A long cross-country

Your school's marketing demands that same level of planning, discipline, and professionalism. Unfortunately, too many flight schools let daily activities swamp the planning process. As the saying goes, they get so busy chasing cows that they don't have time to fix the fence. A poorly developed marketing program lets valuable dollars slip through that fence and, unlike cows, when dollars are gone, they're gone for good.

Your school should have a written marketing plan that details the goals, strategies, and tactics that will lead you to where you want your school to go. Think of it as a navigation log for marketing. It must be specific and, like your navlog, state a destination (goal) and ETA (one year). Large corporations have giant marketing plans that take teams of people to create, but most flight schools can do quite well with a simpler plan that takes up one or two pages. No matter how extensive, your marketing plan should consist of at least the following components:

1. Identification of primary and secondary markets. Who are your prospective students? Are they young men and women seeking career training, or are they business people looking for a new recreational activity? How old are they? How are they most likely to finance their training? Identifying the largest target group as your primary market and smaller subgroups as secondary targets will not only help pinpoint your marketing activities, it will also aid in your overall business planning.
2. Completion of a competitive market analysis. What other flight schools are within 50 miles of your facility? How big are they? What kind of aircraft do they fly? What are their strengths, prices, advantages? What do they do well? Not so well? In other words, what is your competition and how can you challenge them for the same customer? This is one of the most important components of your marketing plan, and it should be taken very seriously, especially for start-ups or schools seeking to expand or make major investments. Do this carefully and be objective. You may uncover untapped potential or challenges that are too great to surmount.
3. Recognition of what makes your school different and why prospective students should choose your facility over others. This is often referred to as your unique selling proposition (USP) and is a critical factor in determining your marketing messages. What sets you apart? Is your training fleet all glass? Are your CFIs all seasoned pros? Do you specialize in a type of training (multiengine, CFI, tailwheel, aerobatic)? Even the most generic flight schools have something unique about them, whether it be the culture, location, or reputation. Stating your USP in your marketing plan will help you focus your messaging, and it may push you toward changes and improvements that will make your school more competitive.
4. A plan for developing marketing materials. These materials should include at least the following:
• Website. It should be better than your competitors, offer more complete information, and include a call to action. Should contain lots of colorful, professionally shot photos (no stock photos!) and should communicate your USP clearly and unambiguously.
• Facebook and social media presence. Social media is an important place to be visible to potential customers. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram—but make sure you keep your content current and compelling. Fresh postings should be made at least twice a week and should feature students and their success stories. Do not talk about features of your school or make your social media look like advertising.
• Email newsletter. These should be sent to your mailing list twice a month. Again, feature your student accomplishments, flyout destinations, and a “Training Corner” where you get into a specific training topic, such as avoiding wake turbulence. Keep it short, and don’t make it too much of a sales pitch.
• Brochure. Spend a few bucks on a nice one. Make it have the same look as your website for graphic continuity, and feature lots of pictures. Research shows that people don't read all the copy but will look at all the photos and graphics. Make them stand out. This and your website will create an image of your school.
• Price list. Don't quote final prices or try to entice customers with lowball estimates of pilot certificates in 40 hours. It will take them 20 minutes when they start talking to other students to learn that your 40-hour sales pitch was far from the truth and you'll lose all credibility. Be honest; set fair pricing and put the prices in writing so your prospects will know what to expect. Lack of transparency in pricing or having unrealistic cost expectations are two of the main reasons students quit training or move to another school.
• School policies sheet. Make sure your students know what your policies are regarding scheduling, late or skipped appointments, payment, overdue aircraft, overnight rentals, et cetera. Putting polices in writing avoids uncomfortable conversations.
5. Creation of a lead-generation program. It all starts with a lead—a prospect who reaches out to you for more information. How do you get potential customers to call you? Do you run full page ads in The Wall Street Journal? Hire people to spin signs on the street corner? Put flyers under windshield wipers at Costco? Probably not, but you will need to do something. Advertising on social media, especially Facebook, can be very effective. The same is true for search engines. It’s probably best to avoid newspapers and other traditional media—their circulation is too broad. Keep it targeted and simple, with a call to action at the end.
6. Development of a customer retention program. A what, you say? In the flight training business, keeping customers is a challenge. People who track these things tell us that up to 80 percent of flight students quit before earning a pilot certificate. A plan to keep customers coming back for more should be a major part of your marketing program. Developing community around flying and keeping the social aspects important can go a long way toward retaining students and rental customers. So can keeping your students informed and updated as to their progress, praising their accomplishments, and recognizing milestones. Any marketing guru will tell you that it's cheaper to keep a customer than it is to find a new one. Put on your thinking cap and come up with some ideas that will make them want to stay.
7. Clarify the inside sales function. What do you do when someone calls in or drops by? Who takes the calls or greets the visitors? What will that employee say? Do potential customers get a tour? If so, what does that include? What does the sales cycle look like, from initial call to scheduling that first lesson? What role, if any, do the instructors play in the sales process? These questions need to be addressed in the marketing plan. A strong lead-generation program will be pointless if prospects are treated unprofessionally or clumsily when they first make contact with your school. First impressions are important, so thoughtful planning and having the right people up front can make all the difference.

You wouldn't take a long cross-country flight without doing lots of planning. Same goes for plotting your school's promotional course for the next 12 months. Developing a well-crafted marketing plan and having the dedication and commitment to follow it could be the single most important thing you do for your flight school this year. Marketing by the seat of your pants, on the other hand, could see your school's resources flushed out the tailpipe with little or nothing to show for it. The best schools do it well. Be the best.