Carol Bentley

Are schools and/or colleges in your target market? If so here’s some interesting news for you. But first let me tell you how I got to know about this…

For many years I’ve been on the mailing list for Hamilton House, who specialise in supplying mailing lists for companies selling into the education sector; schools and colleges.

A letter arrived to let me know that English schools have a sudden abundance of spending money available between now and March 2008. Why? Well it’s an interesting story…

In the past some schools have put money from their annual budget into a contingency fund (as anyone with an ounce of common sense would do!) But in 2006 the government moved to force schools to use up all their funding rather than allow this type of forethought.

Many schools didn’t manage to spend all their accumulated funds by April 5 2007; they still had funds from that year and the previous years.

In summer of 2007 the Dept for Children, Schools & Families announced that 95% of the money not spent in previous years had to be returned - even if it had since been used.  For example if the school had kept back £1000 from their 2005/6 budget and then spent it in May 2007 they still had to pay back £950!  This meant schools had to raid their 2007/8 budgets to pay back this money they had accrued and then used. This extra strain on their budget meant many schools stopped spending on anything apart from salaries.

A petition on the Number 10 website demanded that the policy be revoked. The government capitulated and reversed its policy. They told the schools they would get all their saved money back - BUT the refunded money must be used by April 2008. There will not be another reprieve.

Which means between now and 5 April 2008 an extra
£1 billion has to be spent on goods and services for the school

So, if your market includes schools, now is the time to nurture your relationships and help them make the right decisions for the school, children and parents.

If you want to check how Hamilton House can help you (no benefit to me if you do so) then pop over to www.educationmarketing.org.uk

~ Carol Bentley

technorati tags: education market business mailing lists

Date: Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 10:00 am | Category: Business Tips, Marketing | RSS Feed: RSS 2.0 feed.
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