Achieving Double-Digit Enrollment Growth through a Full-Funnel Approach

Challenge

Facing stiff local competition and budget-conscious families, Merit School of Music needed to reverse flat enrollment.

The goal was aggressive: 10% enrollment growth. To achieve it, we had to modernize our marketing mix and fix the fragmented prospective student journey.

Solution

Strategy

• An Integrated, Full-Funnel Approach: We moved beyond scattered tactics to a cohesive system. We used digital channels for precise reach and data gathering, while leveraging traditional ads and in-person events to build local trust. Crucially, we implemented long-term lead nurturing and equipped faculty/parents with "Ambassador Toolkits" to amplify our message authentically.

• Unifying Product & Promotion: Marketing can’t sell a broken product. I fostered alignment between Student Services and Program teams to optimize course offerings and streamline the customer journey, ensuring that once we generated leads, the path to enrollment had as little friction as possible.

Key Initiatives

• Digital & Data Optimization: Shifted budget to high-performing PPC ads (Google/Meta) to capture intent, paired with automated email nurturing sequences to guide parents through the long decision-making cycle.

• Brand & Community Building: Balanced digital reach with high-touch community events (performances at farmers markets, open houses, instrument exploration workshops) and traditional local media (radio, billboards) to increase local affinity.

• The "Ambassador" Program: Created turnkey recruitment toolkits for faculty, staff, and parents, turning our internal community into our most powerful referral engine and ensuring consistent messaging across the organization.

• Internal Experience Audit: Partnered with Student Services and Program teams to map and optimize the registration process and refine the course offering, directly improving conversion rates from interest to enrollment.

Results

14% enrollment growth   ✤   400% lead gen

2x conversion rate   ✤   93% customer satisfaction

Why It Worked: We approached the challenge from both ends: filling the funnel and fixing the bucket. Our integrated multi-channel campaigns successfully drove awareness and lead volume, while our operational alignment with Student Services/Program teams removed friction from the enrollment process. By ensuring that our brand promise matched the actual customer experience, we turned increased interest into tangible double-digit growth.