Educators and traditionalists won't like the analogy, but independent schools risk the same fate as many shopping malls as educational content becomes more and more commodified and ubiquitous. Conventional malls, even reincarnated as "lifestyle centers," find themselves with declining volume as stores lose business to online retailers--who may in fact be online versions of the same bricks and mortar brand (Ann Taylor, Men's Wearhouse and Nordstrom come to mind). This quote from White-Hutchinson, a research firm, captures the trend well:
The basic model for shopping centers and malls built on a foundation of conspicuous consumption is fast becoming a dinosaur, and in order to prosper in the future, needs to be reinvented to attract consumers' time and money.
The same could be said for the basic independent school value proposition around acquisition of information (academic content). Our students can get much the same (and more) for free or much lower cost through a number of channels. Algebra is algebra, after all, and every online school, free or paid, has it available.
Shopping centers and malls are trying to reinvent the model by becoming destinations for high-end meals and entertainment (movies and even live theater). The meal becomes the reason for the trip to the mall and shopping at Brooks Brothers is the afterthought. It's a new business model built around a new kind of anchor.
More from White-Hutchinson:
What is the answer? How can centers reinvent themselves to appeal to the post-recession consumer? A large part of the solution is to incorporate more experiences. We have moved into the “experience economy.” Experiences, both entertaining and enriching, are taking on even greater importance with consumers as the accumulation of stuff decreases in importance. The continued increase in the education level of Americans also is driving the desire for enriching experiences that increase their knowledge. Americans want to have fun and learn something at the same time. To generate traffic, shopping centers need to retain their destination status, but more for experiences, including dining, entertainment and knowledge -- and less as a destination primarily to buy stuff. According to Paco Underhill, U.S. developers are behind the times. “It can’t be a mall. It has to be ‘place making.’ Developers have to offer synergy, some other reason to be there. People want to be able to feel as if the act of going shopping isn’t about ratcheting up their credit card debt.” In other words, it needs to be a fun, leisure experience, not just a shopping experience.
Apply the analogy to independent schools, and it means that we have to give parents and students new, value-adding reasons to make the trip to our campuses. Schools with a elite name may thrive on the cache of being associated with their brand, but most will need to think critically and carefully about the value they add. It must derive from something that cannot be done online, at home, or at low cost; e.g., performing arts, extra-curricular activities, sports (though competitive athletics at an even higher level can be had from select teams and clubs), and, most of all, teaching.
We either need to embrace--revel even--in the fact that we provide a hand-crafted, highly customized, individually produced product for each and every student, or accept the fate of slow extinction that goes with being a commodified product. That is how we will be able to command the premium we charge and how we will get students to make their way to our doors. It really is all about the teaching--and the coaching and the advising and all the ways adults in our schools create life-changing, value adding relationships with students. It's not about the content.
Many thanks to Rich Goodman, corporate secretary and general counsel at the Hun School of Princeton for the idea.