Multichannel communication in private and public educationWith K-12 education facing modernisation challenges, there's really no denying that a capable, multichannel communication approach is a good idea for schools from kindergarten through to secondary levels.

Multichannel Communication

Introduction

K-12 education faces an opportunity to modernise and move into the 21st century with new technologies. The opportunity for technological advancement is not only limited to the classroom. Technology can provide opportunities for educators to improve the way they communicate with parents, students and the broader school community at every touch point.

A drive for convenience, personalisation and mobility means that schools need to take another look at the way they communicate with their stakeholders in order to deliver effective communication.

How can schools accomplish this?One of the answers lies with multichannel communication solutions. These solutions help schools to communicate with their stakeholders in a way that is effective and meaningful to them, while ensuring that the school brand is consistent.

ResearchGate found that many companies utilise multichannel communications, which involve sending personalised messages to stakeholders, across multiple channels, as a way of building long term and profitable relationships.

In this paper, we will take a closer look at why consistent and clear communications are so important.

Delivering consistent and professional communications

Between 2013 and 2014, the number of students attending school within Australia rose by 48,582, from 3,645,519 to 3,694,101. This 1.3 per cent increase may not sound that significant, but it is. As Australia continues to see the population skyrocket, so too does the number of students in schools.

Private schools especially continue to grow. The latest McCrindle Snapshot of Schools in Australia report found that since 1970, the number of students enrolling in non-government schools has been on the rise. In fact, while 1970 saw 22 per cent of students educated in government schools, this rose to 35 per cent in 2012.

With this growth comes increased competition, as schools need to work to attract prospective students, ensure that current students are retained and build meaningful relationships with alumni.

This signals a need for clear and consistent communications that meet needs of the receiver. Failing to institute the measures needed to do so could result in lacklustre intakes and poor community involvement.

An appropriate communication strategy will mean schools are able to effectively communicate with students, parents and the wider community, relaying information without trouble. Perhaps most importantly, these schools can demonstrate to prospects why they're an effective choice over competing facilities.

A multichannel solution

By making it easier to communicate, schools will find that educators and other administrative staff have more time available to focus on what matters, which is providing excellent education for students. Here are several of the key advantages of a multichannel solution.

Attract and enrol the right studentsPersonalised communications have been shown to be more engaging, ensuring a higher response rate if targeted correctly. These more effective communications can help to drive interest and attraction in your school.These communications can also be tailored over time, so they continue to remain effective.

Raise revenue from additional sourcesFundraising is a lifeline for nearly every school, providing a dependable source of additional income on a regular basis. With targeted communications, it’s certainly easier to develop awareness of fundraising initiatives.

Ensure all communications support the brandThe brand of a school is an important asset that needs to be maintained in order to ensure that the right students are attracted and retained. It is essential to a schools longevity that they are able to maintain a strong brand and reputation.

Move into the digital ageDigital is now upon businesses and schools in full force, and it’s important to take advantage of new opportunities. For example, digital allows the creation of personalised appeals and communications that can’t be created with traditional means, which can improve engagement.

Drive engagement and involvementThis point is closely tied to that of raising revenue from additional sources, but it goes much deeper. Schools depend on the community for funding, but also for support from parents, caregivers and others in the wider community. Without this network of support, educators would find it difficult to provide a high level of education.

With targeted communications, it’s easier to grow stronger roots in the community, and ensure that support is no longer an issue.

Reduce the hassleFinally, multichannel communications can help to reduce the day to day hassle of running a modern school. This could mean relieving pressure from educators, allowing them to focus on educating students, and bringing down the amount of time needed to manage communications with parents and the community.

It’s important to remember that this approach isn’t tied to a single area of the school - it’s effective across the facility.

Benefits aside, it’s of course important to actually source these solutions from a provider capable of supporting them over time. So what option do Australian schools have?

A solution from a capable provider

It’s important to choose a viable partner when it comes to implement multichannel communications, as the relationship will have a significant impact on the

effectiveness of the endeavour.

This means choosing a provider with experience, and the offerings required to ensure that communications strategies are implemented correctly.

Fuji Xerox Australia, a leading provider of solutions for schools and businesses of all sizes, can help you to implement an effective multichannel communications strategy.

Here are four of the areas where Fuji Xerox Australia can help.

Personalisation: Communications that are both targeted and meaningful, we can help schools to effectively engage with parents, students and other members of the community.

Deeper involvement: Similar to the above point, parents and communities need to be involved with schools in order to keep the institutions running effectively. We can step in, delivering communications that keep parents and communities engaged with the school.

A digital edge: There’s no stopping the digital revolution, especially not in education. Our solutions allow the creation of interactive digital content that can tie in directly to school materials such as magazines and prospectuses.

An effective partnership: It’s not about just giving schools the solutions and having that be the end of the relationship, we can provide experienced writers, designers and artists to work with you to create effective communications. What’s more, this is all at highly competitive rates.

It’s clear to see how a provider can prove useful, and what they can do for communications. With strategies so important it’s a good idea to work with such a provider than can deliver the best range of services. Conclusion

Education is evolving quickly, and the number of challenges will continue climbing year after year. As a result, schools need to think now about the necessity of capable communication strategies.

This means considering the benefits of operating cost reductions, more effective interaction with students, teachers and the community, and freeing up educators to focus on other matters. There’s also no denying the benefits of giving schools a digital edge that can be adapted over time as requirements change.

About Fuji Xerox Australia

For schools that require a partner when it comes to multichannel communications, Fuji Xerox Australia is the answer.

We’re a leading provider of numerous solutions for businesses and education institutions throughout Australia, with a key focus on leading communications solutions. With a multichannel solution from Fuji Xerox Australia, schools can ramp up attraction and enrolment, raise revenue from additional sources such as fundraising and ensure that all communication is in support of the school brand.

Communication doesn’t have to be difficult, and with the right initiatives it can be used to fully support schools at all levels.

Xerox, Xerox and Design, as well as Fuji Xerox and Design are registered trademarks or trademarks of Xerox Corporation in Japan and/or other countries.

Sources

http://www.fujixerox.com.au/solutions/industry/marketing_and_communications.jsp

http://www.fujixerox.com.au/solutions/industry/solutions_k_12.jsp

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4221.0

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Voss/publication/228516101_Enough_Is_Enough!_The_Fine_Line_in_Executing_Multichannel_Relational_Communication/links/00463528dfa361b6f7000000.pdf

http://www.xmpie.com/cross-media

http://mccrindle.com.au/resources/Snapshot-of-Schools-in-Australia-2013_McCrindle-Research.pdf

To find out more about our range of communication solutions contact us on 1300 258 294 or visit our website www.fujixerox.com.au