News and Insights
ESSER Ends in 2024: 5 Tips for Customer Retention and Renewal
September 8, 2023
School districts have until September 2024 to obligate dollars from the third and final tranche of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) stimulus. They’re gearing up for a “fiscal cliff” that has sent many education companies into a cold sweat.
Previously, education leaders could spend more generously on edtech and other education services thanks to the unprecedented funding infusion. As the end of ESSER looms, education leaders are more discerning and looking for easy cuts in anticipation of budget constraints.
The most dire projections for next year go beyond ESSER, however. Many education companies fear that ESSER expiration, continued declines in public school enrollment, unchecked inflation, and a broader economic recession will create a perfect storm of lower tax revenue and state budget shortfalls. And they see it culminating in major slashes to school district budgets.
How can your edtech or education service stay off the chopping block?
First things first: instead of surrendering to the fear of worst-case scenarios, take heart. In reality, the economic outlook isn’t as dire as it’s been made out to be. Public school enrollment is stable, and a soft landing for the economy is looking more likely after years of high inflation rates.
As for ESSER, it was always intended as a temporary funding source. But even if you feel unprepared for its end, there are proactive steps you can take to position your products and services as essential to education leaders, particularly as renewals get underway.
Here are five tips to ensure your customers see you as indispensable.
1. Align your products and services with each customer’s strategic goals
In a recent survey from Education Week Market Brief, 68% of school district leaders said that in response to the cessation of ESSER funding, they will review all products and services purchased with stimulus dollars to judge their alignment with the district’s strategic goals.
Translation? Misaligned products and services and those lacking community visibility are at risk. And if you haven’t taken a look at your valued customers’ strategic plan, now is the time.
Your customer’s district or school needs to see your product or service as essential to achieving their objectives. Whatever the goal (e.g., attendance or graduation rate, standardized test scores, college readiness, teacher retention), strategic plans often boil down to securing better student outcomes. You can position your product as a tool that helps students reach their fullest potential.
Your positioning as an essential product relies on a strong content marketing strategy. Showing compelling evidence of usage, efficacy, and the ways your product aligns with strategic objectives can make all the difference in district budgeting. Your content strategy should include many — if not all — of the following assets:
- Case studies
- Media placements
- Newsletters
- Awards or recognition
- Usage data
- Reports, including efficacy studies
Though all of these assets will help your customer make the case for renewal, efficacy studies are particularly valuable as cornerstone assets. You can break them up into smaller assets, which can then be used for promotional materials throughout your marketing mix.
2. Shout your customers’ successes
Community visibility can also have an impact on retention and renewal. Education companies need to champion the results their customers are achieving, ideally increasing reach through favorable media hits. Whether it’s a product that improved a district’s reading scores or a professional development program that increased teacher retention, it is essential to publicly celebrate these successes.
This will require media connections and relationships with education influencers. While these networks can take time to build, a veteran education marketing and PR firm with a sizable “Rolodex” can provide a shortcut to