Crafting a Virtual School Marketing Plan Webinar (Updated)

THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL. Email me if you want to attend a future webinar on this topic at houston@figment-consulting.com.

Yesterday I shared details on my upcoming 90-minute webinar Crafting a Virtual School Marketing Plan, and the initial response has been better than I anticipated.

There are still a few spaces remaining though for the webinar. So, if you want to register, simply go to my web site Figment-Consulting.com and fill in the information. The event is scheduled for Monday, March 28, at 11:00 a.m. ET. A link will be provided to all registrants prior to the event.

During the webinar we will cover a variety of topics, strategies, and messaging to help virtual schools create a more effective and efficient plan to reach better-fit students, capture more of them, and retain them.

We will cover topics such as:

Positioning -- how do you differentiate yourself from other virtual schools?

Price -- if it is tuition-free why is price so important?

Public relations -- how do you get your message out in a toxic environment toward virtual schools?

Place -- what does it feel like to be with you? When people visit your web site, your event, your office, what does that do to them and for them?

Other topics will carry us down the path toward a cohesive approach to marketing that is applicable in whichever state you operate in.

So, I invite you to join me for this webinar. It is guaranteed to generate a great ROI for you.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Waste is a terrible thing to mind

We mind waste when we have students taking test after test after test with no regard to what it means for them.

We mind waste when we spend all of our time prepping for these tests instead of fostering a learning passion that goes beyond memorization and test-taking skills.

We mind waste when we bypass what the child wants to learn so we can make sure they understand what we think they should know.

We mind waste when we treat each student the same.

We mind waste when we treat certain students differently than others.

We mind waste when we measure the wrong results.

We mind waste when we continue to tweak instead of re-imagine.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Are you selling or are they buying?

If you concentrate your time and energy on selling features and benefits, you are missing the point. Features and benefits meet the needs of your customers, but what they want to buy are not needs, they want to buy . . . Wants (and the emotions that come with them).

Spend your time on selling and you will miss the buying going on around you. Spend your time on buying, and your sales will increase.

Help people buy what they Want, and you will sell them what they Need.

houston@figment-consulting.com

#ExpeditionUnknown and education

Archaeologist and television personality Josh Gates hosts a weekly show on Travel Channel called Expedition Unknown.

His quest in each episode is to search for the truth to ancient legends, myths, and stories. Last night's episode is on the mythical dwelling of Shangri-La in Nepal. Other episodes have had Josh searching for Japan's Atlantis, Africa's Gold Hoard, the Viking Sunstone, Amelia Earhart, King Arthur, Blackbeard's Treasure, and other fascinating stories waiting to be discovered.

What struck me last night though was not the episode but rather the title of the series -- Expedition Unknown. The title carries with it the feeling of discovery, enlightenment, and exploration -- in essence, learning.

And then we have our education system where we pursue Expedition Known -- or, probably more accurately, Expedition What We Think Kids Should Know.

I wonder what learning would be like in virtual schools and classrooms across the country if we pursued a course more akin to Josh Gates' pursuit of Expedition Unknown?

What if we focused more on the journey, the discovery, the experience, the exploration? What if we focused less on testing knowledge retention and more on simply discovering.

After all, isn't learning inherent in an Expedition Unknown.

It can't be done.

Can't is a contraction of cannot.

So, at some point in time, and according to dictionary.reference.com it was around 1706 someone decided they could no longer write cannot. Instead, they shortened it to can't. For the sake of saving two letters except you have to add the apostrophe, you can now write can't -- which saves approximately .2 seconds of your time.

Cannot on the other hand can also be spelled can not.

Three different ways to express your inability to do something.

Oh wait, there is a fourth and probably more accurate rendering of these three words: won't.

So many times we say can't, or cannot, or can not, when in reality we mean won't. It's not that we can't do it, we just do want to put in the effort to try it. Or, we are afraid we might falter the first few times. Or, perhaps we just want to find an easier way or have someone do it for us.

When you desire to do something and that desire is strong enough, it's funny how can't evaporates from our thoughts.

Just something to think about, if you want to.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Virtual school recruiting season is upon us

Promises are now being made to thousands of families across the country.

"Move at your own pace" -- Wait, I can take a month to understand this concept? "Well, not exactly your own pace."

"It's flexible" -- Wonderful, I can take the month of December off. "Well, we're not that flexible."

"It's individualized" -- Great, so I can select the courses I want to take. "Not really, you still have to take 4 math, 4 language arts, 2 science, 2 history and obtain 24 credits to graduate."

"95% of our families would recommend us to another family" -- Wonderful, can I speak to one of them? "Yes, however, only 35% of those families are returning this year so we can find you one of those."

"We are tuition-free" -- Great, I like free. Sign me up. "Fantastic, it helps with my commission."

"If you are being bullied, gifted, struggling, homebound, homeschooled, military, college-and-career minded, we can help you" -- So that's all it takes to be successful? "Well, not really, but that's all it takes to enroll."

We can do better than this.

houston@figment-consulting.com

It's urgent

They call it the tyranny of the urgent and it is what most virtual schools spend their time focused on.

What would it look like if you spent your day on building remarkable rather than the problem brought to you classified as urgent?

Simply because someone says "urgent" doesn't mean it requires immediate attention. And, urgent may take you away from important.

Important matters for the long run.

houston@figment-consulting.com

What virtual schools can learn from start-ups

David S. Rose

David S. Rose is the founder and CEO of Gust, a platform that connects start-up founders to investors. So far almost $2 billion has been invested in companies through this platform.

David's upcoming book The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to Found and Scale a High-Growth Business is primarily for those seeking to launch a start-up company. However, much of what he has to say can also apply to the world of virtual schooling.

Too many times virtual schools look to others within their industry for best practices, or ideas on how to improve when real innovation can occur by adapting ideas from outside the world of education.

David shares 25 steps based on his years of success, failings, and experience learned. Surely, there is at least one step that can help improve a virtual school.

Real innovation can occur by seeking answers outside the education box.

Read books such as David's to grow, learn, and find alternative ways to adapt

Attend conferences that have nothing to do with education but everything to do with tech innovation

Spend time with entrepreneurs and less time with educators

houston@figment-consulting.com

Failing and failure

One happens quite often in the pursuit of remarkable.

The other happens when you give up -- not on a project but on yourself.

Don't confuse the two and don't let the one interfere with the other that is part of the learning process.

Failing is an action. Failure is a decision.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Nine Essentials for building a virtual school that serves and Capilano

Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver

That was the topic of my talk yesterday at the BC Digital Learning Conference in Richmond, BC, Canada.

It was a fascinating day spending time with British Columbia educators, and hearing what they are doing in the world of digital learning.

And, it was an honor to be able to share my Nine Essentials with them believing that much of what I shared crosses geographic boundaries.

Also, had the pleasure and joy of experiencing some of the beauty of Vancouver, Steveston, and Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver today.

Capilano Suspension Bridge spans 460 ft and rises 230 ft above the Capilano River. And, does it swing when you are in the middle. Wow.

Included in the park is a Treetop Adventure that allows you to walk among the giant firs. It is breathtaking.


Then, if that is not all, you also can traverse the Cliff Walk where you follow a narrow walkway that juts out from the granite cliffs. It is not for the faint of heart.

Heading tomorrow toward Seattle and Portland to conduct some training sessions.

If you ever have a chance to go to Vancouver. Go.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Figment Consulting announces new training sessions

Over the past few months I have spent time conducting various training sessions that amount to either one-day, two-day, or even online sessions to help clients with specific issues. As this has continued to grow in popularity, I have recently tried to build more structure to it, and now offer it as Figment services on my web site: www.figment-consulting.com.

The most effective training session is the two-day, on site, intensive session to help virtual partners becomes schools that serve. This session, under Training, is the gold level of what I offer. During this session, we cover the Nine Essentials to build virtual schools that serve properly -- teacher-student relationships, investing in teachers, building a retention culture, constructing a remarkable learning experience, becoming a human connection school, finding right-fit students, growing with purpose, launching with success in mind, and developing a specialist mindset.

In addition, we are now offering additional training sessions (under Services) on the following (either on site or online):

One-day Marketing Training: Covering the 15 P words of marketing to help you build a Relationship Strategy that leads to better enrollments and higher retention.

One-day Training Seminar to learn how to become a Human Connection School: This seminar has served as a follow-up to my Nine Essentials training and goes even more in-depth in order to build strategy and tactics to move away from socialization and into connectionalization.

Virtual School Next Gen Training: This one-day training allows us to go in depth to build the learning experience as we work our way towards remarkable. We move to the tactical level and how each person plays a pivotal role in going beyond academics. The result is a deeper engagement by students and families which leads to higher retention.

Customerology Compass: In this 2-hour training session, we cover the Needs, Wants, Stereotypes, and Emotions (NWSE) of your students and families. In doing so we learn how to meet their Needs while serving their Wants. We learn how to overcome Stereotypes and build loyalty as we tap into their Emotions.

Two other popular training sessions allow us to help clients develop their Service Theme and Service Standards. These separate sessions establish the foundation and reference points as we construct a service culture.

Of late, two other efforts have proven popular. The first is where we spend two days in order to help you edit, revise, and rethink your Marketing Strategy in order to reach the right type of students. The second one allows us to focus on your Messaging in order to help you craft the right type of message and utilize the proper channels to convey it.

And, we also offer Leadership Coaching services. We spend one hour a week with your leadership team members to move each one toward the central chief aim, and bring each one together for a more cohesive experience that leads to more effective and disciplined decision making.

The required investment varies with each session, and whether or not it is conducted on site or online. Email us today and we can put together an offer to meet your most immediate needs.

Coming soon -- we are working toward making these services portable by recording them and allowing for downloads.

Until then, keep thinking differently. And thank you to those who have allowed us to be of service to you. Without you, these ideas for the various training seminars might have continued to be overlooked on our part.

houston@figment-consulting.com

"It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards." The White Queen said to Alice

Severing ties with a learning management company because of poor performance then attempting to build exactly what you just left is memory not working properly, as The White Queen would say.

Adding more to the plate of families who are leaving because the prior plate was too full is memory not working properly.

Believing that a new branding message can paint over the rotting foundation is a memory not working properly.

Expecting technology to save the day when families crave interaction is memory not working properly.

While I am not sure The White Queen had any knowledge of virtual schooling when she made the comment to Alice, I am sure that many in the world of virtual schooling are not listening to her words of wisdom.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Bring an umbrella and unasked questions

Vancouver Umbrella Shop in Richmond, BC, Canada

"What's the weather like this time of year?" I asked the hotel attendant over the phone.

"Bring an umbrella," she replied.

Whether she knew it or not, the polite hotel front desk clerk in Vancouver answered my unasked question. In reality I knew what the temperatures were like because I had checked. What I really wanted to know was what she answered, and I didn't even have to ask.

I am traveling tomorrow to Vancouver to speak at a conference on Friday, then making my way down to the coast west of Portland to conduct some training for a client (with a stop at the Pike Place Market Starbucks in Seattle along the way of course).

So, I had done my homework in terms of weather conditions, travel plans, etc. But, when I called to confirm some details with my hotel in Vancouver, what I really wanted to know is how much does it rain there? I had been to Seattle a few times the past several years but first time in Vancouver. While it is just north of Seattle, I was also aware of how that could make a huge difference in weather conditions (having just learned that firsthand in my recent trip to Alaska -- Anchorage was above freezing while Wasilla, which is only 50 miles NE of Anchorage, was closer to single digits).

What's the point to all of this? I simply wonder how many times virtual school administrators fail to answer the unasked questions from their parents. How many times do they assume that what the parents want to know is exactly what they asked? (In reality, a good listener will be able to discern if there is an unasked question that needs to be answered)

Case in point -- the Agora Cyber Charter School is conducting a Board Meeting tomorrow night. In light of the recent layoffs it should prove to be an interesting one. If the leadership is not careful, they will allow many unasked questions to go unanswered.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Know, Accept, Be

Know who you are and you have the potential to serve students in the best way.

Accept who you are and you will recruit students you can best serve.

Be who you are and you will attract more students like the ones you serve best.

houston@figment-consulting.com

A Strategy for Agora Cyber Charter School in 7 Steps

From Agora Cyber Facebook

I thought I was finished with Agora Cyber and yet the emails have continued to pour in from parents, teachers, and former parents and teachers. The ones from the current teachers are most painful. Their desire expressed to me is to serve the students, yet they are in a daze after the way the layoffs were handled.

In each email they ask me "what should we do?" Two days ago I wrote a blog that shared what Agora needs to do moving forward: Repair, Restore, and Rethink. However, in honor of those teachers and staff members who have written to me, I did want to offer the Agora Cyber leadership a 7-step strategy with the recommendation that this be treated as a crisis management problem.

Granted, in a crisis management plan, there are typically four areas (Mitigation & Prevention, Preparedness, Response, & Recovery) that are covered. Yet, with the crisis already having occurred, we can only focus now on response and then recovery. So, with that in mind:

1. Stop all advertising immediately.

There is no need to actively recruit new students into Agora at this moment. Cease all advertising until this school year has ended.

2. Shift advertising money to teachers.

Granted, I do not know how much Agora has left in the advertising budget (if any) but whatever the amount is should be shifted away from marketing, and placed into a pool for all remaining teachers in order to provide them some type of bonus at the end of the year (or now if possible).

3. Conduct in-person and online sessions for parents and students.

Agora leadership needs to be out in front of the parents and students (in person and online), answering the tough questions, taking responsibility for their actions (and lack of communication), and working hard to repair and restore (as mentioned in my previous blog). Make it as easy as possible for the parents and students to attend by being where they are.

4. Focus on retention.

Stop worrying about next year and the number of new students. Instead, turn all attention to building a remarkable learning experience for existing students and parents. The number one marketing priority now and through the end of the year is existing student population.

5. Focus on teachers and staff.

Unfortunately, what has been done is done. Agora leadership must now turn full attention to making sure existing teachers and staff not only are supported properly, but feel they are supported. Leadership takes full care of teachers and staff, and then teachers and staff are able to take care of students and parents properly.

Stop writing editorials to Gov Wolf and start focusing on taking care of teachers and staff. Determine to walk the talk.

6. Walk the talk.

From this day forward be authentic, transparent, and vulnerable. As I mentioned in my previous post, lack of trust is now the prime problem and talk will not rebuild it. It must be accomplished by actions -- daily actions, every second of every day. The walk must match the talk. Any deviation, however slight, will be magnified at this point in time.

Authenticity requires honesty. Transparency requires the leadership to allow parents and students to see behind-the-scenes. Vulnerability requires the leadership to take responsibility, and act humbly.

Don't gloss over or ignore the elephant in the room. Acknowledge it, accept responsibility for the way it was mishandled, and then share with teachers, parents, and students that it is understood by the leadership that what matters most now is actions, not words.

7. Pay attention to the details.

Answer the phone. Return phone calls. Ensure IT support is there. Allow parents to vent. Allow teachers to express their concern. Throw pride away and listen to the wants being expressed. Go above and beyond to take care of your parents, your students, your teachers, and your staff.

Details matter. Paying attention to them is where trust can be re-established in order to build upon. Forgetting them can put all of the other steps in jeopardy.

Remember, right now it is the Response of the leadership at Agora that will determine the ability to Recover.

It will not be an easy road back to stability. The journey is worth it though.

Oh, by the way, also make preparations for the media investigation and the investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) -- both are likely to occur.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Agora Cyber moving forward, last thoughts

Emails poured in yesterday and one theme was in essence, "what now?"

The damage has been done. The layoffs have occurred. The way it was handled was the way it was handled. The timing was the timing. So, we cannot change it. We cannot alter the past.

We can though alter the future by the way in which we handle today. Now is what matters most. And, now will be what allows the future to be different rather than a repeat.

Moving forward Agora must do the following:

Repair -- Restore -- Rethink

Agora leadership needs to work to repair relationships with families, students, teachers, and staff. Families feel betrayed, hurt, taken advantage of, and they are in pain. Students are confused. Teachers and staff that remain are afraid -- and operating out of fear never leads to sustainable success.

Agora leadership also needs to restore trust. It is sorely lacking right now from those that matter most. Trust must be the underlying foundation in any relationship. Restoration of it will take time and only actions will matter. Words no longer count.

Agora leadership must now rethink the future and build different -- not just what is built but how it is built. Transparency and even vulnerability must play key roles in the building of the future. If you want parents to be in this with you, if you want teachers and staff to be in this with you, then you must allow them to be in it with you.

Finally, to those who emailed me. Turn this circumstance into an opportunity and seize it for yourself. Choose yourself, and determine what you want most to do and be in life. I know the emotions of it all are raw right now and it feels unfair -- don't let them guide you though. Don't let your emotions drive your decisions.

When it is cold the one sure way to remove the cold is to bring heat. Thinking about how cold it is will not make it any hotter. Searching for a heat source, lighting a fire will bring heat. What happened and the emotions that go with it are the cold. Focusing on them will not make it any hotter for you. So, think and seek heat. Replace the cold with heat. You have the power to do it.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Storyboarding the enrollment process

The storyboarding process was developed by Walt Disney Productions in the early 1930s. Today, Walt Disney and Pixar (along with other animation companies) continue to utilize the storyboard process as one of the first steps in the movie development.

A storyboard provides a visual layout of the movie, and allows animators to reconfigure, redesign, and re-imagine scenes and stories before proceeding to the next stage of development. Perhaps moving scenes around, or adding elements will move the story along, or prevent combustion points in the story. Perhaps different camera angles will add to the story.

Storyboarding has proven so beneficial and successful that even theatrical plays utilize it. In addition companies have begun to use storyboarding for the sales process, customer conversion process, and other operational processes that can be visualized.

Over the past few years I have taken several companies I have consulted with through the visual storytelling to help uncover combustion points for customers, to rearrange the experience that streamlined the process and enhanced the experience, and simply to confirm that the current process needed only tweaks in order to improve.

Recently I have had the opportunity of storyboarding the enrollment process for several virtual schools I am consulting with on a regular basis. In doing so, it helped identify a path forward that dramatically improved the customer experience.

Seeing something visually can lead to alternatives that would otherwise remain hidden.

Try it for yourself. Take time to storyboard your enrollment process from a visual standpoint, and see for the first time what has been hidden before your eyes.

houston@figment-consulting.com

iNACOL's New Strategic Plan

This morning I received an email that linked me to the new strategic plan just released by iNACOL.

"Catalyzing transformation in K - 12 education."

I applaud the direction they are headed. Though I admit I had to quickly check the definition of "catalyzing." Why couldn't they just say "accelerating?"

They have their mission, vision, and theory of action within this new plan spelled out for us. My hope is that behind it all there is an unwavering passion that supports this plan on a day-to-day basis by each and every member of iNACOL.

That is where real change will accelerate, or catalyze.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Zero to One: It's time to quit pretending

Peter Thiel's book Zero to One, Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, states that when we create something new, we go from 0 to 1.

Paypal (of which Thiel was a founder) took online payments from 0 to 1. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is an individual focused on going from 0 to 1. Mark Zuckerberg took us from 0 to 1 when Facebook was created.

As Thiel states though, "It is easier to copy a model than to make something new; doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar."

When full-time virtual schools were introduced they took education from 0 to 1. They were an "act of creation, and the result was something fresh and strange."

Now, virtual schools are attempting to move from 0 to n. Remember, it is easier to copy a model, to do what we already know how to do. The problem is that the current n is not worth modeling.

My energy and effort is centered on the desire to have us rethink n and return to creating something new, with the hope of moving us again from 0 to 1.

Let's stop pretending. It's time to create something new in virtual schooling.

houston@figment-consulting.com

The Denver Broncos Virtual School

What if I told you that within the Denver Broncos, winners of Super Bowl 50, lies secrets to a successful virtual school?

Head Coach Gary Kubiak, talking before the Super Bowl victory, "I think every experience is different. We've done it different with this football team and how we went about it. But I feel good about our process. Throughout the course of our season we kind of knew we were all involved, we were all contributing. I think that's brought our football team very close together over the season."

Future Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Peyton Manning when discussing the fact this was Coach Kubiak's first season with the Broncos (again before the Super Bowl victory), "When you have a new coach it takes time to understand his expectations and his philosophies. I think though, it is up to the players to buy in and try to fulfill the role that he wants them to play."

Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller speaking before the Super Bowl when asked about his emotions after being drafted a few years ago by the Broncos, "I just wanted to come in and be the best Von Miller I could be. When I was a rookie I had dreams and aspirations. But what got me through everything was just keeping my head down, just focusing on what I needed to do. I just focused in with my teammates."

Within those three quotes lies some wonderful secrets to building a remarkable learning experience, if you know where to look.

Can you see them?

Do you understand them?

Do you know how to apply them to your virtual school?

houston@figment-consulting.com