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This section offers a roadmap for marketing your High School/High
Tech project, with a special focus on building partnerships within your local
employer community. Below you will find insight into the rationale for
marketing the project, as well as recommendations for marketing tools and
techniques.
Take a trip to your local library or bookstore and you'll
find an overwhelming selection of books and other materials on the subject of
marketing. Most of these resources offer excellent information about marketing
methods and tools. However, none will offer advice directly applicable to your
High School/High Tech project—that is, advice that specifically will help
you in marketing your project to your local employer community. This section
does just that. It presents some basic principles of marketing and offers ideas
that you might apply to your High School/High Tech project.
Before you can decide how to market your High School/High Tech
project, you must think about why you would want to market it. In the High
School/High Tech context, the purpose of marketing is to establish and convey a
clear identity for your project, and then to gain your employer community's
commitment to developing mutually beneficial partnerships.
Through your marketing efforts, you want to let local
employers—including companies, non-profit organizations, and government
agencies—know that that you exist and that you represent a unique and
valuable endeavor called High School/High Tech. Furthermore, you want the
employer community to invest in your project. This requires a dynamic process
that you must sustain and evolve over time. Initially, the employer may commit
only to hosting a one-time field trip or providing a speaker, but eventually
may commit to providing summer employment opportunities for your students, for
example.
Keep in mind that effective marketing does not require a degree in
business. Rather, it requires enthusiasm, resourcefulness, thoughtful planning,
and a willingness to network your way into the public's view. A few other
points to remember:
- Marketing activities can actually be fun. Consider them a
vehicle for stimulating the creative part of your brain.
- Marketing becomes easier with experience.
- There is no right or wrong approach to marketing—only more
effective or less effective!
Corporate giants spend billions of dollars to market their
products and services. Even mid-sized companies dedicate as much as 10 percent
of their revenues in packaging and advertising their wares. Fortunately for
you, the task of marketing a High School/High Tech project to local employers
requires more ingenuity than monetary outlay. The following seven steps provide
some general guidance for planning and implementing your marketing efforts.
To work successfully with employers, it is helpful to develop an
awareness of your community's economic situation and employment trends, as well
as a familiarity with your area's leading, new, and growing high tech
businesses. It also is useful to understand the hiring, retention, and
competition challenges that local employers face.
Make it part of your professional practice to read the local
business news. Not only will you educate yourself, but you also will find
excellent ideas for marketing your High School/High Tech project. As
importantly, you will become more credible when speaking with contacts about
their technical fields and industries.
Another valuable practice is to visit high tech firms in your
community. Develop Identify Your Competition Just as successful companies
invest a significant amount of time, energy, and resources gathering "
intelligence" about their competitors, so should you determine which other
organizations are vying for employers' attention and resources in your
community. For example, human service agencies, cooperative education and
work-study programs, other school systems, and even other groups within a
particular school may be seeking or have established partnerships with the some
of the organizations on your contact list. It is important to recognize the
possibility that you have competition and to learn about employers'
relationships with other organizations. Gathering such information not only
will help you to develop your niche and better position your High School/High
Tech project in the market, but also may provide ideas for mutually beneficial
linkages with your " competitors." a contact database and make a plan for
conducting site visits with known or new contacts. Let the company
representatives know you are with High School/High Tech and that your work
involves assisting high school students in exploring career opportunities.
Initially, your focus should be on learning what's happening in a particular
industry, although such visits also offer opportunities to get to know employer
representatives (and for them to get to know you).
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Identify Your Competition
Just as successful
companies invest a significant amount of time, energy, and resources gathering
"intelligence" about their competitors, so should you determine which other
organizations are vying for employers' attention and resources in your
community. For example, human service agencies, cooperative education and
work-study programs, other school systems, and even other groups within a
particular school may be seeking or have established partnerships with the some
of the organizations on your contact list.
It is important to recognize the possibility that you have
competition and to learn about employers' relationships with other
organizations. Gathering such information not only will help you to develop
your niche and better position your High School/High Tech project in the
market, but also may provide ideas for mutually beneficial linkages with your
"competitors." |
Take detailed notes about each organization you visit and ask
questions to gain an understanding of the organization's operations and needs.
While visiting, if the opportunity presents itself, you may want to discuss the
possibilities for company involvement in your project.
Other excellent resources to help you get to know your employer
community are the local chamber of commerce and the reference librarian at your
local library. Many companies also have their own libraries.
Before deciding what marketing activities will best serve your
needs, you must define your goals. For example, ask yourself:
- What outcomes do you hope to achieve from the partnerships
you develop (for example, recruiting local advisory committee members,
identifying host organizations for job shadowing experiences, or establishing
internship worksites)?
- Are you starting from scratch or are you building on existing
relationships with employers?
- What types of experiences do you want to provide for your
students?
- How many different employer partnerships do you need?
- What kinds of high tech occupations are your students seeking
and in what types of industries?
- What are the typical job descriptions and the skills required
for each occupation?
- What types of organizations are most likely to provide what
you need?
- How does your High School/High Tech project differ from other
school-business partnerships and from other work-based learning programs?
- What benefits will you provide to your partners?
- What is your timeframe for accomplishing your goals?
Answer these questions in your mind and then write down the
goals and objectives for marketing your High School/High Tech project. Be as
specific as possible and, when possible, quantify your answers.
What Do You Need?
As you develop your marketing goals, you need to define the ways
in which employers might become involved in helping your students to explore
high tech careers. This menu of offerings for employer involvement might
include:
- Paid internships, or cooperative work-study positions (after
school, on weekends, or during the summer months)
- Volunteer positions
- Opportunities for job shadowing, job sampling, situational
assessments, and other short-term, hands-on experiences
- Worksite tours or field trips Representatives for your local
advisory committee
- Guest speakers and participants in special events (e.g.,
career fairs)
- Referrals to other company and industry contacts
- Advisement on curricula, specifically on ways of integrating
industry concepts into academic and vocational-technical courses
- Identification of resources to support the project
- Opportunities such as externships that will expose teachers
to business and industry
Success in marketing your High School/High Tech
project—that is, in persuading employers to invest in your project and
students—will be a function of your relationships within the local
business community. Relationships built on trust and mutual benefits will be
the most successful in achieving your ultimate goal of supporting students'
needs in exploring high tech careers or gaining work experience in high tech
occupations.
STEP 1: Begin by taking an inventory of your existing
relationships (formal or informal) within the employer community and then
supplement this list with the names of prospective contacts with whom you have
no existing relationship. This combined list is the foundation of your contact
database, which you can continuously build as your project evolves. Development
of the database should be viewed as a dynamic process, rather than as a
one-time event.
STEP 2: After you have identified your initial contacts, your
mission will be to convince them to become active partners in your High
School/High Tech project. Your goal is to capture the contact's attention and
then cultivate even the smallest expression of interest into a relationship
that provides mutual benefits. This process may take months or it may develop
rapidly, depending on the organization and its needs. The National High
School/High Tech Program Office staff can also assist you in cultivating your
contacts.
Develop a Contact Database
A contact database can help you take an inventory of current and
prospective employer contacts, and will serve as a useful tool in tracking
progress toward achieving your marketing goals. Below are suggestions for
developing such a database.
- Compile a list of all the employers with which you have
contact or have had contact in the past. Be sure to include any companies,
non-profit organizations, and government agencies that employ friends and
family members. Flag those that already provide (or have provided) some type of
experience for your students.
- Ask your colleagues to do the same, then compile a master
list of existing company contacts.
- With your colleagues, brainstorm high tech companies that you
know exist in your area, but with which you have no contacts.
- Brainstorm the types of high tech occupations in which your
students might have an interest (e.g., graphic design, website design, computer
repair, telecommunications, engineering, biotechnology, software engineering,
etc.). Try to identify local companies and organizations that employ people in
these fields.
- Compile all of the information gathered into a contact
database (preferably electronic) that, at a minimum, includes each company
name, the contact person's name and position, mailing address, telephone and
fax numbers, e-mail address, website address, date of the most recent contact,
name of the project staff person who made the contact, and the outcome of the
discussion (for example, "discussed internship possibility for the student").
Build and update the database as your project evolves and your marketing
activities progress.
Whether you call it marketing, publicity, public relations,
advertising, or outreach, it all boils down to communicating a message. The
methods and tools you choose to communicate your High School/High Tech message
will depend on many factors, including the solidity of your existing
relationships with employers, your project vision, your budget, and the number
of prospective partners within your local high tech employer community.
Before you dive in, think about your marketing goals and
carefully choose the methods and tools that will be most effective in helping
you to achieve those goals. Many times, a very targeted approach aimed at
reaching specific types of employers (e.g., government agencies or small high
tech firms) and involving only one or two methods or tools will suffice. In
other situations, you may find that a broader approach that involves several
methods or tools will be more effective.
Following are examples of marketing methods and tools that you
might consider.
Personal Contact with Employers
- Call employers with whom you have an existing relationship to
let them know about your High School/High Tech project and to invite their
participation. Before calling, know what you want to communicate and what you
will ask them to do.
- Send a personalized letter and your business card to selected
employers to let them know about your project and to invite their participation
in the project or a specific event. When sending letters, be sure to follow up
by telephone to confirm receipt and answer any questions.
- Make "cold calls" or canvas employers to learn more about
their organizations, let them know about your project, and get a sense of the
employer's potential interest in becoming a part of the project. Even though
you may be making cold calls, be sure to take a warm approach!
- Ask employers if you can visit their worksites to learn more
about their industries or organizations.
- Network at professional conferences, during classes you may
be taking, or through your involvement in community or volunteer activities.
- Visit employers' websites or call their offices to get e-mail
addresses and then send e-mails to let them know about your project.
- Volunteer to speak at meetings or conferences organized by
the local Rotary Club, chamber of commerce, or other business-related
organizations.
- Arrange for booth space at conferences attended by local
employers.
- Attend high tech trade shows to network with employer
representatives who are participating or exhibiting.
- Invite employer representatives to become a part of your
local advisory committee.
- Ask your current employer partners to tell their colleagues
in the business world about your project.
- Follow up after each contact with an employer by sending a
letter or by calling with additional information.
Print and Electronic Materials
- Develop a project brochure or fact sheet to mail with
letters, disseminate at meetings with employers, or post in targeted locations.
- Create an inexpensive newsletter that periodically updates
current and prospective employer partners about your project activities,
students' successes, and the importance of employer involvement.
- Design and post a website that informs employers and other
audiences about the project, or create a page on the National High School/High
Tech website.
- Find out about electronic bulletin boards or listservs aimed
at local employers, and post messages about your project using these electronic
tools.
- Design and print business cards and stationery that convey a
professional, consistent project image. Be sure that the business card includes
your telephone and fax numbers, mailing address, and e-mail and website
addresses. Carry business cards with you at all times.
- Create a video or CD-ROM that explains the project's goals,
activities, and successes. Take a look at Georgia's High School/High Tech
Video!
- Develop project progress reports or an annual report to
update employers about project activities.
- Make copies of articles that have been published about your
project and disseminate them with letters to local employers.
Media Relations
- Pitch stories about the project, specific students'
accomplishments, or collaboration with employers to local media
representatives.
- Mail or fax news releases and media advisories to reporters,
editors, or producers at local newspapers, television stations, and radio
stations to inform them of project events and activities. Follow up to confirm
receipt and to answer any questions.
- Write articles about project activities for placement in
local newspapers, trade publications, employers' in-house newsletters, or
school system publications. Be sure to contact the publication before writing
the article to determine the editor's interest in a particular story idea.
- Call upon any connections you may have with local reporters,
editors, or producers to get coverage of your program's events and activities.
- Develop a database of media contacts.
- If your budget permits, or if you can get expenses waived,
consider placing paid advertisements in selected local print publications read
by the business community.
- Tap into the expertise of media relations experts within your
school system, the state, or the National High School/High Tech Program Office.
(See Appendix II for "Tips for Using the National
Program's Media Office to Maximize your Media Coverage.")
- Invite media representatives to become a part of your local
advisory committee.
Special Events
- Invite employer representatives to an annual informational
meeting or kick-off event.
- Hold an annual employer recognition event, or present awards
to employers at an annual project banquet.
- Invite local employers to attend a career fair for people
with disabilities.
Specialty Advertising
- Create mugs, pens, T-shirts, magnets, mouse pads, or other
giveaways bearing the project logo or other information, and distribute them
when you meet with or have other contact with employers.
Regardless of the methods you choose, consistency and
professionalism in packaging are paramount. Develop a standard image and
message so that your prospective employer partners, and others with whom you
come into contact, develop instant recognition of your project. A logo, uniform
type faces, and perhaps a project slogan used on your project's business cards,
stationery, brochures, forms, meeting materials, and website will help you to
convey a cohesive project image.
In designing your project materials, be sure to communicate the
message that High School/High Tech is a nationally recognized initiative. Also
remember that slick designs and expensive color printing usually are not needed
to market High School/High Tech projects. A simple, clean design will be just
as effective. You might even ask one of your students with an interest in
graphic arts to design the materials for you.
Successful business people know that it's one thing to implement
a marketing plan but that it's also important to track the results of a
marketing program. You can evaluate the success of your High School/High Tech
marketing efforts by examining both the process and the outcome of the efforts
in terms of your original goals and objectives.
Process evaluation provides objective data about the
administrative and organizational aspects of your marketing efforts. This type
of evaluation might result in a report that documents, for a specified time
period, the number of telephone calls made to prospective employer partners,
meetings held with employers to discuss opportunities for involvement in the
project, news stories published in local newspapers, mugs distributed, and hits
on your website. Process evaluation data should be gathered continuously and
analyzed periodically.
Outcome evaluation, on the other hand, focuses on the actual
results of your marketing efforts. Outcome evaluation measures might include,
for example, the number of internship positions or job shadowing situations
created as a result of your marketing efforts, employers' expressions of
interest in participating in your project, or the number of employers who have
hosted field trips at their worksites. Outcome information can be gathered and
assessed at predetermined time points, such as following events, or at the end
of the school year.
Information gained from continuously evaluating the process and
outcome will help you to assess and refine your marketing efforts to ensure
that you are investing your marketing time and dollars wisely. Look at both the
positive and the negative impacts of your marketing efforts. Be willing to
shore up the weak areas, capitalize on the strong ones, and develop altogether
new marketing strategies as your project evolves.
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