What Will They Remember Tomorrow? [314]

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PROLOGUE
What Will They Remember Tomorrow?

This summer, my wife and I took our daughter on an early college tour in New England.

At one college, we absolutely loved the student tour guide. He was knowledgeable, kind, and hilarious!

That's the part we remembered. Not the slides, the stats, or the campus map. The moment someone was human.

Most of us are deep in open house season right now. We spend weeks on the slides, the student panel, and the head's welcome. Then we count who showed up.

We almost never check what families walked out remembering.

The families at your open house this month are making up their minds. If you don't know what stuck, you're guessing.

This week:

Ask it at the end. Add one question to your post-visit survey or follow-up email: "What's the one thing you'll remember about your visit today?"
Ask it at the start, too. Before the tour, ask what the family hopes to find out. Then point out one thing that answers it.
Compare notes. Take ten minutes at your next admission meeting. Put what families said next to what you wanted them to remember.

One ask: After your next open house, reply and tell me the most common answer you got. I'll share what I hear in a future issue, with no school names.

Thanks,
Brendan

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UPCOMING EVENT

For MarCom Society Members Only

Who Do They Think They Are? Writing to Identity in School Communications

Your database knows who your audience is. Your appeal letters usually don't. This session covers the research on identity-based messaging and gives you a practical audit you can run on any appeal or admissions email before it goes out.

RSVP today: https://community.marcomsociety.org/c/guest-experts-e2f31b/who-do-they-think-they-are-writing-to-identity-in-school-communications

NEWSLETTER SHOUT-OUT

Thank you to Sandra Kuharic at Cristo Rey Jesuit Seattle High School for recommending the School Marketing Insider.

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