Why You Shouldn't Have Your Tuition Rates on Your Website

Following location and teacher qualifications, one of the very next things parents look for when perusing your school’s website is tuition. How much will it cost for them to provide the best Montessori education for their little ones? Can they afford it?

Of course, this is important information that you need to provide to the parents and guardians of prospective new students, but not at first glance. Instead, why not offer tuition rates in exchange for contact information from families expressing interest in your school?

When you give parents a way to “opt in” to your school’s marketing and communications, you gain countless opportunities to promote the value of your Montessori school and begin building a relationship with families while supplying tuition rates, per their request.

Why you should ask for contact information from website visitors requesting tuition rates.

A prospective family’s quest for information about tuition rates to your Montessori school essentially becomes your “lead magnet” — a way for your school to capture the information of prospective families and students. When you ask for contact information in exchange for access to tuition rates, you can begin building an email list of potential families to whom you could then send pertinent, personalized emails about your amazing school and all that Montessori has to offer their children.

You can promote the value of your school through a series of communications about such topics like:

• Scholarship programs
• Why the Montessori learning philosophy is superior to more traditional methods
• Testimonies from existing parents and families about their amazing experiences at your school

Now, interested website visitors not only have tuition rates in hand, but they also have valuable information as to the financial worth of those numbers.

Why is this kind of personalized communication so important for your school?

Let’s say a mom or dad is searching online for “Montessori schools near me” and comes across your school’s website. They read about the teaching philosophy, number of students in attendance, teacher-to-student ratio, and ages of children your school currently serves. They read about your location, your professional affiliations, and your staff’s educational training.

They discover the value you are providing families in your community.

What if they first looked at the Tuition Rates page that was immediately visible on your website and left? You might never know what they were thinking before they left. Offering tuition rates in exchange for their contact information potentially gets website visitors to learn more about your school. If they like what they see, they’ll happily provide their contact information in exchange for tuition costs.

Parents compare your school to other schools in the area, including tuition.

Parents narrow down choices of their favorite two or three schools they’d like to visit, so they can gather even more information for this important decision they’re about to make that will affect their child’s future. They also want to compare the cost of each of their top schools.

They immediately find tuition rates on two out of three websites (not yours), and based on that information, they decide whether or not to schedule a tour. They decide immediately if the tuition expense relegates one of their favorite Montessori school selections to the “unaffordable” list.

Since you didn’t list your tuition rates on your school’s website, and the only way parents can get this information is to fill out a contact form with their first name, last name, email address, and programs they’re interested in, you have the advantage.

Here’s why you have the advantage when you don’t list your tuition rates.

Once you’ve collected this contact information, your website visitors are granted immediate access to your tuition rates along with your welcome message. Now you’ve just personalized their experience, and given them the information they requested. It’s a win-win situation.

This personalized communication – quite possibly their first interaction with your school – is an opportunity to begin building a relationship. And, effective digital marketing is built around relationships between businesses and consumers, or in your case, schools and families.

The information on your website provides value to families searching for a Montessori school in their neighborhood. The personalized email communication begins building a relationship with these families so they can see the value they’re getting with your school. Instead of just looking at a set of payment options, they learn about your school and understand what they’re paying for.

Even if your school isn’t the least expensive, if parents like what they see in terms of value, and already feel important because you took the time to send a personalized email, they may be better able to see the financial worth in your tuition rates as well. Next thing you know, families are using your Calendly application to schedule a tour of your school.

Isn’t it great when all the pieces of the marketing puzzle fit together? We think so.

If at any time during your marketing efforts, you’d like help connecting the individual pieces, we’re here to help.

Schedule your free consultation