‘Custom’ is always better because all schools are unique

When it comes to student management and CRM systems, many schools frequently opt for an off-the-shelf product mainly because they might still not be familiar with how such systems operate and prefer to go for the cheaper option. And who can blame them? The only issue with that is that in the long run, such systems stop being viable or, as the school grows, the system becomes less cost effective to run, due per user or student charges. And at that point, schools will have to begin from scratch and lose all the money, and time invested  on an off-the-shelf product.

CRM should not be a means to an end, but part of your Marketing Strategy

A good CRM doesn’t come cheap. That much is for certain. However, finding the right product that will help your school to grow exponentially over a period of time shouldn’t be looked at as an expense but a marketing investment.

Consider this example:

As a school you might decide that now is the right time to start looking into new markets and exploring new territories to improve your nationality mix and student number, and, let’s face it, to make a bigger profit. For this reason you hire decide that it is time to increase your marketing team and hire more people. You might even decide to open up a Marketing Department if your school has never had one. 

For your Finance Department that means at least one more person on the payroll, new office space, new technology.in total, a few tens of thousands of Euros, Pounds or Dollars! That is a considerable setback! That is not to mention the settling-in period where the new employee needs to become acquainted with your school system, start collecting info, eventually begin to identify market trends, and after 6 - 8 months (if the new marketing person is really good!), you might begin to see some RoI.

Now take that figure of a few tens of thousands...and continue to pay that every year!

How about this scenario?

- You start using a custom-built CRM system, such as Intrinsiq, which: 

- Can smoothly import data from other CRM systems

- Is cloud-based

- Has no limits on how many members of staff can use it

- Has no limits on student numbers

- Can manage your accommodation

- Can manage your class list and class allocation

- Can help with teacher tracking

- Can track agent performance

- Interprets data and analyses data to provide you with solid business intel on, for example, emerging markets and other trends

- Provides 24/7 support

All this helps to run the school more efficiently, so that your key members of staff can focus their time and energy on keeping the students at the school happy!

To top it off, Intrinsiq is offering schools free hosting for 6 months which is worth £2700 GBP.