Choosing a private school can be one of the most significant and complex decisions a family makes.
It’s a journey filled with questions, emotions, and pivotal moments. Families aren’t just looking for information. They’re seeking clarity as they evaluate options and make the best decision they can. So how do you help families navigate the unknowns of school choice? By viewing the decision from their perspective, not yours.
Tassel’s Family Journey™ framework can help.
The Family Journey helps schools infuse empathy and hospitality into recruitment and retention efforts, positioning marketing and admissions team members as advisors rather than salespeople. By evaluating each phase of the decision-making process as an opportunity to meet families where they are, schools can craft a holistic marketing strategy that feels natural and intuitive for parents and students.
It also equips your team to develop a robust strategy for every phase of recruitment and retention, ensuring that your messaging, touchpoints, and processes align with where families are on their journey. From the first moment of Awareness to the ultimate stage of Advocacy, the framework empowers schools to build meaningful connections at every step.
Unlike traditional marketing funnels, which take a top-down, gravity-fed approach, the Family Journey offers a bottom-up perspective that reflects the effort required to navigate the school choice process. It takes commitment and intentionality from both the family and the school to ascend the path from Awareness to Consideration to Decision to Evaluation to Advocacy.
By aligning marketing and enrollment strategies with the specific needs, motivations, and challenges families face, the Family Journey framework transforms how schools attract, engage, and retain right-fit families™ for their communities.
Let’s take a closer look at each phase of the Family Journey. As you review the illustration, notice how the model takes a bottom-up approach, beginning with Awareness as the foundation and culminating in Advocacy at the top. Explore how your school can guide families through this journey with purpose, hospitality, and care.
The Five Phases of the Family Journey™
1
Awareness
Families explore their options and determine what’s important to them. They ask for referrals, research schools online, and make a list of the schools that look interesting.
2
Consideration
In this phase, families do their homework. They scour websites, follow social media feeds, make calls, and take tours to shorten their list. They figure out what’s important to them and evaluate the differences between the schools they find appealing.
3
Decision
It’s go time. Families apply (sometimes to multiple schools), and wait to hear if they’ve been accepted. They select their top choice and enroll.
4
Evaluation
Families settle in and determine if they’ve made the right call. They assess what they’re experiencing, and if it aligns with what they were sold.
5
Advocacy
Whether positive or negative, families share their experiences with others in their network, both in-person and online. Their word-of-mouth testimonials set the whole process in motion for other families entering the Awareness and Consideration phases.
The Family Journey is a key organizing framework in Tassel’s approach to school marketing, as each phase has specific strategies that align with family interests and motivations. It’s not just what channels you use (e.g., Google Ads, paid social, etc.) but rather the messages you put into the channels. It’s the systems you have in place to ensure your team has a consistent approach to recruitment and retention.
Contact one of our Solutions Advisors to learn more about the Family Journey and how we integrate this methodology into our Healthy Enrollment™ Solutions.