Caloundra City Private School (CCPS) is a vibrant educational institution nestled on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Home to 250 students, CCPS prides itself on its dedicated team of educators, administrators and leaders who strive to provide a nurturing and efficient learning environment. With a small admissions and marketing team juggling multiple roles, the school faced significant challenges with their traditional paper-based enrolment system. They now stand as a prime example of the power of Funnel for small, non-metro schools.
The challenge
Prior to Funnel, Caloundra City Private School got by with a cumbersome and time-consuming paper-based enrolment system. With only two staff members handling marketing and admissions, the process was fraught with inefficiencies such as missing data, incorrectly filled fields and the need for extensive supporting documents. “We were using forms that people had to fill out, then upload and send back in. Sometimes data was missing, or fields were filled incorrectly,” shares Mariel Glesk, the school’s Digital Marketing and Communications Manager.
Key goals
The primary goal was to streamline the enrolment process by transitioning from a manual, paper-based system to a digital one. Improving data management was crucial, as it would centralise information, making it easily accessible and trackable. Enhancing team efficiency was also a priority, reducing the workload on the small admissions team and allowing for better leave management. “I didn’t have one central location to keep information, so it was really hard to find where I was at with different enquiries. Running reports was practically impossible because I had no way of really tracking data,” explains Abbi.
On choosing Funnel
Caloundra City Private School chose Digistorm Funnel for its user-friendly interface and dedicated local support. The team found the system intuitive and easy to navigate, which made the transition smooth and less daunting. “Learning how to navigate Funnel was actually really easy for me,” says Abbi. “I found it quite intuitive, so it was easy to find my way around. Having Jay (CCPS’s Customer Success Manager) on hand is amazing because I know that I can reach out to him at any point and go, where is this? Or how do I do this? How can I access this information? And he’s always there. He gets back to me really quickly. So I find that reassuring.”
Most loved feature
The ability to centralise all enrolment information in one location was a game-changer for CCPS. This feature ensured that data was easily accessible to all team members, reducing stress and improving efficiency. “Funnel is really great like that because I know that my notes are there aailable to my colleagues if I’m not here,” shares Abbi. The support from Digistorm, including training videos and webinars, further enhanced their experience. Mariel adds, “The program was really user friendly. I knew that I really couldn’t break anything, and we had our Digistorm CSM who was always there to help out.”
Working with Digistorm
As a small school, having a partnership with Digistorm has been highly beneficial for Caloundra City Private School. The team appreciated the continuous support and the tailored solutions that addressed their specific needs. “There are so many other different CRMs out there, but what I love about Digistorm is that it is unique to the school environment,” shares Mariel. “The team at Digistorm are always asking marketing and admissions teams how they can make our lives easier, and then creating solutions for that.” The implementation of Funnel has not only streamlined their enrolment process but also allowed them to focus more on building relationships with prospective families. “It’s been really exciting to step into this role here at CCPS and have Funnel up and running,” explains Abbi. “I see how much it benefits the school because there’s one location for all that information. It’s not just contained to one person and one role. That information can be accessed by people in the team.”
