“We spend money on marketing but we don’t know if it’s working.” This is one of the most common things we hear from school principals when we first speak with them. It’s a fixable problem — once you know what to track.
The 5 Metrics Every School Should Track
1. Cost Per Inquiry (CPI)
Divide your total marketing spend by the number of inquiries generated.
Formula: CPI = Total Ad Spend ÷ Number of Inquiries
Benchmarks:
- India (preschool/school): ₹80–₹250 healthy CPI
- UAE: AED 15–50 per inquiry
- UK: £8–£25 per inquiry
- Australia: AU$10–AU$35 per inquiry
2. Inquiry-to-Visit Rate
Of all parents who inquired, what percentage visited for a school tour?
Formula: Visit Rate = (School Visits ÷ Total Inquiries) × 100
Benchmark: 25–45% is healthy. If lower, your follow-up process needs improvement — not your ads.
3. Visit-to-Admission Rate
Of all parents who visited, what percentage enrolled their child?
Formula: Conversion Rate = (Admissions ÷ School Visits) × 100
Benchmark: 40–65% for well-managed schools. Influenced by your admissions team, tour quality, and follow-up process.
4. Cost Per Admission (CPA)
How much did you spend in total marketing to acquire one admission?
Formula: CPA = Total Marketing Spend ÷ Number of Admissions
Compare this against annual fee per student. If a student pays ₹60,000/year and your CPA is ₹3,000 — that’s a 20x ROI.
5. Lead Source Attribution
Which channel generated each inquiry? Ask every inquiring parent: “How did you hear about us?” Record the answer. Within 30 days, you’ll know exactly which channels produce admissions — not just inquiries.
A Real ROI Example
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly ad spend | ₹20,000 |
| Inquiries generated | 120 |
| CPI | ₹167 |
| Visits (40% visit rate) | 48 |
| Admissions (42% conversion) | 20 |
| CPA | ₹1,000 per admission |
| Annual fees per student | ₹50,000 |
| Total revenue from campaign | ₹10,00,000 |
| ROI | 50x |
When schools see this calculation, they often realise they’ve been significantly under-investing in marketing relative to the returns it generates.
Setting Up a Simple Tracking System
Start with a Google Sheet with these columns:
- Date of Inquiry
- Parent Name & Contact
- Lead Source (Facebook Ad, Google, Referral, Walk-In, etc.)
- Visit Scheduled (Yes/No)
- Admission Confirmed (Yes/No)
- Grade/Program Applied For
Review this weekly with your admissions team. At Inqrise, we provide our clients with weekly performance dashboards showing exactly these metrics.