3 reasons for school districts to adopt a customer service mindset

What is a customer service mindset?

Customer service in schools is the understanding that exceptional teaching and learning, while vital, are no longer enough to meet families’ expectations or keep them enrolled in your district.

School districts progress through the customer service journey from Reactive (where dissatisfied parents and siloed communication are common) to Customer-centric — the “gold standard” of K-12 service, where every interaction is intentional and guided by customer service metrics.

Adopting a customer service mindset means making customer service a priority across all interactions, ensuring it is embedded in every aspect of your district’s operations.

If you’re curious about the benefits of customer service, here are three reasons to incorporate this mindset into your district. 

1. Competition is fierce. 

Parents continue to raise concerns about a broad range of issues that drive them to find alternative options. 

Public schools throughout the United States saw a rapid decline in students — losing 1.5 million, or 3%, over the last year. We’re seeing an unprecedented increase in homeschooling — with over 10% of families choosing the option over both remote and in-person options at public schools or charter schools — and charter school enrollment has continued to grow. 

To keep families enrolled in public schools, education leaders must adopt a customer service mindset. If they don’t, they risk declining enrollment and budget deficits. 

2. Marketing helps. But it’s not the answer.

In the face of rising competition from charter schools, homeschooling, and school choice, many public districts are investing in traditional marketing, such as TV ads, billboards, and radio spots to retain current students and attract new ones.

Advertising is a great way to build awareness of your school district. However, keeping families in your district enrolled year-over-year is another story. 

That’s where great customer service can win people over. If you continually demonstrate a commitment to meeting the unique needs of every student, you’ll be able to keep families in your district. 

3. Your schools already do customer service.

Your school or district might not have a formal approach to customer service. Keep in mind every staff member who interacts with parents or students – either in person, on the phone, or via email – performs some type of customer service.

The question isn’t whether they’re doing customer service. It’s whether or not they are doing it well. 

So what is exceptional customer service? We’ve found that every school leader has their own particular conception of what a quality customer experience should look like, based on the values, philosophy, and specific challenges of their schools.

Ready to elevate your district’s customer service? Request a free consultation to explore how Let’s Talk can help.