The inquiry that went cold

Sunday, 9 p.m. A parent fills out the inquiry form after the kids are in bed. She's comparing three schools. On Monday her message lands in one of three inboxes, and nobody is sure whose it is. On Thursday she tours a school that called her back on Monday.

Picture an independent school with 600 students and tuition of $32,000. Inquiries came through the website, the phone and open houses, and landed in three places. The first reply took four days on average. Tours were booked by email and rarely followed up. Contracts went out by mail. Re-enrollment ran on paper reminders and was chased into spring. One inquiry in five became an application, and 12% of families didn't come back each year.

What SBK rebuilt

SBK mapped the path from first inquiry to re-enrollment. The families who left quietly cost the most, about $2.3M of tuition a year. The rebuild puts every inquiry in one place, with a personal reply within the hour. Tours book themselves and get a follow-up the next day. A checklist chases missing application items. Admitted families sign and pay the deposit online, and the head calls anyone undecided. Re-enrollment starts in the fall, and families at risk get a call, not a form.

What moved

Replies went from four days to one hour. One inquiry in three became an application, up from one in five. 68% of admitted families enrolled, up from 55%. Re-enrollment rose from 88% to 95% and was done by February. The admissions team spent its time with families, not inboxes.