What is your school's 'why'?

The Golden Circle model is a framework for understanding how successful companies communicate their brand and inspire others. I recently came across the model and it prompted me to consider how international schools promote themselves and what they could learn from this simple, yet extremely insightful concept.

The model consists of three layers: Why, How, and What.

1.????????The "Why" represents a company's purpose or belief, which should be the driving force behind all of its actions and decisions.

2.????????The "How" represents the company's unique approach or strategy for achieving its purpose.

3.????????The "What" represents the company's products or services.

If you consider how the vast majority of international schools promote themselves, most schools spend a considerable amount of time communicating the "what". A quick google search of schools and you'll come across countless boilerplates that read like this: ABC school is a British curriculum-based international?school?in Singapore, offering global education for children of 2 months to 18 years.

Thinking about how parents chose schools, there is a definite need to communicate the 'what' ... after all, parents will often end up choosing schools based on curriculum or academic results. However if you think of the vast majority of school brands out there, how well do you know their 'why'?

The 'why' ultimately allows customers to build an emotional connection with your school brand. By clearly communicating your school's purpose, or why your school exists, it will help to connect with potential families on a deeper level. By communicating your school's purpose and 'how' it will achieve that purpose, you will be able to differentiate your school from others.

Many international schools struggle trying to differentiate themselves from other schools and often tend to rely on differences in curriculum, CCA offering, language provision or price point as their key competitive differentiator. This doesn't means you shouldn't communicate the 'what', however the key is leading with your 'why' and 'how' and placing that message at the centre of your marketing campaigns.

People don’t actually want to buy your 'what'. They want to buy?ideas.?They want to join movements.?Putting your why first ensures that your ideas, not your product, are what makes you stand out from the crowd.

So what is our 'why', 'how' and 'what' at Dulwich College (Singapore)?

At Dulwich College (Singapore) we believe in nurturing global citizens and well-rounded future leaders who are equipped to create solutions to the world’s challenges. Our goal is to encourage our students to Live Worldwise - to make informed choices, take inspired action and create positive impact.?Our innovative and world-changing education is wellbeing-focused and balances academic excellence with a wealth of co-curricular opportunities that enable our students to discover their individual talents and passions.

What is your school's why?