
Be friendly, be helpful and be curious. You're not trying to cram something down someone's throat, you're offering a neat educational experience. Make every contact an opportunity to learn something.
Good luck!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:26 AM on February 9, 2016 [4 favorites]
Teachers ALWAYS have time to talk to people who bring value. You need to understand the value your center provides and to express that succinctly. That said, don't call teachers, call administrators. Describe what you offer and ask them to whom you should talk about setting up field trips.
Don't assume automatically that people don't want what you have to sell. This is not true, and you're defeating yourself before you even start.
Don't get discouraged by lots of rejection. It happens. It might be budgetary, it might be a new policy. Keep good records of your contacts, and ask when you can call them again. If it IS budgetary, discuss that with your manager and show her the information you've gathered.
Figure out the ratio of contacts to visits. Then resolve to make that number of contacts until you're back up to the levels you need to be at. If you run out of contacts, you can circle back around to people who were on the fence.
Also, find out if the programs you offer are relevant. Things change, and with budget cutbacks and emphasis on testing it may be that what you used to offer isn't needed by the schools anymore. Ask a few questions about that.
Be friendly, be helpful and be curious. You're not trying to cram something down someone's throat, you're offering a neat educational experience. Make every contact an opportunity to learn something.
Good luck!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:26 AM on February 9, 2016 [4 favorites]
Is there really no way to contact the person who had this job before you to at least get a list of who booked trips in the past? It seems like contacting teachers who booked and enjoyed trips in the past would be your best bet. Aside from that, I do think phone calls are likely to be more successful than emails. Even if teachers don't have time for an in-person meeting, they could still do a brief phone call, and it's a heck of a lot more likely to actually get their attention than an email. I agree with what was said above about being really clear about the value your program will have to schools and students, and being able to present that in a time efficient manner that doesn't feel overly "sales pitch-y".
posted by rainbowbrite at 9:36 AM on February 9, 2016
posted by rainbowbrite at 9:36 AM on February 9, 2016
Contact your local Girl Scout council (BSA, too, though I'm not familiar with their structure) and ask to speak with their program director. Let them know about your organization. Depending on what your org does (and the cost, of course), troops would be all over that (oh man, especially if you offer a fun patch), and would bring a supplemental booking stream in on top of school trips.
Contact churches with vacation bible school/youth day camp programs as well, if you accept field trip groups over the summer.
At the schools, you need to speak with someone in an admin/director capacity (as a bonus, these people are much more likely to have their direct contact info listed on the school website) who would be able to make the call on budget better than the individual teachers would.
posted by phunniemee at 9:37 AM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
Contact churches with vacation bible school/youth day camp programs as well, if you accept field trip groups over the summer.
At the schools, you need to speak with someone in an admin/director capacity (as a bonus, these people are much more likely to have their direct contact info listed on the school website) who would be able to make the call on budget better than the individual teachers would.
posted by phunniemee at 9:37 AM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
Talking to people is still the number one marketing technique, period.
You may not even know who you should be talking to at first. But part of the beauty of the method is that by talking to people, you will soon figure it out--in part by **asking** your initial contacts who is the right person to talk to about this.
posted by flug at 9:39 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
You may not even know who you should be talking to at first. But part of the beauty of the method is that by talking to people, you will soon figure it out--in part by **asking** your initial contacts who is the right person to talk to about this.
posted by flug at 9:39 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Another thought: make sure your organization comes up in searches when you google things like "field trips [your city]."
posted by phunniemee at 9:39 AM on February 9, 2016
posted by phunniemee at 9:39 AM on February 9, 2016
Does your community have some sort of monthly family publication? My community has the WNY Family Magazine. Another idea would be to contact any home schooling groups in your area.
posted by LightMayo at 9:44 AM on February 9, 2016
posted by LightMayo at 9:44 AM on February 9, 2016
Also, if you're going to do email, then yeah, sending two emails per year is the closest thing to absolutely worthless.
Maybe make a simple, short monthly e-newsletter and send it to everybody who have previously signed up for your program. At the top, one line "We are now taking applications for our field trip program for April through May! Find out more or sign up here: XXX.com/signup". Followed by one or two short bits of news, information, photos, etc that your audience will find interesting, useful, or informative.
Email the people/teachers/school that signed up for your program last year, in good enough lead time for them to sign up again this year at the same time of year, with an invitation to sign up. Then follow up with a phone call. Leave a message if they don't answer--include the info they need to sign up for the field trip within the phone message. Then follow that up with another email ("I just called and talked/left a message, here is the info you need to sign up, that I mentioned in the message"), then another reminder email a week or two later, repeat same process, etc. Your list of previous participating teachers/schools is BY FAR your most valuable marketing asset, but you have to use it by contacting those people. Keep in mind that if they participated before, they WANT to participate again but people are busy, forget about it, can't find the info they need to sign up just when they want, etc. You're job is to make it CONVENIENT for them to sign up when they want to/are ready to.
I guarantee, that one email you sent about your program back in November is on ZERO people's minds right now, even if you sent it to 400,000 people. (And you probably sent it to more like 40--or 400 at best--I'll wager). Most responses to email come immediately, within a day, and a few more trickle in up to 3-5 days later. That is the entire duration of their lifespan. Don't expect any more of it.
posted by flug at 9:48 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Maybe make a simple, short monthly e-newsletter and send it to everybody who have previously signed up for your program. At the top, one line "We are now taking applications for our field trip program for April through May! Find out more or sign up here: XXX.com/signup". Followed by one or two short bits of news, information, photos, etc that your audience will find interesting, useful, or informative.
Email the people/teachers/school that signed up for your program last year, in good enough lead time for them to sign up again this year at the same time of year, with an invitation to sign up. Then follow up with a phone call. Leave a message if they don't answer--include the info they need to sign up for the field trip within the phone message. Then follow that up with another email ("I just called and talked/left a message, here is the info you need to sign up, that I mentioned in the message"), then another reminder email a week or two later, repeat same process, etc. Your list of previous participating teachers/schools is BY FAR your most valuable marketing asset, but you have to use it by contacting those people. Keep in mind that if they participated before, they WANT to participate again but people are busy, forget about it, can't find the info they need to sign up just when they want, etc. You're job is to make it CONVENIENT for them to sign up when they want to/are ready to.
I guarantee, that one email you sent about your program back in November is on ZERO people's minds right now, even if you sent it to 400,000 people. (And you probably sent it to more like 40--or 400 at best--I'll wager). Most responses to email come immediately, within a day, and a few more trickle in up to 3-5 days later. That is the entire duration of their lifespan. Don't expect any more of it.
posted by flug at 9:48 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Teachers might not want you to call them individually, but surely the place the start would be a call to the principal's office at every nearby school. Have a quick pitch for whoever answers the phone and then ask them to direct you to whoever would set up field trips for children at their school.
posted by MsMolly at 9:50 AM on February 9, 2016
posted by MsMolly at 9:50 AM on February 9, 2016
Are there organisations that also do similar work with field trips that you can talk to? Because I will n'th that in my province Field trips have gone from each class going two times a year to once every four years in the past twenty years. Because of liability and expense the preferred route is to deliver the programmes in-person in the gym. Evidence from other organisations (especially if they can say how many organistions have quietly folded up due to lack of bookings) may be persuasive _ or at least validate you.
As to contacting teachers, again in my province you better have a direct connection to the curriculum, including something that can evaluate whether the students learned anything and a pretty high ROI to even be considered. "Come see bunnies and trees" is NOT something they would even sniff at. I think your organisation sounds like it has poor management with unrealistic and rigid expectations. Because "get us up to historical levels from 10 years ago" but not providing you an environmental scan, tools, or professional help is bullshit.
posted by saucysault at 9:55 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
As to contacting teachers, again in my province you better have a direct connection to the curriculum, including something that can evaluate whether the students learned anything and a pretty high ROI to even be considered. "Come see bunnies and trees" is NOT something they would even sniff at. I think your organisation sounds like it has poor management with unrealistic and rigid expectations. Because "get us up to historical levels from 10 years ago" but not providing you an environmental scan, tools, or professional help is bullshit.
posted by saucysault at 9:55 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
At my elementary, the budget for field trips is pretty much zero so the PTA funds the trips. I'm not sure what your Org charges for admission, and it might be zero, but it doesn't mean the trip is free to the school. Busses cost money, etc.
It might be helpful to gather up a list of PTA presidents and contact them directly and they can promote it through to the teachers if it looks interesting. Some districts have a coordinator that can reach all PTAs simultaneously.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:56 AM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
It might be helpful to gather up a list of PTA presidents and contact them directly and they can promote it through to the teachers if it looks interesting. Some districts have a coordinator that can reach all PTAs simultaneously.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:56 AM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I'm assuming you're in the US, which means the teachers you're marketing to are all beholden to both state and federal curriculum standards when planning lessons for their students. Making sure students are taught all of these standards is a huge PITA and as a result, things like field trips are now luxuries few educators can afford to take, both financially and curricular-y. If I were you, I'd start looking for ways to link the field trip packages you offer to Common Core and state standards for each of the grade levels the field trips would be for. Showcase these trips as end-of-unit experiences, summative assessments that teachers and their students can partake in to finalize their understanding of a particular standard (or standards) so that teachers can sell the value of the field trip to their 2 primary stakeholders: administrators and parents. Bonus points if your trips could incorporate bonafide art lessons and a little bit of phys-ed -- those subjects are frequently the victims of budget cuts in a lot of schools and being able to do a lot of cross-curriculum instruction during a field trip just adds all sorts of extra happy points for teachers too time-strapped to bring those subjects back into their classrooms during regular teaching hours.
So, what does this mean from an email marketing stand point? It means you should probably be sending out bi-monthly email digests showcasing the trip packages you have available and promoting which trips would help which grades meet which standards. Since it sounds like you might have a print budget, don't just put up signs in coffee shops. Go directly to district offices and ask permission to send out flyers to every school. You could also have a booth at local and regional educator conferences, and take out advertising on TeachersPayTeachers and other teacher-centric websites that attract educators dedicated to improving their curriculum using outside materials. Hell, you could even start getting in touch with the PTA presidents at all the local schools and asking if you could give a presentation in person or share materials with the congregation to drum up interest among the parents. If parents feel like something would be valuable for their kids, and they can afford to, they'll champion it to the teachers and principals.
This has totally got my mind churning so I may be back with more ideas but for now hopefully what I've written above is good food for thought. Please feel free to memail me if you want to chat strategy -- I'll be keeping your initiative in my thoughts and wishing you lots of success so your boss has no reason to let you go come fall. :)
posted by Hermione Granger at 10:36 AM on February 9, 2016 [5 favorites]
So, what does this mean from an email marketing stand point? It means you should probably be sending out bi-monthly email digests showcasing the trip packages you have available and promoting which trips would help which grades meet which standards. Since it sounds like you might have a print budget, don't just put up signs in coffee shops. Go directly to district offices and ask permission to send out flyers to every school. You could also have a booth at local and regional educator conferences, and take out advertising on TeachersPayTeachers and other teacher-centric websites that attract educators dedicated to improving their curriculum using outside materials. Hell, you could even start getting in touch with the PTA presidents at all the local schools and asking if you could give a presentation in person or share materials with the congregation to drum up interest among the parents. If parents feel like something would be valuable for their kids, and they can afford to, they'll champion it to the teachers and principals.
This has totally got my mind churning so I may be back with more ideas but for now hopefully what I've written above is good food for thought. Please feel free to memail me if you want to chat strategy -- I'll be keeping your initiative in my thoughts and wishing you lots of success so your boss has no reason to let you go come fall. :)
posted by Hermione Granger at 10:36 AM on February 9, 2016 [5 favorites]
Some magic words for getting teachers/administrators to even consider spending their precious and squeezed financial and time budgets on your field trip: "meets curriculum standards." (on preview, this is exactly what Hermione Granger writes in the first paragraph).
posted by nonane at 10:40 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by nonane at 10:40 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
And think about less traditional schools too. Are there any Montessoris in your region? Or other schools more like that? They tend to emphasize those hands on moments as a selling point, plus they're dealing with different budgets. Same with private schools and home school groups. Others talked about church groups and summer camps and that seems like another good option.
posted by GilvearSt at 10:45 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by GilvearSt at 10:45 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
I did something similar a few years ago, selling basketball team coaching to schools. It had to meet very stringent requirements. I did phone banking to places that had previously used the program and also to schools where reached out to the title, aiming to get person's name and close the sale after that.
It typically takes 10 calls to close a deal. I recommend that you call upwards of 100 people per day, calling everyday the same list trying to get through to a person who can make the decision. It may not always be a teacher, often it was an administrator with a budget who backed the trip and assembled the paperwork. Don't worry about wasting teachers' time. The reason only one booked is because no one is calling. But for the organisation not to have any historical records is a travesty.
If your predecessor is alive, seeking mentoring will be valuable. However, you may be the first person to realise the hurdles of modern day administration to the sales process.
You should consider seeking an outside sales professional with educational sales experience to market the product. There are field trip clearinghouses which take a cut of each package but typically are willing to front some cash for tour development if you put a program together. Find a partner with an excellent out-bound calling philosophy.
posted by parmanparman at 10:55 AM on February 9, 2016
It typically takes 10 calls to close a deal. I recommend that you call upwards of 100 people per day, calling everyday the same list trying to get through to a person who can make the decision. It may not always be a teacher, often it was an administrator with a budget who backed the trip and assembled the paperwork. Don't worry about wasting teachers' time. The reason only one booked is because no one is calling. But for the organisation not to have any historical records is a travesty.
If your predecessor is alive, seeking mentoring will be valuable. However, you may be the first person to realise the hurdles of modern day administration to the sales process.
You should consider seeking an outside sales professional with educational sales experience to market the product. There are field trip clearinghouses which take a cut of each package but typically are willing to front some cash for tour development if you put a program together. Find a partner with an excellent out-bound calling philosophy.
posted by parmanparman at 10:55 AM on February 9, 2016
In addition to budgetary reasons there are safety considerations; some school districts have NO field trips even in relatively well-funded districts in well-funded states.
Not that it would save your job if there are not any clients, but consider surveying past clients to see if they even do field trips anymore? It would be useful to know that say of the 50 groups from previous seasons, 80% no longer do field trips. This segues into why you need different offerings that you can take to the schools or bring families in to your location outside of the school districts and up the marketing focus to the say 20% of schools that still do field trips. (Even if there are no records of who came to the programs, there ARE records of who paid for them so look for that information in your financial office, contact who paid, ask them who can tell you about whether field trips are still happening and who runs them, contact them.)
Can you take your program TO the schools? For assemblies or for after-school classes?
Depending on the economic realities of your local audience, consider offering after school and summer camps directly to families. Programs for this summer can fill up by the end of February - yes, this month - around here so offerings such as Camp Invention (national program) has been marketing since Halloween - check out their website. Full-time programs that fill in for working families are popular.
posted by RoadScholar at 11:05 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Not that it would save your job if there are not any clients, but consider surveying past clients to see if they even do field trips anymore? It would be useful to know that say of the 50 groups from previous seasons, 80% no longer do field trips. This segues into why you need different offerings that you can take to the schools or bring families in to your location outside of the school districts and up the marketing focus to the say 20% of schools that still do field trips. (Even if there are no records of who came to the programs, there ARE records of who paid for them so look for that information in your financial office, contact who paid, ask them who can tell you about whether field trips are still happening and who runs them, contact them.)
Can you take your program TO the schools? For assemblies or for after-school classes?
Depending on the economic realities of your local audience, consider offering after school and summer camps directly to families. Programs for this summer can fill up by the end of February - yes, this month - around here so offerings such as Camp Invention (national program) has been marketing since Halloween - check out their website. Full-time programs that fill in for working families are popular.
posted by RoadScholar at 11:05 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'm a former teacher. In recent years, my district highly discouraged teachers from doing field trips and encouraged assemblies instead.
I recommend that you look for ways to provide professional development opportunities to teachers on-site. Teachers need PD hours, and it will put you on the map and get your foot in the door. This could mean partnering with a PD provider.
Next, I would make sure you describe how your field trip activities are aligned to the common core standards as clearly as possible in your promotional materials if you aren't doing so already.
Finally, a lot of the extracurricular stuff in my district was underwritten by the town's "education foundation." They were a non-profit and worked closely with teachers, and teachers would apply for grants from them. Those are good people to reach out to. Come to think of it, do you have a sample grant proposal for interested teachers?
posted by alphanerd at 11:10 AM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
I recommend that you look for ways to provide professional development opportunities to teachers on-site. Teachers need PD hours, and it will put you on the map and get your foot in the door. This could mean partnering with a PD provider.
Next, I would make sure you describe how your field trip activities are aligned to the common core standards as clearly as possible in your promotional materials if you aren't doing so already.
Finally, a lot of the extracurricular stuff in my district was underwritten by the town's "education foundation." They were a non-profit and worked closely with teachers, and teachers would apply for grants from them. Those are good people to reach out to. Come to think of it, do you have a sample grant proposal for interested teachers?
posted by alphanerd at 11:10 AM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
Our elementary school does a fairly high number of field trips-- several a year for each class. They range from "walk down the block to the library," "ride the school bus to the high school planetarium," to "charter bus for 4 hour trip across the state." We are a Title 1 school, so not at all "wealthy."
- Big field trips are specifically tied to learning objectives ("Standards of Learning" in our state). Each kid goes out into the field with a literal checklist that looks like "[ ] I will be able to explain how bees make honey from flowers. [ ] I will be able to explain how bees navigate to return to their hive. [ ] I will be able to explain the importance of pollinators in the natural landscape." (or, you know, whatever- - the point is that they are exactly mapped to state standards.) You should know if your field trips meet these requirements, I assume, and if they do not, well, check in with some teachers I guess, but I'd say start there!
- Big field trips are subsidized by the PTA, and the PTA is a big agitator for quality field trips, often raising lots of money to help them happen. Definitely send emails to your area's PTA presidents. (That's what all your competitors are already doing.)
Can you offer enrichment programs/camps? In our area, single-day camps that happen during teacher workdays are basically like printing your own money. Summer camps are already booked up for next summer. If "field trips" are a thing of the past, meet your market where they are.
posted by instamatic at 11:29 AM on February 9, 2016
- Big field trips are specifically tied to learning objectives ("Standards of Learning" in our state). Each kid goes out into the field with a literal checklist that looks like "[ ] I will be able to explain how bees make honey from flowers. [ ] I will be able to explain how bees navigate to return to their hive. [ ] I will be able to explain the importance of pollinators in the natural landscape." (or, you know, whatever- - the point is that they are exactly mapped to state standards.) You should know if your field trips meet these requirements, I assume, and if they do not, well, check in with some teachers I guess, but I'd say start there!
- Big field trips are subsidized by the PTA, and the PTA is a big agitator for quality field trips, often raising lots of money to help them happen. Definitely send emails to your area's PTA presidents. (That's what all your competitors are already doing.)
Can you offer enrichment programs/camps? In our area, single-day camps that happen during teacher workdays are basically like printing your own money. Summer camps are already booked up for next summer. If "field trips" are a thing of the past, meet your market where they are.
posted by instamatic at 11:29 AM on February 9, 2016
Best answer: People have done a great job highlighting the challenges teachers face when trying to plan a field trip (funding transportation, getting approval, developing high quality standards-aligned lesson plans, etc.). Some other thoughts, some of which assume you have some budget to work with:
1) I'd start by contacting the local districts and asking them about their field trip regulations. This will take a lot of time and you'll get passed around a lot, but will be worth it. Once you know what paperwork teachers have to file, you can start working out how to make this as easy as possible for them such as creating a one-sheet per field trip option that provides answers to standard fields.
2) Check out the local districts' strategic plan. This will be on their website. Find ways your field trips support the initiatives that these schools, their admin, and teachers are being held accountable for delivering on (which is ON TOP of all of those test score benchmarks) and write this up for each district. Use this language in your marketing.
3) Throw a couple teacher happy hour/open house events (do one late afternoon and one of the weekend). They need to be free (most teachers are poor), and food is a good idea if at all possible, even if it's just nibbles (teachers often don't have time to eat). Have a couple sample opt-in educational activities for them to show the calibre of your programs. Field trips are pain to plan so if I'm going to arrange a sub, write the sub plans, deal with the mountains of paperwork, permission slip drama, and secure the funding to take some kids out, I want to make sure it's going to be for a really great, high quality trip.
Assemble some marketing packets (field trip options sell sheet, sample lesson materials that demonstrate standards alignment and rigor) and contact/interest cards (you can follow up with digital, but I find even today, pen/paper contact/interest cards are really effective for in-person engagements).
4) Create concurrent print and social media marketing plans. Think about ways to encourage educators to engage with you on the social media accounts. Hold contests (free passes are great!), ask questions, see what happens.
I used to do ed programs at a cultural institution and I know how hard this is; I too was dealing with a board who had no idea and it sucked. Most of our field trip business came from private schools because public schools have so much red tape and absolutely no money. Good luck!
/former high school teacher, current ed programs person
posted by smirkette at 12:52 PM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
1) I'd start by contacting the local districts and asking them about their field trip regulations. This will take a lot of time and you'll get passed around a lot, but will be worth it. Once you know what paperwork teachers have to file, you can start working out how to make this as easy as possible for them such as creating a one-sheet per field trip option that provides answers to standard fields.
2) Check out the local districts' strategic plan. This will be on their website. Find ways your field trips support the initiatives that these schools, their admin, and teachers are being held accountable for delivering on (which is ON TOP of all of those test score benchmarks) and write this up for each district. Use this language in your marketing.
3) Throw a couple teacher happy hour/open house events (do one late afternoon and one of the weekend). They need to be free (most teachers are poor), and food is a good idea if at all possible, even if it's just nibbles (teachers often don't have time to eat). Have a couple sample opt-in educational activities for them to show the calibre of your programs. Field trips are pain to plan so if I'm going to arrange a sub, write the sub plans, deal with the mountains of paperwork, permission slip drama, and secure the funding to take some kids out, I want to make sure it's going to be for a really great, high quality trip.
Assemble some marketing packets (field trip options sell sheet, sample lesson materials that demonstrate standards alignment and rigor) and contact/interest cards (you can follow up with digital, but I find even today, pen/paper contact/interest cards are really effective for in-person engagements).
4) Create concurrent print and social media marketing plans. Think about ways to encourage educators to engage with you on the social media accounts. Hold contests (free passes are great!), ask questions, see what happens.
I used to do ed programs at a cultural institution and I know how hard this is; I too was dealing with a board who had no idea and it sucked. Most of our field trip business came from private schools because public schools have so much red tape and absolutely no money. Good luck!
/former high school teacher, current ed programs person
posted by smirkette at 12:52 PM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
I work at a parochial school that basically doesn't permit field trips anymore (partly because of lack of funds and partly because of fear of litigation and/or students' misbehavior); however, my friends who have gone on to work in fancy private schools post about taking class trips to Europe ALL THE TIME. So, I would suggest reaching out to fancy private schools. It's hard to say more without knowing the age group or type of trip you're promoting, but I would contact administrators and also use school websites to track down department chairs (if you're targeting high school level). I am a department chair and I get emails all the time. I don't completely ignore them! In fact, a marketing email is what attracted me to the vocabulary program we now use for all of the students at my school. Just yesterday I got an email from a test prep company that I am going to look into. If I could do field trips, I would take those emails into consideration for sure.
I far prefer emails over phone calls. As a teacher, I get one 40 minute prep period a day, and shady marketing phone messages really irk me. I often can't tell whether it's a parent or not, and then I waste precious minutes talking to some marketing person. Grrrr. Respect teachers' time and be up front about what you're promoting, but don't be shy about emailing.
posted by katie at 1:12 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
I far prefer emails over phone calls. As a teacher, I get one 40 minute prep period a day, and shady marketing phone messages really irk me. I often can't tell whether it's a parent or not, and then I waste precious minutes talking to some marketing person. Grrrr. Respect teachers' time and be up front about what you're promoting, but don't be shy about emailing.
posted by katie at 1:12 PM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You can use the directory on this site to find private schools in every state.
posted by katie at 1:35 PM on February 9, 2016
posted by katie at 1:35 PM on February 9, 2016
Best answer: Call every teacher who's booked one of your trips more than once in the past 5 years. Talk to them on the phone. If they're no longer interested, had a bad experience, can't afford a trip then record that data, collate is and present it to the board. Odds are they are used to the co-ordinator calling them every year and the postcards and have forgotten to book in the absence of that. So yes, call them. asap.
posted by fshgrl at 9:03 PM on February 9, 2016
posted by fshgrl at 9:03 PM on February 9, 2016
Best answer: At this point, don't think of this as marketing (making flyers, posting on Facebook), but as sales. Your most likely customers are those teachers who have done this before or who expressed interest. You are going to need to put yourself out there!
The folks who expressed interest via email: email them again! You want to send a friendly, personal note: "Dear Jim, it's a great time of year to visit Place! We have a great educational program this spring focusing on Thing. Would you like to schedule a time to bring your class?" ... and so on.
Teachers who went on a field trip there the past three years: send an email! Again, this should be personal! Include something like, "We had a great visit with your students last April" or something else to jog their memory.
Also, is there some reason you aren't trusting your board's recommendations? They probably know the organization better than you do at this point. It sounds like you are ambivalent and don't really believe fully in what you are selling. I think you're going to need to get past that to do a good job.
Contact the teachers and make it easy for them to come to you. Try out what your board is telling you. Be positive! Think of a smarmy car salesman and put on your friendliest smile and tone and get in touch with folks.
Good luck!
posted by bluedaisy at 2:26 AM on February 10, 2016
The folks who expressed interest via email: email them again! You want to send a friendly, personal note: "Dear Jim, it's a great time of year to visit Place! We have a great educational program this spring focusing on Thing. Would you like to schedule a time to bring your class?" ... and so on.
Teachers who went on a field trip there the past three years: send an email! Again, this should be personal! Include something like, "We had a great visit with your students last April" or something else to jog their memory.
Also, is there some reason you aren't trusting your board's recommendations? They probably know the organization better than you do at this point. It sounds like you are ambivalent and don't really believe fully in what you are selling. I think you're going to need to get past that to do a good job.
Contact the teachers and make it easy for them to come to you. Try out what your board is telling you. Be positive! Think of a smarmy car salesman and put on your friendliest smile and tone and get in touch with folks.
Good luck!
posted by bluedaisy at 2:26 AM on February 10, 2016
I would work out exactly how to target some specific areas of the curriculum. I am not sure what the situation is in your country (US?) but if I was faced with this problem in the UK I'd be pouring over exam specifications and National Curriculum documentation. I'd pick things that would be hard to deliver in class and I would market the trip as a package with resources, background reading, extension web links, follow up lesson plan ideas etc free to take away. If there was any way you could put together a fact sheet to help write risk assessments that would help too - I have to do detailed RAs for trips and while they are not arduous they are always time consuming.
We are passionate, inspiring and enthusiastic, we teachers, but we are also human, and anything that saves us time and makes our job easier is a definite attraction
posted by Heloise9 at 2:11 PM on February 10, 2016
We are passionate, inspiring and enthusiastic, we teachers, but we are also human, and anything that saves us time and makes our job easier is a definite attraction
posted by Heloise9 at 2:11 PM on February 10, 2016
Response by poster: Thank you so much for all your advice and help! I appreciate it, hivemind. I was setting the framework in order to personally visit local schools, and edit our materials to reflect current state standards/Common Core.
You helped me put it in perspective that, yes, I would need to reach out to teachers on a more personal level and improved my outlook on an aspect of my job that was really frustrating me. I re-read this whole thread at least once a day to perk up and stay focused.
My organization just entered financial crisis mode and laid me off yesterday. I'm sure I'll use all this advice in the future somewhere new.
posted by Guess What at 2:55 PM on February 21, 2016
You helped me put it in perspective that, yes, I would need to reach out to teachers on a more personal level and improved my outlook on an aspect of my job that was really frustrating me. I re-read this whole thread at least once a day to perk up and stay focused.
My organization just entered financial crisis mode and laid me off yesterday. I'm sure I'll use all this advice in the future somewhere new.
posted by Guess What at 2:55 PM on February 21, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by AugustWest at 9:19 AM on February 9, 2016 [8 favorites]