Most databases are available for public use and usually outline the demographics such as types of schools and volume of student. However, when marketing to schools it's important to generate a database which will help you to achieve your education marketing goals. There is no substitute for having detailed data and companies go to great lengths to build a school database with the most useful information. These databases target niche markets that others have ignored. When gathering data for your database you will need to think thoroughly about the ‘scope' of the project as well as the design of the school database.
You will have carried out extensive research regarding the market that you would like to target. From this you can narrow down your focus to a particular type of school, location, and specialisation. For example, you may want to primary target private schools as your product may be aimed at those with higher disposable income.
Secondly, you will need to think about geographical location. Having selected a particular geographical area, it is much easier to compare and analyse trends in schools in the same area. This will give you an indication as to where your product will be successful or unsuccessful. Schools located in a particular location may have different regulation, admission policies, reputations and more, so its important to bear this in mind when using your data to target schools
From this you can really dig into the details of your target demographic. How far is entirely down to your needs and requirements. You may online require the volume of students or you may want to drill down into age ranges, school links, addresses and more. Shape the school database towards this intended audience and you will have a significant amount of data to utilize to your advantage.
As mentioned previously, obtaining this data is not easy and many companies dedicate many hours in obtaining the best database for their customers. It is advisable to outsource your database and take advantage of the quality databases which companies strive to produce. JEM education direct possess quality data which is constantly updated. The JEM database will allow you to drill down to very specific information, the only database of this kind. JEM have proven success and believe that a quality school database is at the heart of a successful marketing campaign. For more information, please visit www.jem.co.uk.