Finding Your USP – Same Same, or Different?
Whether it be for their context, historical or personal significance or perhaps the amusing images they bring to mind, some phrases just stick with you. Common language builds community and binds people together through accent, dialect or slang terminology. In some cases, it does so even across international barriers. When working in South East Asia, I found that some English words or phrases had been adopted, perhaps corrupted, for local use or to provide a language bridge between local people and their tourist customers. ‘Same, Same’ was one such part of local parlance overheard on Thai streets, so often so that it also became printed on T-shirts, mugs and assorted memorabilia.
It’s a phrase which has come to mind at times when undertaking the task of distinguishing Oundle School from others as I engage in introductions with international partners and business people. We are considered amongst the very best by those who know UK boarding schools, blessed with academically strong students and staff. The key question is, how can my listeners understand what REALLY distinguishes us from others?
One chastening experience brought this reality starkly to my attention when, after several minutes of sharing our heritage, academic excellence and broad co-curricular offering to an international agent, I came around to our sector-leading STEM facility. His blunt response of “That’s the first thing you’ve told me that is different from anyone else” rather shattered my illusions!
Distinguishing ourselves from the crowd is perhaps the greatest challenge both for the International Directors of UK schools and the investors and educators who seek out UK partner schools with whom to engage. All schools seek to demonstrate their success in academic examinations, sport, the arts and character development and will, no doubt be keen to share their impressive track record. The fact that one school lays claim to 15 Oxbridge places while another lays claim to 10 or one offers 200 activities while another offers 150 doesn’t materially change the dynamic and doesn’t necessarily mean anything to a potential partner/investor.
So, what are we left with? How can we move from being ‘Same, Same’ to ‘Different’? I believe that prospective international partners are best served in distinguishing between UK independent schools in a similar way to that in which many parents choose a school for their children; they visit. To move beyond the monochrome, glossy website and sales pitch, to get to the heart of a school and the people whom you would want to work with, trust to help your school on its journey and whose experience you will fall back on partners need to see the school, feel it in motion and get a glimpse of its essence.
All schools are not the same and certainly, as I seek to illustrate what makes us different, the message will remain – visit!
Source:
Gordon Montgomery, International Director, Oundle School