Do you optimise you ppc campaign, do you play with the text so as to see which is the most effective, do you do split testing, do you find out how each and every student has found out about your English Language School, do you know what search terms they used in internet, do you know why they finally chose your English Course and not one of your competitor's courses?

The list is endless, I simply wish to say that it is time to concentrate on getting value for money from each every penny you spend on marketing and sales but certainly not time to cut back.

Furthermore, historuy tells us that enrolment numbers do not decline as dramatically as one might expect. Some people who lose their job, are upbeat and, feel it is an opportunity to do do an English Language Course ? they can come off season, stay longer, be more focussed and more relaxed at the same time etc. Others may feel they need to improve their English Language skills so as to be more competitive in the job market. The same logic applies to parents who may feel it is even more important to invest in the future of their children. Our English Course for teenagers is Sometimes, the teenagers themselves can be more aware of the need to Learn English and are more enthusiastic about the idea of attending an English course, especially in an English speaking country.

Okay, so it is not all doom and gloom (according to me) but we know there will be less cake to go around. So, should we cut back in other areas? Again, I think this would be a mistake. Why not maintain or even raise standards so as to make your school stand out from the rest. English students will probably be little more selective in their choice of course. Give some thought to something different or extra you can provide. If you anticipate fewere students why not include it as part of your advertising.

Many English Language Schools use vague language such as ?social programme and small classes?, the word ?class? does not refer to one complete hour etc etc. If you are so convinced you will have fewer students why not genuinely provide that small group as a guarantee. Teachers will not empathise enough to take a pay cut but if they see that you are making changes to ensure that everyone still has a job then maybe they will be prepared to do a little more. How about if they agree to take a group of students out one night each week, classes are a little longer, they make an effort to get in contact with ex-students and so on.

Indeed this could be a task for other staff who find they have fewer applications to deal with. Everyone should make an extra effort on the sales front. If you make it clear (and of course it is true) that you are trying to keep everyone in a job I am sure people will respond positively. In the U.S.A the employees of the big three car giants volunteered to freeze their benefits. Un other words, your employees cannot help but know the gravity of the situation and perhaps just need some guidance as to how they can do a little more to help the cause. Indeed, why not tell them to get thinking and come up with their own ideas.

One question I have not touched on is whether to cut prices or not. I suppose if you provide a basic course and price is your selling point then go for it, though I assume margins are tight. Our courses are very intensive which means more expensive. I realise students will be looking for discounts but ,given our niche in the market, I would prefer not to go down that road. We plan to offer some discounts but always for a reason that is not purely down to the credit crunch. This is because when I see huge discounts I always think that the company must make a huge profit out of me when I pay full price. Sudden whopping discounts can almost be a little off-putting.

So how do I plan to offer our students a better price. In short they do something or give us something in return ? they have to earn it, it is not free.

I have some off beat ideas that I will share with you in the next release, in a few weeks.