Readers my age may recall when kids were raised by their mothers who were housewives or as they are called today full-time house managers, while men or dads were the sole family breadwinners. Fast forward to modern times, the emancipation of women brought with it independent career-minded females who also wanted to contribute to the family struggling with the ever-increasing cost of life. Grannies or nannies started to be included in most families to cater for their kids while both parents worked, and then childcare centres began to pop up across countries.
If you own a childcare centre or you are employed as one of the marketing and planning teams, well read on as this article discusses strategies and revolves around how to attain more parents to trust you with their precious children.
Why a Marketing Strategy is Needed Even for a Childcare Centre?
Rest assured that you aren`t the only one coming up with the idea of a childcare centre, there are plenty near you. This means that parents have options, so you need to start asking what sets you apart from others, what distinguishes your business, why your childcare centre edges others, and why parents should choose your centre.
That mind frame will make you realise that indeed a proper marketing strategy is needed to be in place for your business venture to take off, hit the road running, and ideally keep its status as one of the favourites and go-to options out there.
Competition among childcare centres is real, so as aforesaid your main target will be to convince parents to choose your centre, therefore a robust marketing strategy needs to be set up, listing reasons why parents should opt for you and not others.
As we will see two key elements which need to stand out in your marketing plan are building connections and trust with parents. It is obvious why these are the main ingredients as you will be responsible for taking care of the most important thing in the world these parents hold.
3 Steps to Create an Excellent Childcare Marketing Strategy
Once you are set on your niche, you need to study the market to target your audience smartly, by researching and considering various strategies to employ.
Below we list three simple basic ones to tickle your fancy and kickstart your planning on the correct path or line of thought.
1. Examine your Audience – this is crucial so you are sure that you are targeting the right individuals with your campaigns. Consider demographics, consumer trends, and market size. This can help you fine-tune your message, like say if you find that many of the parents work a 9-5 job, you can tweak schedules accordingly.
2. Establish goals – every marketing strategy needs to set goals, in childcare centre cases these will be visibility and lead generation. Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based.
3. Distinguish your Business – As aforementioned, ask pertinent questions like what sets you apart from the competition or why your centre stands out from the crowd. As in every business you need a unique selling proposition (USP) which needs to be highlighted in different marketing campaigns to enhance visibility and assist them to stand out.
Our 10 Recommended Marketing Strategies
There exist a myriad of marketing strategies, but we want to provide the most common ones as a simple guide to abide by.
Create a Website – possibly one of the most obvious ones, remember that parents will start searching for childcare centres online first, in some cases even before asking family or friends. So, make sure you have an engaging and interactive website, simple, direct, and colourful which catches the eye or immediately captures their attention. The website should include photos of your centre, information about the staff, and various programs on offer.
Enhance Online Visibility – if your website isn`t getting visitors it won`t generate leads, therefore you need to embrace and invest in search engine optimisation or SEO which will divert traffic to your website. Moreover, publicise your trade and website on social media to increase your reach and attract more visitors to your website.
Create a Google Business Profile – this is a great tool which allows you to increase your visibility, as when someone searches for keywords associated with your business such as “daycare centre” or “childcare centre” your business will appear in local search results.
Utilise Social Media Marketing – create a profile, and a business page, link your website and start to advertise on various platforms like Facebook and Instagram making yourself heard, putting your business on the map, and attracting parents to your trade. Share blogs from your website, list your staff credentials and upload photos of your centre and the team behind it.
Set a Regular Newsletter – once you have potential prospects or paying clients, you can start emailing a newsletter which should also be in an attractive format, mentioning the latest upgrades, upcoming events, photos of the recent barbeque get-together with parents you had, etc. Keep in mind that parents` word-of-mouth publicity comes for free and it`s powerful.
Obtain online reviews – these can be scary at first as you`ll never know what parents will comment, but they are essential for others to read and make informed decisions about your business.
Educate – share educational content as much as possible, this can help parents build trust with your childcare centre which will be portrayed as a smart hub where kids can also learn. This is key when parents need to find someone to take care of their children.
Check out Paid Ads – one option that stands out could be Google Ads, and while this method will allow you to attract more clients as soon as the ad is published, the downside of it is that you need to fork out cash for every impression, click, or conversion, so you need to check your budget beforehand.
Host Events – let them see it in person without commitment, and organise fun activities to get parents` attention and consideration to leave your kids at your centre. Some ideas could be:
- scavenger hunts
- parenting classes
- open houses
- sports events
Blogging – this is another powerful tool providing parents with tips and techniques, even giving suggestions about better parenting skills. This method will also build trust, and set you apart from other businesses who don`t find time to dedicate towards parents. Blogs can range from educational, to funny and even true stories.
In Conclusion
Wrapping it up, keep in mind that running a daycare centre with best-in-class systems in place is no easy feat, while with the number of centres on the rise, parents are spoiled for choice and have options. Thus, your business needs to stand out. That`s where smart marketing comes in, it will enhance your visibility, giving you an edge over your competition and enabling you to work your trade on a level playing field with that of your direct adversaries.
A carefully planned and dynamic marketing strategy will place you prominently on the business map, parents will notice your childcare centre for its features and design yes but most importantly for human qualities, education, and trust. If these boxes are ticked, the marketing strategy adopted is confirmed a success, and parents will be willing to leave their kids with you for hours because they know that they are in good hands, while your childcare centre business will thrive.