We’ve worked with over 7,000 education businesses in our time.

No two are completely alike, but we frequently see three distinct business personas walk through our doors:

1. The Lone Wolves
2. The Creative Cats
3. The System Sharks

The majority of our clients fit into one of these three categories.

Which one are you?

The Lone Wolves:

Actually, the term ‘lone wolf’ is a misnomer.

Wolves are pack animals, and one of the most highly social of all carnivores.

Packs are usually small, organised, and every member plays a roll in hunting, defending territory, and raising the young – and that’s where the similarities begin.

The lone wolves in the education industry are small to medium-sized businesses, and their team members wear multiple hats.

There’s a lot to admire about the lone wolf business:

• Resourceful: they will make do with what is available to create a solution.
• Self-sufficient: they prefer to manage all aspects of the business internally.
• Agile: they identify changes in their arena quickly and can be fast to respond.

These are some of the best qualities of the small education business.

However, the same attributes nurture a sense of independence. Admirably determined, they will sooner attempt DIY solutions before seeking external support.

So, how is it we happen upon these lone market contenders?

No matter how self-reliant you are, to participate in commerce, you need to market your products. And if you want to reach to educators in the UK… we’re the go to team.

When we speak with lone wolves, they are typically after one of three things:

• They want to buy a list of teacher emails – no questions asked, and no support.
• They want to send a one-off email – they’ll supply the copy and design.
• They want to trial our services at a discount – pledging future business for results.

Talking to clients that know precisely what they want is always a pleasure. It makes delivering results easier.

However, speaking to lone wolves can be difficult. Their fiercely independent attitude and belief that with the tools they can do it themselves is commendable, but it also means they resist support.

We’re always sorry to see lone wolves refuse our help because often these are the education businesses that stand to benefit the most from our expertise.

If you’re one of the lone wolves, here’s how we help your pack:

• Read our blog. We update it regularly with news and insights into the education sector and advice on marketing to schools. If you ever want to howl about a piece, give us a call.
• Download free resources from Sprint Labs. If you insist on going it alone, at least take some of our free resources with you. Here you’ll find comprehensive guides on SEO, writing emails, and growing your database.
• Talk strategy with us for free on Zoom or by phone. We’ll help you locate weak spots you can exploit on your next hunt for edu-revenue. We don’t even have to cross into your territory.

The Creative Cats:

These guys are pretty slick.

Cats aren’t particularly creative creatures, so I’m drawing inspiration from Top Cat for this education business type.

Do we all remember Top Cat? No?

He was the charismatic yellow-furred hustler in a purple pork pie hat and vest from the beloved 60s cartoon of the same name, “Top Cat”. Every episode TC would come up with a clever scheme to make a quick buck.

Much like our feline friend, these businesses have got the strategy and design skills in the bag.

Creative Cats usually strut their stuff with:

• Originality: they’ve got capable designers and writers on board and plenty of ideas.
• Proactivity: they have a strategy and know their customers’ calendar.
• Curiosity: they’re eager to learn and seek to optimise their strategy with the latest techniques.

What they lack is the intel. They’ve got the swagger, but they need the stats.

That’s where we come in.

Think of us a bit like Spook, Top Cat’s fun-loving streetwise pal with a knack for numbers. When Top Cat and the gang need help with a situation, Spook steps up to the plate.

That’s us.

When the Creative Cats get the gang together, they’re typically looking for:

• A precisely targetted and segmented contact list.
• Access to either our UK database of 400k educators or US database of 6.8m educators.
• Use of Campus, our integrated education database, email, CRM, and sales platform.

Don’t you just love it when a team comes together?

You begin to feel like you’re in a heist film. Each member of the team is an expert, carrying out their part to execute a carefully orchestrated operation to win over schools and teachers.

It’s always a thrill when the leads start rolling in because we’ve managed to reach precisely the right audience with the right message.

Need a new edu-marketing gang member? Here’s what we bring to the table:

Take a tour of Campus, your one-stop solution for your education business’s email marketing needs. If you’ve got the savvy and the style, and all you need is the machine – look no further. Campus will give you access to the education data, and help you create, schedule, and broadcast your email marketing directly into UK educators inboxes.

The System Sharks:

Sharks swim and eat.

Millions of years of evolution have made them ruthlessly efficient.

They became the oceans’ apex predators by focussing on what they’re good at and outsourcing the rest to the remora and pilot fish.

Never heard of the remora or pilot fish? They swim with sharks, clearing the water of debris and parasites, so the shark stays healthy, streamlined, and able to do what they do best – hunt.

This symbiotic relationship creates efficiencies for both parties and defines our next type of education business, the system sharks.

Sharks come in a lot of shapes and sizes, but they share a few things in common:

• Focused: they know their speciality and stick to it, hiring experts to do the rest.
• Efficient: they look to maximise results, optimising output from inputs.
• Responsive: they are quick to react to opportunity.

Cruising alongside a shark like a pilot fish is our happy place.

Working together as part of a more complex whole comes naturally to system sharks. They understand that a collaborative business relationship based on an awareness of one another’s expertise makes for a smooth swim.

The mutual trust in this symbiotic relationship means we can streamline your customer acquisition with a seamless marketing strategy, while you focus on striking leads when the time is right.

Here’s how we swim alongside the system sharks:

Get streamlined for killer lead generation. Talk to us about our fully managed education strategies. We plan the strategy, create the content, broadcast the campaign, and generate the leads. Leaving your marketing and lead generation on auto-pilot means you can focus on the attack.

Not one of these?

Perhaps your business is a whole different kettle of fish.

Whatever rare breed you might be, if you’re looking to connect with schools in the UK or the US, there’s a good chance we can form a symbiotic relationship.

Talk strategy with us for free.

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Education Marketing

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