3 Marketing Keys That Will Attract Parents to Your Daycare Center
Opening your own daycare center soon? Congratulations! Running an early childhood facility gives you the privilege of seeing children grow in confidence as they learn to socialize, follow a schedule, and acquire skills ahead of formal schooling.
However, finding enough enrollees can be a real challenge as parents contemplate the quality of available daycare amid financially tough times. Your center's good name won't be sustainable without a marketing strategy.
3 Components of Your Daycare Marketing Strategy
Your marketing strategy is an essential part of your business plan. It includes these 3 components:
1. Brand message
A marketing strategy allows you to establish your brand's unique selling point or what sets you apart from other daycare centers. It will hinge on your answers to the following questions:
- What makes your center different from the others in your area? (Is your staff multilingual? Do you cater to kids with special needs? Does your facility have a full outdoor playground?)
- Why did you open a daycare?
- What are your core values?
- What elements motivate your teaching style?
- Why would parents want you and your staff to care for their children
2. Target market identification
Generally speaking, you're targeting parents who are willing to pay a qualified secondary caregiver to prepare their children below five years old for primary school. Stay-at-home parents would enroll their kids to have some time for themselves. Meanwhile, working couples opt for daycare as they can’t look after their kids while they go about their jobs.
3. Brand amplification
You can take these steps to make your daycare center more visible within your community:
- Create a website.
Build a well-designed and optimized website with all the information about your philosophy, services, management, rates, and enrollment procedure. Include a sign-up form that parents can easily fill out to schedule an online consultation or an in-person visit. In the meantime, upload pictures and videos to give parents and kids something to look forward to.
Also, consider offering a discount within a limited timeframe. You can also offer it for multiple enrollees within a household or for parents who refer others to your center.
To further boost trust, provide a section introducing yourself and your team, reviews or testimonials. Don’t forget to include links to your social channels.
- Get listed in business directories.
Over 2 billion people rely on navigation apps like Google Maps, Bing Maps, and Apple Maps to find a business establishment. When you claim your business listing on Google My Business, Bing Places, and other online business directories, your center's name will pop up when users search on these map apps.
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Use social media.
Opening a social account for your daycare center gives you a faster way to inform parents about updates as well as ask for and get feedback.
- Host regular open houses.
Invite families to visit your center via word of mouth and online ads. You can even schedule an open house while classes are going on can so parents will know exactly what their children can expect.
- Network with your community.
Make online connections with different parent and children-related groups within a 5 to 10-mile radius of your daycare center. You can also meet families in your area by joining on-site community events.