As a utility, one of your key audience segments is school stakeholders – whether that be schools themselves or parents of students. Clean water in schools is a hot topic, and being proactive with your communication approach will build trust with school staff and parents.

Take your cues from your local school district

Not all school districts utilize the same communication strategy – make sure to reach out to your local ISD to understand their specific process for disseminating information.  Understand the key groups you’ll need to communicate with – school staff, board members, parent organizations, students, etc. Develop an understanding of the various channels already being used for communication, whether that’s website, email newsletters, parent portals, or social media, and discern what type of content is appropriate for each of those channels. Just as with your own communication strategy, the school likely tailors content by audience and by channel, so partnering with their communication staff to understand where your communication best fits is key.

Know your audience

Ensure that you’re conveying consistent messaging across each group, while also tailoring to the specific needs and questions of each. Be strategic about reaching each particular audience and delivering relevant content to each. Parents are busy, and likely don’t have time to read a lengthy report – don’t overload them with information in a note at pick-up, for example. Instead, ensure that there’s a high-value summary that can be understood at a quick glance, with deeper dives available when and if the parent wants to learn more.

Be Proactive and Transparent

Parents are some of your most valuable customers in your mission to provide safe drinking water. They care deeply about their child’s learning environment, and you have the opportunity to build trust by being consistently proactive and transparent in all your communication with them. Take advantage of what you’ve learned from the school district about how to communicate effectively with parents, and use that knowledge to deliver important content that establishes your utility as a partner in creating a safe learning environment for their child.

To read more tips for customer touch points and to check out the rest of the blog posts in the series, check out our full infographic here.

Kelly Smith

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Kelly Smith