It's not enough to just talk about how good you are and the lofty goals you consider important…you need to back up these claims with hard evidence …not just for a few days of the year when you do a promotion but consistently everyday because when it comes to marketing — every action counts EVERY SINGLE DAY. You are running a business — doesn't mean you aren't passionate about what you do or the early learning service you provide but at the end of the day you need to pay the bills and you work damn hard to make that happen.
So never, ever feel guilty about thinking in terms of your service being a business. It can be a great business meeting all of the values you list as important and you are indeed an early childhood professional — but it is still a business.
So at times you need to take the sunhat off and put the x-ray googles on instead. This is not just about the educators working in your service if in family day care it's not just about you either! A successful and consistent marketing strategy that brings in results for you will depend to a large degree on everyone that is involved in your service being clear about the marketing actions, behaviour, goals, and work quality expectations.
Have you considered the following? Work hard to develop a brand that encompasses your vision, goals and philosophy. This is a strategy that will help you stand out more effectively and also look more professional! Creating a brand helps to build your reputation as it will highlight those promises you have been making and the experiences of other customers… so you better make sure they match and are consistent because your credibility quickly becomes part of your brand!
So how do you start the process of building a brand for yourself? I've got a few ideas for you below…. There are many tactics you can use to help get your brand out there and keep those new enrolments coming in. Some you can be doing year round, others you might choose to use at special promotion times throughout the year. My best tip and the one that will save you time and worry about vacancies in the long run is to choose a few from each section to add to your marketing plan.
Try them out over a set time period then come back and decide whether to keep them or try something new. Alison from Play Adventures FDC shared that she has secured most of her clients since opening her new Family Day Care service through putting information and the flyer see below on her personal Facebook page and from there local friends sharing it, as well as printing it and leaving in the local shop, library and post office.
I love how the branding and logo jump out at you on these business cards and invoke thoughts of play and fun! Make sure to stop by Alison's website for more inspiration and playful ideas to try. Janelle from Curious by Nature FDC told me that this simple magnetic sign on her car has led to people knocking on her door for more information and these families are now enrolled with her service! I also had stickers made up for my information pack folders given out at displays and talks and carried my calico bag with logo whenever I happened to be taking my own children to the park or shopping.
Make sure to always have some business cards on you because you will be asked and you will come across as more professional if you can immediately pass on contact details. Linda from Sunshine and Puddles FDC has designed a simple yet effective website to give prospective and interested families the information they are most commonly searching for.
And don't you just love her unique work shirts!? Sure to be a talking point and leave a strong brand statement regarding her commitment and love of outdoors, bush play and learning whenever out and about. Simple steps that add up to part of a smart marketing and branding strategy!
Janelle from Curious by Nature FDC has set up a Facebook business page to interact with families, other educators and answer new enrolment enquiries quickly and simply. She also advertises on local Facebook pages.
Because she did some market analysis before opening her family day care service Janelle was able to identify that her target area is the new suburb filled with young families, so the Mums and Bubs and Community pages on Facebook were best to focus on when it came to advertising.
Janelle also shared an excellent money saving tip for those educators that can't yet afford to have shirts printed for the children.
She prints her logo onto transfers that can be ironed onto a child's shirt like you see in the images below. They won't last as long as a printed shirt but it's a great way to get started if you have a tight budget! Now before you start telling me you don't have time to do all of the above take a step back, read through again and pick out 3 you think you could start working on next week…then build from there. You know your early learning service best, you know the budget, current skills and time you have to work with so you are holding the cards at the moment…which ones will you play?
Download and print my marketing checklist and plan template below to help make the process quicker and easier. Feeling empowered to start getting proactive with your marketing and in turn create a stable income? Let's do this Empowered Ed's! Make sure to stop by our Facebook community and share photos of your promotions in action to help inspire other early childhood educators just like you!
Thanks for sharing these wonderful tips with us. People must be well aware of the pros and cons childcare in advance. No doubt childcare centre services are unmatched and are important for all-round-development of kids but due to high competition in market people often get plenty of choices. Opting marketing tricks like advertisements on social media, organizing events can often help you out from this dilemma.
Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Home About Contact Me Reflection. How to create a Child Care Marketing Strategy. Think about your community and current families enrolled and using your service. What is the average age range? What are the family dynamics? What is the breakdown and ratio of working v non working v studying v shift work parents?
Why do they need care? What do they value? What is the average income level? Do they tend to regularly use days or days of care? Consider surveying current service users to gain better insights.
Define and write down your service philosophy, goals and values. To attract the staff and families that best suit your service and are therefore likely to hang around and become your most positive supporter to others — you need to first define what is important to you, What do you want to be known for? What is it about your particular service that sets you apart from others, that makes you stand out above the other competitors?
Identify your current competition You are running a business — doesn't mean you aren't passionate about what you do or the early learning service you provide but at the end of the day you need to pay the bills and you work damn hard to make that happen.
What services are currently in your area? What is the average fee? What do you think they are doing really well?
What do you think makes you different to them? What are they offering that you don't? Could you? What do you think they could do better? What are the average current operating hours of the services in your area? Who would you identify as your top competitor? Involve Everyone in the overall and ongoing marketing strategy. What emotion would you like families to feel when they enter your service?
Do you have clear expectations around this for all staff? What do your gardens and lawns look like? Are they well maintained? If you are not keeping up could you hire a lawn mowing or garden maintenance service to come every few weeks instead? Is your care area or service clean and hygienic? If you are finding this difficult can you invest in a cleaner or some time saving tools like hand held vacumns?
What steps do you take around this process? I personally have always shared a photo collage and brief story with families at the end of the day describing some of the moments the child seemed to really enjoy. And I am adamant that even when working inn a large centre with different staff on different shifts that all parents must be greeted with a few words about their child's day EVERY DAY. There is no excuse just because that child might not be in your room — that's what communication books and handovers are for so use them.
I can't emphasise enough the importance of these small actions being consistent to help solidify your reputation and help you stand out as a quality service. How are prospective enrolments greeted or given information on your service? If you have someone working the front desk are they clear on your customer service expectations? The Toddler Warehouse will position itself as an advanced day care service that offers unique learning and developmental programs for toddlers.
The positioning will be achieved in part by leveraging The Warehouse's competitive edge:. The single objective is to position The Toddler Warehouse as the premier child care facility in Salem. The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding the services offered, develop the customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. This message will be communicated various ways.
The first method will be advertisements in the Yellow Pages. Two other sources that will have advertisements placed in is the Marion County Community Resource Newsletter, and the Statesman Journal. Lastly, The Toddler Warehouse's message will be communicated through the formation of strategic alliances with two well respected organizations.
The alliances will provide The Warehouse with a large customer base as well as legitimacy. The Toddler Warehouse's marketing mix is assembled from the following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. During the initial stages of the writing of the business plan, several focus groups were held to gain insight into preferences and decision making processes of the target customers.
These focus groups were an indispensable source of information. Get practical ideas and good models with dozens of examples of successful marketing plans. Getting ready to create a marketing plan? This sample marketing plan was created with Marketing Plan Pro software. Marketing Strategy The Toddler Warehouse's marketing strategy will be based on an advertising effort as well as strategic alliances with organizations related to the care of children.
These advertisements will be used to raise visibility regarding the Warehouse and its services to prospective customers who are otherwise unaware of it. Strategic Alliances: The goal of this initiative is to create an alliance or perceived partnership between The Warehouse and a number of organizations that are a resource base for information regarding raising children. Both organizations are well respected and wonderful sources of information. The Warehouse will be tapping into these organization's customer base.
The alliances will create a sense of legitimacy for The Toddler Warehouse. One way the alliance will be created is by co-sponsoring parent education seminars. By sharing insight, research, and systems that The Warehouse uses, it will have a good source of information that will be attractive to parents, as well as to the organization themselves.
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