Parents are looking for reputable childcare providers, like you, for their children. The challenge is connecting those families to your centre. Growing your business and increasing enrolment starts with connecting to these families. Through an online presence and word of mouth, you can network with prospective parents and start building your community.
Being a resource is a great place to start. As an ECE provider, you have extensive knowledge about childcare. Sharing this knowledge and working to help parents and families will help to grow your childcare business. In this article, we will outline content ideas to share, events to host, ways to build your brand, how to connect with your community, and how to use reviews to your advantage.
If you’re looking for tips on how to grow your childcare business, keep reading.
Create and Share Content
Be a resource for your prospective families by creating or sharing helpful content. There’s a range of avenues to take when promoting your business, especially online. Take a look at some strategies to follow for online content:
· Start a blog
· Host webinars
· Share articles
These content pieces can be focused on parenting tips, safety techniques, children’s activities, and more. Anything you have knowledge in that’s helpful to your audience is a great start.
Host or Sponsor Events
Events are a great way to meet with prospective families and connect to the community. There are a lot of ways to get involved in the community that you may have not thought of. Take a look:
· Sponsor Local Events
· Sponsor school fairs, parties, fundraisers, parents’ nights in schools, etc.
· Donate and Volunteer
· Hosting a toy, food, or clothing drive is a great way to give back while teaming up with local organisations
· Take Field Trips
· Get more involved by taking the children on field trips to community events and local organisations.
· Create a Parent Interview Panel
· Help parents feel more connected to your school by starting a parent interview panel.
· Host Workshops and Trainings
· Bring parents into your centre by offering training and workshops on avariety of topics.
· Hold Parents Events
· Give parents the opportunity to be more involved in your program by offering events like open houses, parent nights, meet and greets, etc.
Build Your Brand
When marketing your childcare business, make sure you’re focusing on promoting your brand. When building a brand. you should focus on your mission, vision, andcore values. This helps prospective parents understand what our centre stands for.
Use social media, newsletters, and other promotional strategies to highlight what makes your centre different. For example, if your centre has a strong focus on play, show that in your content. If your centre uses a software program that’s helpful for staff and parents, showcase that.
Connect with the ECE Community
There’s a huge ECE community willing to help provide resources, answer questions, share ideas, etc. If you’re looking for tips on how to grow your childcare business, start asking other owners you admire to help. A great way to do this is through social media, especially Facebook and linked in.
If you haven’t already, join ECE-specific Facebook Kangarootime Australia to network with other childcare business owners. These groups are full of professionals with similar challenges and experiences who are willing and able to help.
Ask for Reviews
Reviews help families get a look into how their experience could be at your centre. Nowadays, reviews are crucial for running a successful business. Consumers rely on word-of-mouth and a truthful scope of experiences.
To get more reviews for your childcare business, promote your business profile on social media, offer an incentive, and follow up with reviews.
Keen to learn more about Kangarootime? Join a quick 5-minute webinar to get a feel for our software. In this presentation, we will give you an overview of our features. You’ll be able to interact with our product consultants and ask questions along the way. Register here and select a time that works best for you. Join a 5-min walkthrough presentation!