The pamphlet budget
Flex banners and newspaper inserts, measured mostly by hope.
CGOS · WORD-OF-MOUTH GROWTH
“A friend recommended you,” says the new parent. Which friend? Nobody wrote it down.
Upload your family list and this year’s admissions. In two days you’ll see where your new families really came from — and the delighted families who’ve sent you neighbours without anyone saying thank you.
In two days: your word-of-mouth map, section by section.
Grade Desk · Class 4Breplies in your language · quiet after 8 pm
Friday
Reply, or hold 🎙 to speak
Is this your starting point?
I’m and what hurts most is
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
Fewer children, choosier parents — and families trust families most.
fewer students enrolled in Indian schools in 2024–25 than 2023–24
UDISE+ 2024–25 (Ministry of Education) · news.careers360.com · UDISE+ 2024 enrolment
of consumers worldwide rate friends’ recommendations the most credible advertising (2015)
Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising 2015 · nielsen.com · global-trust-in-advertising-2015
higher value of referred customers vs similar non-referred ones (German bank)
Schmitt, Skiera & Van den Bulte, Journal of Marketing 2011 · journals.sagepub.com · jm.75.1.46
SOUND FAMILIAR?
Your best marketing happens at the bus stop. Unmeasured.
Parents recommend you every day — at pickup, at weddings, in society WhatsApp groups. Nobody knows who. Nobody thanks them. And the one family having a bad week gets the referral request anyway.
The silent fan
A delighted parent who would refer — if anyone asked at the right moment.
The awkward ask
A referral request sent to a family with an open complaint.
HOW IT WORKS
Know, delight, spread, welcome — a little every week.
One family map. Every ask passes consent, quiet hours and a person before it goes out.
1Know
Your catchment, your seat gaps, and who already knows whom — only with consent.
2Delight
Good news home every week, and a bright spot for every child every month.
3Spread
Share kits and introductions, only when a family is happy and has said yes.
4Welcome
Every referred family gets a free gap check, a campus walk and the full cost upfront.
CGOS — Growth OSA family declines twice? The asks stop. No one chases.
THREE WAYS TO START
Map it free, run one grade, or hand us the desk.
All three end at the same place: introductions you can name, and families thanked for them. Pick the pace that suits your term.
For owners who want to see where admissions really come from.
- 1Upload your family and admissions lists
- 2Tag how new families heard of you
- 3Open your word-of-mouth map
- YOU’LL SEE IT
- In two days
- WHAT IT TAKES
- Free. No card, no call.
For schools that want one grade running good news and introductions this term.
- 1A 30-minute call with owner and admissions
- 2We set up good news for one grade
- 3Day-14 review of named enquiries
- YOU’LL SEE IT
- Day 10
- WHAT IT TAKES
- A short paid pilot, credited to year one
For owners who want a growth desk without hiring for it.
- 1We run Grade Desk calls and notes
- 2We run gap clinics and family events
- 3You approve every family-facing step
- YOU’LL SEE IT
- Week two
- WHAT IT TAKES
- Set-up plus a per-family fee, quoted for you
WHAT YOU’LL SEE FIRST
You’ll see it on the map: which sections your new families came from — and who nobody has thanked yet.
MAKE IT YOURS
Referrals in your happiest families’ own words.
ONLY AT YOUR SCHOOL
Their words, shared only with their permission
When a family tells you why they chose you, CGOS asks whether those words may be shared. With written consent and first name only, the referral kit uses their sentence, not ours. They see it first and can withdraw it with one message.
- Consent per use, withdrawn with one message
- First name and class, no photo unasked
- Paused while a complaint is open
PRIVATE TO THE COUNSELLORReferral kit · Lakshmi, Class 4 parent
“They told me exactly what Riya gets wrong — and fixed it that week.”
Shared with written consent · first name only
Free 20-minute gap check for a friend’s child
Shared with you only when safety needs it — and you’ll know why.
Your catchment, mapped
Schools, seat gaps and feeder areas around you, from UDISE+ counts.
Your founder settings
Contact limits, quiet hours and offers — your defaults, within the law.
Your school’s voice
Notes and scripts in Kannada, Telugu and English, in your own tone.
WHY IT GETS BETTER EVERY TERM
Every happy family brings the next one closer.
Good news builds pride. Pride becomes an introduction. And every new family is welcomed by an old one — so the loop starts again, a little warmer each term.
Each welcomed family becomes the next term’s storyteller, so the routine needs less pushing over time.
- 1Good news homeWeekly, in their language
- 2Pride sharedKits, only with consent
- 3A friend’s gap checkFree, twenty minutes
- 4Welcomed by a buddyOld family meets new
- 5New family settles inThe loop starts again
- ↻ Your school’s family map
WHERE IT LEADS
Once enquiries have names, you notice where they stall.
We point it out only when your own numbers do — with the maths. Nothing switches on without you.
WHEN YOU NOTICE
Named enquiries rise, but fewer than four in ten book a campus walk.
Pupil JoinTHE MATHS · AN EXAMPLE
e.g. 120 enquiries × 10% more admitted × ₹40,000 fee = ₹4.8 lakh a year
WHEN YOU NOTICE
Three or more alumni batches ask to mentor or help.
Alumni & communityTHE MATHS · AN EXAMPLE
e.g. 300 alumni families × 2% admitting a child × ₹40,000 fee = ₹2.4 lakh a year
WHEN YOU NOTICE
Good-news notes are still typed by hand in three or more sections.
ChittyTHE MATHS · AN EXAMPLE
e.g. 20 teachers × 1 hour a week × 40 weeks = 800 hours back a year
A SCHOOL GROUP · BALLARI · SINCE 2001
We sit across from new parents every June. Here’s our promise.
PupilTree runs classrooms in Ballari, and has since 2001. Founding schools get founding terms and a direct line to the people building it. No family is ever pressured to refer, and no staff member is ever paid per admission.
Founding terms
Founding-school pricing, held for three years.
Stop on day 14
No word-of-mouth finding you agree is real? Stop, with all your data.
Consent before every ask
No introduction moves until both families say yes.
No leaderboards
No ranking of families, staff or teachers — ever.
WHAT WE’LL TRACK WITH YOUNamed enquiries per 100 familiesFamilies hearing good news weeklyReferrers thanked within 7 daysOpt-outs and complaints, which mustn’t rise
QUESTIONS
The questions parents would want you to ask.
Didn’t see yours? Ask on WhatsApp — a person replies, usually within the hour.
Ask on WhatsAppNo. Rewards are your choice, and a small gift by default. The engine is good news, consented introductions and a free gap check.
Which section are this year’s new families really coming from?
Upload your family list and admissions sheet. In two days you’ll know — and who deserves a thank-you first.
Consent before every askNo staff paid per admissionEasy exit by day 14