As the fall season kicks into gear, your admissions office is likely looking ahead to one of the busiest times of the year—enrollment season. Families are researching schools, attending events, and reaching out for more information, and there’s no better time to focus on converting those inquiries into actual applicants and, hopefully, enrollments.

But families don't decide to apply overnight; before a family applies, they’ve already been gathering information and weighing their options. Understanding the family journey is one of the most critical steps in how you get families to apply to your school and how you increase enrollment rates. 

On average, consumers spend 79 days researching a product before making a major purchase, and the same goes for prospective families. How you use that time and the message you deliver can make or break your enrollment pipeline.

Here are some key strategies about how to convert your school's fall inquiries.

How to Convert Inquiries into Admission: Getting Families to Apply

Focus on Warm Leads

When a family inquires, they’re already a warm lead. They’ve shown interest in your school, and the key to converting them is maintaining that interest while giving them every reason to apply.

Their journey started with initial awareness—perhaps through word-of-mouth, a Google search, or a social media post. From there, families gather information, compare schools, and weigh factors like academics, after-school programs, location, and community culture.

Start by recognizing that these families are actively researching and comparing schools. Your follow-up messaging should focus on why your school is the best fit for them:

• Provide timely follow-ups: Reach out within 24 hours of their inquiry. Send them personalized information based on what you know about their interests. Have they asked about athletics, your arts program, or your academic rigor? Make sure your responses directly address their specific questions and concerns.
   
• Create segmented email campaigns: Not every inquiry should get the same email. Break your contacts into segments based on factors like grade level, program interest, or whether they’ve visited your school. For each segment, craft specific follow-ups that answer their needs. For example, families who inquire about your middle school should receive tailored messaging that highlights student activities, leadership opportunities, and academic prep for high school.

Your school must map out and understand this journey to convert inquiries effectively. By breaking it down into stages—awareness, consideration, evaluation, and decision—you can align your communications and marketing strategies to meet the needs of families at every step.

Your school can strengthen its relationships with prospective families by understanding the journey families take and crafting targeted messages for each stage.

For example, at the awareness stage, parents are looking for basic information about your school: what makes it unique, the programs offered, and whether or not it matches their needs.

At the consideration stage, parents are beginning to narrow down their options, weighing the strengths and weaknesses of different schools. This is the time to showcase what sets your school apart—its values, community, and opportunities for personal growth.

At the evaluation stage, parents are researching the experience your school offers, from curriculum details to student outcomes. By segmenting these stages, you can deliver the right message to the right families at the right time.

As parents move into the decision stage, they're making their final choice. Here, factors like financial aid, the application process, and enrollment deadlines come into play. Providing clear, straightforward information and offering personal assistance can make all the difference in converting inquiries to applications.

Build a Nurture Campaign

A one-time response won’t be enough to keep a family engaged. You’ll need to build a nurture campaign to keep providing valuable information, reminders, and invitations to keep the momentum going.

• Send consistent updates: Follow up with families over several weeks. Your first email might include a warm welcome and details about the admissions process. The next could share a personal story from a parent or student. Over time, invite them to events, virtual open houses, or webinars. The goal is to keep them engaged and show them what makes your school special.
   
• Highlight deadlines and steps: Don’t let families fall off the radar. Remind them of upcoming application deadlines, steps in the admissions process, or required documents. This keeps your school top of mind and shows that you’re making the process easier for them.

Keep Reading: Countdown to March: Enrollment Strategies for the Admission Cycle

Personalize Every Interaction

Personalizing your engagement is crucial for increasing the likelihood of conversion, though that doesn’t just mean dropping a parent’s name into an email subject line. When families feel your school understands their unique concerns and aspirations, they’re more likely to engage with your communications and view your school as the right fit for their child.

Personalized invitations: Here’s a secret: Families appreciate it when you connect the dots for them! Gather data on your prospective families through forms, open house registrations, or inquiry forms, and use this information to tailor follow-up communications.

• Did a family express their student's interest in your robotics program? Invite them to a STEM event or competition. Show them how your school offers the experiences they’re looking for. 

Follow-up with meaning: After a family tours your school, send a follow-up that references their visit. If their child was particularly excited about a specific classroom, club, or sport, mention that in your email. Personal touches can turn a casual inquiry into a committed applicant.

Rather than sending a generic message to every family, you can use tools like automated email workflows and segmented lists to send relevant information that matters most to them.

Building automated email campaigns tailored to different types of families (like those looking for pre-K, elementary, or high school) can keep parents engaged and move them further down the funnel toward an application.

St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School asked its middle school ambassadors to bring its four core pillars to life by sharing what these values mean to them. By showcasing campus life from the student's perspective, they made the messaging more relatable to prospective families. 

These personalized, student-driven messages were then emailed to prospective families, creating an authentic and engaging way of communicating the school’s values. 

Use Your Community to Build Trust

Your school’s community is one of its biggest assets when converting an inquiry into an application or enrollment. At this stage of the decision-making process, families already know about your school and what it offers, but they want to feel a sense of belonging, and the impression your existing community leaves can make or break a decision.

Use your current community to help them see themselves at your school.

Share Success Stories

Highlight a mix of quotes from school leaders, students, and parents. For example, one family might have been drawn to your school because of your unique arts program. Another might have chosen your school for its close-knit community and support for students. These stories show prospective families that others have already made the same decision and are thriving.

According to the Enrollment Management Association, 80% of parents/caregivers said their student applicants had influence “to a great extent” or “ to a very great extent” in where to apply, compared to the 82% of parents/caregivers who said their student applicants had influence “to a great extent” or “to a very great extent” in where to enroll.

For example, one family may be influenced by student achievement stories, while another might connect more with quotes and profiles highlighting emotional support and a strong sense of community.

Encourage Direct Engagement

Don’t forget about the power of having prospective families interact with current members of your school’s community. Hosting events like student-led tours, parent panels, or even virtual Q&A sessions allows prospects to engage with the people who embody your school’s culture. Prospective families will appreciate the opportunity to ask real questions and hear candid feedback.

At Norwich Free Academy, spending a day as a Wildcat is easy! Through Finalsite Enrollment’s calendar feature, students can easily sign up for a shadow day. This lets prospective students select the most convenient time to get a firsthand look at a regular school day and ask questions of someone their age.

Track, Analyze, and Adjust

Without proper tracking, it’s challenging to know which of your touchpoints are working, which strategies need refining, and just how close a family is to making a decision. 

If you haven't already, implement a customer relationship management (CRM) system. A CRM allows you to track each family’s journey, from the initial inquiry to the enrollment decision. This system helps admissions and marketing teams stay on the same page and ensures every prospective family receives the necessary follow-up communication.

Here’s what you should focus on tracking:

• Lead sources: Which channels are bringing in the most inquiries? Is it your social media campaigns, Google ads, or word-of-mouth referrals? Understanding your top-performing lead sources will allow you to allocate resources more effectively and double down on high-conversion strategies.
   
• Engagement levels: Track how families engage with your content.
  • Do they open your emails?
  • Are they clicking through to your website?
  • Are they attending events?

This data gives insight into how invested families are in your school and can help you prioritize follow-up efforts.

• Conversion rates: Measure how many inquiries lead to applications and, ultimately, how many applications turn into enrollments. You may need to revisit your follow-up strategy if you notice a high drop-off rate between inquiry and application. 

Analyzing this data allows you to keep optimizing your admissions funnel to see which efforts are moving the needle and adjust your strategy.

Key Takeaways

Focusing on these key strategies can increase enrollment and build stronger, more lasting relationships with the families who choose your school. With the right approach, those initial fall inquiries can blossom into full classrooms, thriving students, and a vibrant school community.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As the Social Media and Content Specialist, Hailey oversees Finalsite's social media accounts and helps grow its online community. Following her time at the University of Kansas, where she took up rowing, Hailey is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys playing soccer and running.