Q: Do you know of any examples where a Senior Center & an Adult Education program have combined? We are considering joining the two entities, but there is a lot of resistance. We are really not comparable to a college CE, although we do offer some career training. If you know of any examples, I would love to visit their website.
A: Increasingly, LERN is seeing community programs merge their operations in order to save on expenses and to reduce operating costs. While we don't know specifically of senior programs combining with Adult Education, we are researching this and will hopefully find some organizations you can contact. That said, there are benefits you might consider regarding combining forces. There are benefits to merging your programs, specifically, you might be able to save on staffing costs and create a structure where staff are more productive. However, LERN would caution you to be careful about merging your promotional pieces, such as your brochure.
LERN generally recommends that programs have their own brochures if they are offering different types of programs to substantially different markets. In your situation, this seems as though it may be the case. I would need to know more about your adult education program. Typically, adult education refers to basic skills and workplace training, and if this is true in your situation, the combination of your brochure with the adult education brochure could prove detrimental to both. Good targeting is key to successful marketing, and if you are targeting seniors and the adult education program is targeting younger, working adults, you may find that there is some disconnect in your promotional efforts.
While it may be cheaper to print just one brochure, you might find that lost revenue offsets the cost-savings you achieve.
Questions
Community Program Merge
Jun 11, 2018 10:59:57 PM
by
Jordan Kivley
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