In today’s competitive education landscape, personalisation is no longer just a marketing trend — it’s an expectation. Prospective families are looking for connection, care and confidence when making their decision and every interaction with your school contributes to this perception.
As Head, your leadership sets the tone. When your enrolments and marketing teams are equipped and encouraged to make each stage feel personal, families don’t just feel informed — they feel known. And that’s where trust begins.
Here are three ways to personalise the enrolment journey (and why they matter):
1. Champion personal service, not just systems.
Personal service is more than answering enquiries, it’s about building genuine connection and trust. Every interaction is a chance to show a family they are seen, heard and valued. Encouraging your team to focus on the ‘one-percenters’ — small, meaningful touches — shifts the enrolment experience from transactional to relational.
Using first names, recalling earlier conversations and referencing a child’s interests may seem minor, but these gestures show attentiveness. Families will remember how they felt, just as much as what they’re told.
Tip: Optimise your CRM beyond just a tracking and management tool to capture meaningful details. Used well, it gives marketing, enrolments and administration teams helpful data to get to know the enquiring families.
2. Make tours and events about the family, not the school.
Tours – the first time a family steps into your school environment – are a pivotal moment in the enrolments journey. If a child is a passionate artist or budding athlete, ensure those areas are referenced to in the tour. Make time to introduce them to relevant staff or students when possible. Not every tour needs to be completely bespoke, but layering in personal relevance can transform the experience from generic to memorable.
Tours also present opportunities for discovery. If new interests or concerns arise, take note, and use the follow-up process as a way to address them directly.
Tip: Consider adding leading questions to your enquiry and tour booking forms to gather relevant insights ahead of time. This allows your team to prepare more purposeful and engaging experiences.
3. Encourage a culture of meaningful follow-up.
Genuine, personalised follow-up should be a natural extension of your school’s values. While automation plays an important role in delivering timely and consistent information, it’s the human connection that leaves a lasting impression.
Encourage your team to treat follow-up as an opportunity to continue the conversation, not simply to tick a box. A well-timed, thoughtful message — one that references previous discussions, acknowledges a child’s interests or responds directly to a family’s concerns — shows attentiveness and reinforces trust.
Just as importantly, follow-up must be purposeful. Families can quickly sense when communication feels insincere or templated, and this can erode the connection you’ve worked hard to build. It may be the difference between a family choosing your school or another.
Tip: Work with your team in setting guidelines on when automation is appropriate and when a personalised follow-up is expected. Balancing efficiency with genuine connection ensures families feel valued at the right moments.
Personalisation is not about adding complexity — it’s about embedding care into the enrolments journey. When your team combines good systems with human connection, the result is a consistent and meaningful experience that reflects your school’s values. Your influence in leading this mindset ensures that personalisation becomes more than a tactic — it becomes a culture that welcomes families in and inspires confidence from the very first interaction.