My School Has Strong Word of Mouth. Why Do I Need to Hire a Marketing Agency?
Brand Identity, News
Maybe this sounds familiar: You have families who love your school. They sing praises in the carpool line, post glowing comments in neighborhood Facebook groups, and bring their friends to Open House. And you’re seeing the results. New inquiries are rolling in, mostly thanks to parents who just can’t stop talking about the great experience their kids are having.
That’s a win. Word of Mouth is one of the most powerful forces in enrollment marketing. It reflects something every school wants: strong satisfaction, alignment with families, and community pride.
So if the buzz is already happening, why would you need outside help with marketing?
Word of Mouth happens. Strategy guides it.
Think of it this way: Word of Mouth is what people say about your school. Strategy is how you shape the story they tell.
Families naturally share with one another. And when they’re happy, they share what they love — a caring teacher, a recent success, that amazing fifth-grade musical. But those stories are often inconsistent because every parent is sharing a slightly different version of your story. And some are clearer or more accurate than others.
This doesn’t mean the other stories are wrong, just that they’re incomplete. When they’re the only thing circulating in your market, they can unintentionally create confusion or reinforce misconceptions. And when they’re negative stories? It can cause harm to your reputation.
A clear marketing strategy can help you influence how informed and aligned they are, empowering you to:
- Clarify your school’s unique value, so prospective families aren’t left guessing what you’re really about.
- Strengthen your digital presence, ensuring your school website, social media, and materials reinforce the same story.
- Equip your ambassadors (formally or informally) with a shared language that is anchored in your mission.
- Reach families outside your Word of Mouth circles, including those who wouldn’t otherwise hear from you.
Without strategy, Word of Mouth is sometimes illuminating, sometimes not. With strategy, it becomes a purposeful avenue for your message to travel farther and faster, with greater clarity.
What a strong messaging strategy looks like
If your school has good Word of Mouth, we’re not suggesting you replace what’s already working well. Instead, consider how to reinforce it. A strong messaging strategy doesn’t compete with Word of Mouth. It clarifies, amplifies, and extends it.
When schools have a strategy in place, they’re guiding what’s being said, rather than just waiting for families to talk. Here’s what that could look like for your school:
Define and articulate your brand in a way that sticks. What makes your school different? What should families remember after a 30-second conversation or homepage visit? A strong strategy distills your identity into simple, memorable language that anyone on your team or in your parent community can use confidently.
Tell stories that spotlight your strengths across channels. Word of Mouth travels by conversation. Strategy ensures your messages travel by design — through your website, print materials, social media, emails, and tours — all aligned to reinforce your school’s core strengths and culture.
Map your messaging and enrollment efforts to the Family Journey™. What are the touchpoints along your admissions path? Where are families dropping off? By using the Family Journey™ as a framework, you’re able to be more intentional about what you’re sharing with prospective families (and when you share it).
Create systems that scale your impact without burning out your team. From digital ad campaigns to ambassador toolkits, introduce repeatable systems that can work behind the scenes, so your team can spend less time reinventing and more time connecting with families.
Remember: without structure, even well-intended efforts can lead to fragmentation. Strategy creates cohesion. It aligns your internal team and the families who are sharing their experiences, so everyone is pulling in the same direction.
When to partner with an expert
Sometimes an experienced marketing firm can bring fresh eyes to your current efforts, helping you see what’s working, what’s missing, and what’s possible.
At Tassel, our messaging solutions are a good fit for schools that want to:
- Establish a unified voice across marketing, admissions, and internal teams
- Foster stronger connections with prospective and current families
- Clearly define their unique value proposition and differentiators
- Develop messaging strategies for timely and impactful communication
If you think your school could benefit from any of these strategies, schedule a call with a Tassel solutions advisor. We’d love to hear more about your unique needs and discuss how you can strengthen your school’s messaging.
Contributing Voices
