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PROLOGUE
You Are Not a Customer Service Department
Every spring, it starts.
The request from the athletics director for a highlight reel of the spring sports banquet. The ask from the development office for a newsletter insert. The reminder from admissions that the website needs to be updated before summer.
All of them urgent. All of them landing on your desk at the same time.
And if you are like most school marketing professionals I know, you say yes to all of it.
I understand why. You care about your school. You don't want to let people down. But here's what I want you to consider.
Every time you say yes to a reactive internal request, you are saying no to something else. The strategic project you've been meaning to start. The enrollment marketing plan that needs attention before next fall sneaks up on you.
You are not a customer service department.
Your job is to market and communicate on behalf of your school in a way that supports enrollment, retention, and reputation. That requires time, focus, and strategic thinking. None of which you have when you are buried in spring banquet graphics.
Here's the language I'd encourage you to try. When a request comes in, say this: "I want to help with this. Can we talk about where it fits against what I'm already working on?"
That one sentence does two things. It signals that you are willing, and it makes the other person aware that your time is finite and already committed.
You are not saying no. You are saying let's figure this out together.
You deserve to do your best work. That only happens when you protect the time to do it.
Thanks,
Brendan
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UPCOMING EVENT
For MarCom Society Members Only
Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
Hello, book clubbers! Our next book is Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller.
Grab your copy on Amazon here and start reading: https://amzn.to/4a2OXPt
I've read this book and cannot recommend it more highly. I hope you’ll join our discussion, even if you haven’t read the book. :-)
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