A Zig and a Fig

"You cannot perform in a manner inconsistent with the way you see yourself." Zig Ziglar

Our behavior is inspired by our beliefs. These beliefs are not in what we can have in life but in what we are worthy to receive and hold onto. Our belief in ourselves guides our behavior, produces the results we see in our lives, and either lifts us higher or restrains us from what we might become.

Perhaps if we spent more time in school working to elevate the confidence each student has in themselves, the other results might just manifest too.

A "C" student becomes an "A" student when they first believe they are an "A" student. Sometimes though, they must make a temporary stop at "B" just to make sure.

houston@figment-consulting.com

A blank sheet of paper . . .

In 1974 Marty Sklar had just been promoted to creative leader of Walt Disney Imagineering -- the creative force behind the theme parks and other guest experiences. At the time Walt Disney World in Florida had just opened and EPCOT Center was on its way (Disneyland in California was in operation). Over his tenure as the leader, it grew to eleven theme parks across the globe on three continents.

Back to 1974 though. In one of his first meetings, Sklar set out a black piece of paper in front of the Imagineers who had gathered for the launch.

"There are two ways to look at a blank sheet of paper," Sklar told the creative team. "It can be the most frightening thing in the world because you have to make the first mark on it. Or it can be the greatest opportunity in the world because you get to make the first mark -- you can let your imagination fly in any direction, and create whole new worlds!"

If a blank sheet of paper were placed in front of you, how would you see it? Answering that question can make all the difference in the world as to what you may or may not create moving forward.

How a 40-year old marketing campaign helped us

Our client, Provost Academy, was struggling to separate themselves from the competition when they came to us for assistance -- and it was already late in the recruiting season for virtual schools (June). So, we had to move quickly yet efficiently to re-imagine their strategy, and develop assets to implement the campaign to help them achieve their goals.

Before we dove into landing page development, SEO/SEM campaigns, and overall strategic marketing development, we had to figure out how to position them in the market that would separate them from other virtual schools.

Virtual schools (e-schools, cyber schools) tend to all look alike with one of the key issues being socialization (or lack thereof). Provost, on the other hand, wanted to build a school that was bridged the divide between online and together. They desired to bring students together on a regular basis, and move beyond the typical field trips and online clubs in order to allow their students opportunities to connect.

Now, how to convey that story? We found the solution to that question in a campaign that was over 40-years old. In fact, it's story was similar to ours. One of the greatest marketing campaigns of all time was the 7-UP campaign that turned it into the UnCola. It was so successful because it positioned 7-UP as the anti-Coke and anti-Pepsi, who were both vying for market share. So, instead of competing directly with them and trying to look like them, 7-UP became the UnCola.

Could we do the same with Provost? Thanks to 7-UP we did. Provost Academy became the UnVirtual Online School. In doing so it caught the attention of parents and students seeking an alternative to the current type of virtual school, and our results exceeded even our expectations.

The landing page we designed for them saw a 65% increase in lead capture the first month alone, and we outperformed previous the previous year by over 200% in lead generation.

In South Carolina they raised the enrollment goals in mid-stream due to the increase in leads and enrollment, and we still met them by the end of October.

In Colorado they had their first wait list of students in the history of the school.

In Ohio where enrollment growth in charter schools and e-schools was a meek .5% for the year, Provost achieved double-digit growth.

They say the best idea is a borrowed idea. If you are stuck today and seeking inspiration for your marketing campaign sometimes looking back over 40 years can lead to something new today.

If we can be of help to you with marketing strategies, web site/landing page design, and/or SEO/SEM campaigns, don't hesitate to contact us today.

houston@figment-consulting.com

FIGMENT Consulting
Data driven. Imagination crafted.

Ten things homeschoolers want virtual schools to know

1. Virtual schooling is not homeschooling though both are done primarily in the home, so don't tell us it is.

2. True flexibility is found in homeschooling, so find another word when we talk

3. Individualized learning, real individualized learning, is what homeschooling is all about

4. There are close to 2 million of us homeschoolers and no we don't all think alike

5. The small, yet sometimes loud minority of those homeschoolers who speak up don't speak for all of us

6. Don't talk to us about the free tuition because we know there is a cost

7. Freedom matters a great deal to us, and we won't give it up easily, even for something free

8. There are close to 2 million different reasons why us homeschoolers have chosen to homeschool

9. We are real people at the end of your data point, don't forget that

10. When we say "no" to your virtual school, what we are really saying is we don't trust what you are telling us

houston@figment-consulting.com

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

Every one has a story to tell . . .

On location of Storybrooke, ME from Once Upon a Time

I am a fan of data analytic yet I grow concerned that we rely too much on it. Not because it cannot tell us important information, drive decision making, and increase efficiency through pattern recognition. Rather, my concern is centered around the fact we tend to forget at the end of every data point is a person, a family, or an individual.

And, with that person comes a story, their story. Their very own, individual story. A story they want to share.

Big data has great potential to serve us in the world of buyer behavior. Don't forget though that sometimes an individual story is necessary to be heard in order to better understand the customer we so want to serve.

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

Do what matters

Start your day with what matters most, and do it.

Don't choose busy work,

or easy work,

or mindless work.

Do what matters.

Of course this requires you to give thought to, to consider, to discipline your mind, in order determine what does matter.

Then comes the discipline to do it first.

houston@figment-consulting.com

5 Phrases to Avoid When Marketing a Virtual School

5. Move at your own pace

4. Rigorous curriculum

3. Flexible

2. Tuition-free

1. Individualized

If you want to know what to say instead of these, email me.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Merry Christmas

While I have no analytical data to prove it, I sense that the term "Merry Christmas" is being used more this year than prior years.

Perhaps it is the circles I run in, yet I spent over a month at Disney World, and noticed it there as well. I also noticed it at Target, at Publix, at Celebration, FL, and a multitude of other places this year.

To me, it seems "Happy Holidays" has taken a back seat to "Merry Christmas."

Have you noticed it too?

Merry Christmas.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Be a dreamer

The realists said Disneyland would never work.

The realists returned when Walt Disney wanted to build something bigger in Florida -- again, they said it would never work.

Dreamers tend to make things happen in spite of realists.

Oh sure, realism should be part of the dream. But it is far different to have realism in your dreams than it is to be a realist.

The past is in the past. It is the future that can be changed, starting with the one day we have -- today.

Decide today to be a dreamer, and dream big. We need your dreams.

houston@figment-consulting.com

The K12 ship continues to go under water

Over a year ago I penned a blog (Why K12 will struggle) that stated if Agora Cyber pulled their management contract from K12 that the K12 stock would drop into the $13 range, perhaps even as low as $12. Shortly after it was announced that Agora was indeed pulling their management contract, K12's stock plummeted into that range. It is difficult to overcome a loss of 11,000+ students.

The silver lining at the time was K12 continued to provide curriculum to Agora under the new agreement reached. There was spin associated with this new arrangement but what was missed was that it was a temporary association. Within the next 2-3 years, Agora will pull their curriculum from K12 as they work to build their own (and while that is a mess, that is another story entirely).

A few months ago I wrote a blog The K12 ship is sinking and laid out some reasons why I believe they are on a steady decline.

As I write this, their stock price is $8.91 per share. My guess is they would love to see it in the $12-13 range that only a year ago was considered dismal performance.

So, what next? What does the future hold? Of course I can't say for sure but I can point to indicators:

1. Watch what happens when Agora pulls the curriculum

2. Pay attention to the potential closure of Tennessee Virtual Academy at the end of this academic year

3. Pay close attention to the California Attorney General's investigation into for-profit providers which includes K12

4. Watch for other virtual school boards either threaten to or actually pull their management contracts from K12 over the next two years

5. And, pay attention to the academic performance in Maine and North Carolina -- the narrative K12 has wanted to tell the past few years was they were in transition and now putting students first. Both Maine and North Carolina were launched with the new management in place so this will be the true test as to whether or not the transition was real or simply smoke and mirrors

Where there's smoke . . .

houston@figment-consulting.com

"How can we get our students to engage?"

That was the question presented to me by a Superintendent the other day.

It's a question often asked of me -- whether it pertains to students, current families, or prospective families.

It's a typical question. I just happen to believe it is the wrong question to ask.

So often, we all spend our time and energy seeking to find, provide, or offer solutions.

Yet, how many times do we take a step back and make sure we are asking the best questions, even the right questions.

Wrong questions typically lead to wrong answers.

houston@figment-consulting.com

One is a lonely number

When parents tell you they are leaving your school due to lack of socialization, they are not asking for more field trips.

Nor are they seeking more clubs to join.

What they are looking for, what they are asking for is connections, not socialization.

Become a human connection virtual school and you create the potential to be a place where families want to belong.

To JP: Know who you are, accept who you are, and be who you are. The world needs what you have to offer.

To AK: Be as committed to your art when no one is watching just as much as you are when on stage. Success is found in the work done off stage, it is merely appreciated when on stage.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Be the change, or change the be

I could hear the passion in her voice as she described to me what she had been doing, and what she wanted to do moving forward. The dichotomy was that she had recently been dealt a difficult hand by a educational company after accomplishing great things for them during her time there.

Yet, even in the midst of this she was focused on being the change. I could hear it, feel it, and I know she will accomplish much if she pursues her passion to help students with special needs -- especially if she chooses herself first.

There are others though who work without passion. Perhaps they merely see what they do as a paycheck, a job, or just a means to an end (many times just the weekend). For them perhaps it is time to change the be.

No matter the role one plays, there is opportunity to be the change the world needs to see. When we relinquish that responsibility to someone else, we lose passion and vigor for what we do. Unfortunately, others suffer for this as much as we do ourselves.

I believe each one of us has a gift to share with the world and by doing so the world becomes a better place. If we have passion in what we do we can then be the change. If we seek to be the change then we have the potential to make the change.

To JD and others reading this, who have a passion for what they are doing, be that change you desire to see in the world.

For those struggling with a lack of passion, find out what excites you, and if it is different than what you are currently doing, seek ways to change the be.

We need what you have to offer, now more than ever.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Students are customers too.

In my Virtual School Manifesto: Nine Essential Ingredients, I make the case for treating students and families as customers.

Recently a Pennsylvania paper asked me about this essential ingredient of mine as it related to Agora Cyber Charter School and their recent Facebook posts from parents stressing out over the start of the school year.

In a previous post I mentioned Agora had severed management ties with K12 last year and launched out on their own voyage. While I am not privy to any details related to the transition, I can tell that each one of the parents posting to their Facebook page of late are asking for the same thing: SERVICE.

In what ways would things be different if these parents each felt like VIP customers? How would the flow of information and communication be different if they were viewed as customers?

Virtual schools are schools of choice. Parents can choose to join, and they can just as easily choose to leave. Virtual schools must embrace the role of customer service and understand the experience is just as important to the learning as the academics.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Sharing my Virtual School Manifesto

Had the privilege of spending time with Larry Jacobs from Education Talk Radio Pre K - 20 and discussing my Virtual School Manifesto: Nine Essential Ingredients. Simply click on the image to link out to the interview.

Thanks for taking the time to listen. And, please share with others. It's time to re-imagine virtual schooling.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Are you planning on re-enrolling next year in {Virtual School Name}?

Starting in March and lasting through May, most virtual schools across the country engage in what they call retention efforts, led by the question "Are you planning on re-enrolling with us next year?"

Some will then release a newsletter that tries to showcase all of the improvements being made for next year, or some new offerings.

Unfortunately it is too little too late.

1. Retention begins at enrollment.

It is imperative that virtual schools understand the true meaning of retention. It is not a question nor a newsletter. It is the daily experiences, daily interactions, and daily consistency on the part of the school to exceed the expectations of the students/families and it begins when they first enroll.

If you are a virtual school and you have what you call Retention Season then you are looking at it the wrong way and the attrition rate will remain high in your school.

2. Retention is not a program but a culture.

Programs and flashy marketing pieces will not overcome the daily experiences families have with your school, your teachers, your staff. You must have a culture that is built on the principle of retaining students -- programs and strategies will fall short. A retention culture is who you are not what you do. It is organic and authentic by design.

If you are a virtual school and you are relying on marketing to retain students then you are looking at it the wrong way and you will continue to lose students each year at an alarming rate.

3. Retention is the primary focus.

Too many virtual schools spend their time trying to find students to replace the ones leaving when they should be spending more time and energy serving the ones already in their schools. When done correctly, it should be much easier to have an existing family say "yes again" than it is to go and find a family to say "yes" for the first time.

One glance at an organizational chart and one can easily determine where retention fits in the hierarchy.

If you are a virtual school and the first time you think about retention is March, then your eyes are focused in the wrong direction and you will continually have to work to find new students.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Virtual School Teacher Appreciation Week

Remember, in virtual schools teachers are still the critical ingredient.

We should elevate them to the level of importance they deserve rather than relegate them to the same level as technology or expect them to be simply interventionists.

If you want teachers to feel appreciated this week, then invest in them throughout the year.

houston@figment-consulting.com

The customer is always right.

Unless they are wrong.

Then, the real question becomes, "How do you handle the fact that they are wrong, yet believe they are right?"

The answer to that question depends upon the horizon you have with your customers. Do you look at profitability as a requirement for each and every sale? Or, do you look at the long-term value of the customer spread out over months or years (multiple sales) as opposed to each transaction individually?

The answer also depends upon your customer-service mission. Are you customer-obsessed like Amazon, or are you more like Comcast where customers (even long-term good customers) tend to get in the way of efficiency and more profitability?

Take time to determine your customer horizon and your customer-service mission. Doing so will help you align your efforts with your message and be more authentic to those you wish to serve.

houston@figment-consulting.com