If you are here, that means you are struggling to keep student information, teacher details, and financial matters organized and up-to-date. Or perhaps you want to simplify communication with parents, improve data management, generate accurate reports, and streamline admission processes.
Then you’re at the right place for the right solution.
In this blog, we’ll be discussing
- What is a School CRM and its role in Schools?
- Challenges you are currently facing and how CRM helps you overcome them.
- Key Metrics to evaluate before buying a CRM for schools.
- and details about The Best CRM for your School.
Let’s get you familiar with CRM
What is a CRM for Schools?
School CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or education CRM software is a tool designed especially for schools. It helps in managing your data, improving communication in the school and with parents, streamlining admissions processes, and help you in generating accurate reports.
Now that you have gotten an idea about what is a school CRM, let’s show you how it works in Schools in brief.
Understanding The Role of CRM For Schools
Schools have a lot of operations that need to be smooth to maintain their image and attract students. Apart from the teaching faculty and infrastructure, parents closely observe how easy is the admission process and whether the school is effective with its communications and operations.
If they see or hear about any mismanagement or flaw from parents of already enrolled students from your school, they might start looking for other options or worse, get their child enrolled in your competitor’s school. You need to make sure everything is working fine and processes are trouble-free.
To ensure this doesn’t happen with your school, You need an Education CRM!
CRM is the helping hand you need to streamline the functioning of your school. It allows you to send personalized messages, and automated notifications, and ensure vital information reaches the right people at the right time. This will completely change the internal and external communications in your school.
School CRM systems not only improve communications but also simplify the often complex admissions process. With CRM you can perform tasks like application submission, document verification, and fee payments, reducing administrative burdens and errors automatically without requiring a lot of manual labor.
This way you will have a smoother enrollment process for your school, students, and their parents.
Additionally, school CRM software helps you with reporting. It collects data about student’s performance, attendance, inventory, and how effective your messages are, etc. Then, it neatly summarizes everything in easy-to-read reports.
These reports help you understand what is going on and how to make thing better and saves a lot of time and effort that you would’ve otherwise spent on making these reports.
With the right CRM, “you’re not just managing a school; you’re using data to make it better.”
Challenges faced by schools and how CRM helps overcome them
In your school, everything works together like pieces of a puzzle. If one piece isn’t right, it can mess up the whole picture. For instance, if your data isn’t stored properly and easily accessible, you can’t use it when you really need it, especially during emergencies. This will lead to communication problems and harm your school’s reputation.
You deal with challenges like this in performing various operations of your school. To move forward and not get stuck in the same spot year after year, it’s crucial to understand what’s going wrong and find solutions.
In this section, we’ll talk about the common challenges that schools like yours face every day and how CRM for educational institutions or Schools can help you overcome them.
Data Management
You’re facing a real problem when it comes to keeping your students, staff, and teacher records organized. Your data is all over the place, and it’s a headache when you need it. The methods you’re using, like paper registers, copies, or Excel spreadsheets, need a lot of manual work and it’s just not working.
This not only leads to lost or inaccurate data but also affects the other school operations. For instance, if you want to reach out to the parents of a particular student, you need to access his/her records, but you are not able to do so because you have to go through multiple pages to get the can’t locate the specific register in which their records are.
Frustrating right?
This is where CRM software helps, It keeps all the data in a single application, easily accessible at all times. You just need to search for the name of the student and you’ll be able to access every single detail about them.
From contact details to attendance and performance records, even the communication history between the school and the parents of that student.
With a CRM platform, you will have proper and seamless operations in your school. Not only that, it will boost your school’s reputation and will get you more prospective parents, who’ll be more than willing to enroll their child in your school.
Admission Process Management
You receive a ton of applications during the school admission season. Your admission team works tirelessly to make the process smoother by checking documents, reviewing applications, scheduling interviews/tests, and publishing results.
But is it really as smooth as it should be?
Your team sorts applications based on student’s marks, grades, and other factors. This means hours of manual work, which often leads to mistakes when entering details. This error-prone process can be frustrating for parents and make them question their decision to choose your school.
With a CRM, you can simplify the admission process. All necessary documents are stored in one place, making evaluation a breeze. No more manual segmentation – just input your criteria, and the CRM automatically organizes applications the way you want.
You have a smoother, error-free enrollment process that parents will appreciate.
Communications
Communicating information every day to everyone can get pretty overwhelming. It could be about all sorts of things – reminders about fees, updates on the timetable, exam schedules, or even changes in school timings. But here’s the catch – there are so many people to reach, and each one needs different details.
Sounds hectic, right?
Making sure that the right information reaches the right person timely is crucial. If, by mistake, you send one student’s details to another, it could turn into a big mess.
Imagine sending a suspension letter to the wrong kid in your school. Embarrassing!
This is where a CRM platform can help. CRM software makes it easy to communicate with everyone in the school while ensuring that each person gets the correct information. No more mix-ups or embarrassing moments. You can now send out messages and updates with confidence, knowing they’ll reach the right people every time.
This means effective communications, a better reputation, and more scaling opportunities.
Pro Tip: Have an education consultancy department in your school. To guide students in choosing the best university or college, helping them out with the admission process etc. To do this effectively get a CRM for Education Consultancy.
Reporting
To see how the school is doing you need reports to analyse. These reports help in understanding important metrics like budget, revenue, etc. These metrics are important for you because, on the basis of these, you can evaluate the functioning and progress of your school
In order to make these reports, you have to put in a lot of manual work, like accessing data from multiple sources, carefully analyzing and entering it, and then crosschecking and generating reports.
This routine seems all too familiar, doesn’t it?
Manually generating reports will take a lot of time and are prone to error as the data is too much, you would at times enter the wrong details. Let’s say, you need to report on monthly/quarterly revenue generated by fees, You need to know this so you can understand how much profit you are making.
Without the report, you’ll have no idea about the revenue your school is generating. This results in a significant blind spot, making it impossible to track how well the school is financially performing, and what is going wrong or right. You are unable to make calculative decisions to improve your school
Not knowing details about your school is frustrating and humiliating.
By implementing a school CRM, You will be making the tedious process of report creation a smoother experience. CRM will change things for the better. It automates the whole process, saving time and reducing errors. Plus, you can access important reports instantly, like revenue, etc.
CRM makes your school more efficient, saves time, and keeps things running smoothly.
Key Features to Look for in a CRM For Schools
Customization Options
When you’re in the market for a school CRM, there’s a crucial factor that can’t be overlooked – customization. Every school operates differently, with its unique processes and needs. Therefore, the CRM software you opt for must offer flexibility, allowing you to tweak it to precisely align with your school’s specific requirements.
Picture yourself in charge of admissions at your school, where every student’s journey is different. There’s a sequence of complicated steps, from handling applications to verifying documents and publishing results.
To add to the complexity, you often find yourself manually sorting through applications based on factors like grades, the desired class, or performance in entrance tests or interviews. It’s a real headache.
But with a customizable CRM, you can configure each step exactly as needed.
As students progress through the admission process, the CRM software allows you to update their status, track their documents, and perform various other tasks effortlessly. You can do this and so much more with customizable CRM software.
Integration Capabilities
Your school probably uses multiple software to gather information about applications, students, and staff records. If you’re thinking about getting a CRM, here’s something important to consider: It should work well with other software you use.
If your school CRM doesn’t connect smoothly with the tools you already have. It will create problems. You’ll be getting applications from one software, you need to get information about fee payments from another payment gateway, and you need to access Excel sheets to check student information. You are spending a lot of time to get all this information and then store it in the CRM software.
This takes up a significant amount of your time, time that could have been better spent on more productive tasks. After all, no one enjoys doing things manually when there’s a smarter alternative available.
So, what you need to get is a school CRM that has 3rd party integration capabilities with other software commonly used in education. This includes student information systems, email or messaging tools, data management systems, and more. When your CRM software integrates with other tools, it makes sharing information easier and gets rid of duplication. No more double work.
You won’t have to fetch data from different systems or websites manually. The CRM does it automatically. This saves you time, effort, and money.
User-Friendly
When you’re exploring a CRM for your school, there’s another crucial aspect to keep in mind: it should be easy to use. This means the CRM should be user-friendly, without requiring extensive training. Its appearance should be straightforward, with clear menus, icons, and labels.
Think about this – if the CRM is too complicated, it becomes a headache for school administrators and managers to figure out. Everyone on your team would need training to fully grasp it, and even then, there’s no guarantee they’ll use it effectively. It’s not practical to have a complex CRM where most of your team’s time is spent talking to customer support just to perform simple tasks. You need something that’s friendly and straightforward for everyone in your school administration to use.
So, when you’re in the process of selecting a CRM, opt for one that’s user-friendly. This means it’s easy enough for everyone in the administration to comprehend and operate without any hassle.
Low-Cost
You need to choose wisely. Don’t go for one that’s super cheap but doesn’t have what you need. And don’t get a really expensive one with too many things that confuse you.
Not everything that is expensive is GOOD.
A CRM that’s not right for your school will cause problems. Maybe it’s too expensive to maintain, or it doesn’t have the features you need. You don’t want to waste your money.
Going over budget or getting a CRM that your competitors are using will not solve your problems.
Seek out an affordably priced school CRM solution that meets your requirements while ensuring transparency with no hidden charges. Consider not only the initial cost but also the ongoing maintenance expenses.
Opting for a budget-friendly CRM allows you to allocate your resources towards other critical priorities within your school, making it a wise decision.
Mobile Accessibility
Think about not being able to access important records or details when you’re on the move. It can be a hassle. When you’re away for school trips, camps, or even vacations, it’s important to stay connected and get things done.
In the event of emergencies, it is essential to have immediate access to information about both students and staff, regardless of your location, and without the need for a laptop or PC to retrieve the details.
But here’s a solution that can improve things – Mobile CRM. It’s all about having flexibility and accessibility for running your school from anywhere and anytime.
With mobile accessibility in a CRM, you can access documents, records, or student info without the need for a computer system. You can view reports, monitor staff performance, etc. It keeps you connected and allows the flexibility to work from anywhere.
Another plus is that when in the office, your team won’t need lots of computers, they can use their mobiles and work. It will save money and space.
Pro Tip: When you have finally scaled your school to the next level and started a college to boost your education business, Get a CRM for Higher Education to streamline all the processes just the way you did with CRM for Schools.
The Best CRM for Schools
TeleCRM stands out as the best CRM for schools with amazing features specifically to fulfill educational needs:
Quick Setup and Customizability:
- The TeleCRM system is designed to be quick and straightforward. It takes less than a day to set it up, without disrupting your ongoing operations.
- Its user-friendliness means even those with no CRM experience can adapt easily.
- Customization options allow you to create custom lead fields, statuses, workflows, templates, and more to suit your school’s processes.
Cost-Effective Pricing:
- TeleCRM offers a single, affordable plan, providing all features and customizations.
- Pricing options include quarterly and annual plans, catering to different budget preferences.
- Custom plans are available for larger teams, ensuring scalability.
Education-Focused Features:
WhatsApp CRM Integration
TeleCRM makes WhatsApp an essential tool for managing school communication. It seamlessly integrates with WhatsApp to enhance your interactions with parents, teachers, and students.
- Automated WhatsApp Chat Capture: All WhatsApp chats with students are captured automatically, centralizing chat history within the CRM. This ensures that important conversations are neatly organized and easily accessible.
- Personalized Bulk WhatsApp Messaging: With a single click, you can send personalized WhatsApp messages to students, parents, teachers, and staff simultaneously, without the need to save their numbers in your phone book. This feature simplifies mass communication, such as sending important updates to parents or students.
Follow-Up Reminders
TeleCRM ensures that your admissions team never misses essential follow-up calls. You can set reminders within the CRM, and it will prompt your team when it’s time to make follow-up calls.
This feature enhances your team’s ability to stay in touch with prospective student’s parents effectively.
Leaderboard
The Leaderboard feature serves as a comprehensive team performance tracking tool. You can monitor your team’s performance, track their daily and monthly activities, and gain insights into how they interact with students and their parents. This data helps in identifying areas of improvement and refining strategies to target prospective students.
Automatic Lead Distribution
TeleCRM streamlines distribution by automatically assigning new students to your admission team based on roles you have set. This eliminates manual allocation, ensuring that prospective students are efficiently distributed among your team members.
Excel Upload
It simplifies data transfer by enabling you to import your data from Excel into the CRM without disrupting your existing working methods. This feature ensures a smooth transition, allowing you to continue your work seamlessly.
Integrations
TeleCRM offers integrations with over 25 applications, including WooCommerce, Razorpay, Mailchimp, WhatsApp Cloud API, and Custom Integrations as well. Custom integration allows you to connect with any 3rd party app and bring data from it into the TeleCRM system. These integrations provide a unified data management solution, ensuring that you have access to all your data in one place, saving time and effort.
Ease of Use and Mobile Access:
- TeleCRM is a user-friendly, mobile-accessible Customer Relationship Management software. You don’t need to be tech-savvy. It’s as simple as plug-and-play!
- It provides essential features on a mobile app, it allows you to make calls, send emails, texts, and WhatsApp messages to communicate with your students and parents through your smartphone from any location.
Exceptional Customer Support:
- TeleCRM offers dedicated support through Phone calls, WhatsApp groups, Zoom Calls, and WhatsApp Chatbot (24/7 support) providing timely resolutions.
- Support teams have access to all the interactions you have ever had with them. This helps them understand the problem and provide you with the right assistance.
TeleCRM is the top choice for schools, offering easy setup, customization, and cost-effectiveness, and loaded with features that are designed especially for schools to streamline communication and effective management.
Conclusion
In this blog, we have discussed,
- Understanding the Role of Customer Relationship Management in Schools.
- What challenges you are facing and how does CRM help you overcome them.
- What metric do you need to keep in mind before getting a CRM?
You know why choosing the right school CRM is important for you, it will transform your school’s operations, making data management efficient, communication effective, and admissions hassle-free.
Here’s the deal: You can either invest time in researching and evaluating multiple CRM solutions, or you can simply choose TeleCRM, the best CRM for schools.
I have already told you, what it can do and how efficient it is. Now is the time for you to get it and take your school to the next level.
So what are waiting for? Go ahead, book a demo now, and get TeleCRM.
Now, you can solely focus on what matters most: providing quality education and encouraging students to reach their full potential.