There are over 3.9 million kids between the ages of 1 month - 9 years in Canada, and Statistics Canada reports that 52% of all children under the age of six regularly participate in some form of child care.
These numbers tell us one thing: there is a great need for childcare. But demand doesn't always mean that all suppliers will benefit equally. For most in-demand industries, competition is fierce. And fierce competition means you'll need to work harder. That holds true for the child care services industry as well.
One way to keep your business ahead of the pack is by marketing your daycare center online. Today, almost every person searches for services online. So your website must be easy to find.
But that’s kind of obvious. What else can you do to get your daycare center noticed in this crowded industry?
#1. Hold an Event
Boost your business by hosting an event. You can invite parents, potential clients, and other adults in the community to your event. You can host a free playdate for a select number of children or hold a raffle to give away a prize. You can also use the event as an opportunity to showcase your services.
The event you host aims to show parents that your center provides not just safe, high-quality child care but fun, educational, and memorable experiences for your young clients.
Allow guests to enjoy the event with other families and kids - don’t make it all about your services. After the event, let parents leave with registration forms, brochures, business cards, and your portfolio of pictures, and follow up with them after the event.
#2. Scale With Referrals
Referrals are one of the best ways to market your childcare center. Reach out to your clients in the community, and ask them to recommend your center to other parents they know.
Offer parents incentives (a coupon for a free week at the center, for example) for referring other parents. You can give these incentives whenever you receive a new referral or after you have received a certain amount of referrals.
The best referrals come from your friends, colleagues, and positive reviews from the parents using your facility. However, you can incentivize more referrals by offering a discount or reward in return for a referral. Incentivized referrals can be an easy way to supercharge your word-of-mouth marketing.
#3. Make Education a Constant Priority
Many child care centers don't get generate enough exposure. So parents don't know who they are or where they should go for quality care for their children.
Do you have a unique process that has worked for decades? Could you share it? Do you keep up-to-date on educational trends and techniques? Share that information with parents.
Where can you share this information? A blog post can be a great way to share your knowledge. You can write short blog posts on timely topics, such as tips to help parents prepare for childcare school or holiday programs.
The beauty of blogs is that you can create posts as often as you want, and the more often you share educational content; the more Google will realize that your blog is a reliable source of valuable information, increasing your ranking on Google.
You can also build your email list. Encourage parents to sign up for your email list by offering them a gift, such as a downloadable guide or eBook in exchange for their contact information. After you gain a subscriber, you can correspond with them regularly through email about upcoming special events, policies, or promotions in your area.
Educating parents builds credibility, trust and helps you build a loyal customer base.
#4. Consider Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Your Local Area
Your child care business has a fixed location. That means the bulk of your potential customers will live within a few miles of your area. Besides, most parents won't want to take their children to daycare too far from home. Knowing this means you can optimize your daycare center for potential clients searching for childcare in your area.
Think about it this way. When a parent wants to find a good daycare in Montreal, they will search Google with a phrase like, "daycares near me." You can ensure that your website shows up for that phrase by adding keywords or phrases similar to it.
For example, if you have your daycare near an elementary school, include keywords like "near x elementary school." If you shop around, you can find other keywords that are similar that parents might use.
If your goal is to get more parents to your daycare, SEO is one of the best ways to do it.
#5. Run Advertisements for an Open House
If the opening of your new daycare is drawing near, or you want to show off your existing daycare, you should know that an open house is an excellent opportunity to get some free publicity and showcase your daycare to potential parents.
You can do this by starting an advertising campaign for your daycare that will advertise your open house. Whether you do this through print advertisements, social media ads, or otherwise, you can be sure that you will generate some publicity.
Social media and Google ads are great because you can target your ads to people looking for daycares in your specified area or region. Print advertisements and flyers are another advertisement option that can be targeted to specific neighborhoods close to your facility.
Marketing your daycare business is more important today than perhaps it has ever been before, especially if you own a newer or smaller daycare. Some methods may require you to spend money, while others may be free.
If you could only pick one strategy out of all the above options, referrals would be the best method to market your daycare.
Families primarily look for daycares based on recommendations from people they trust, so referrals are one of the best ways to increase your client base. Referrals are usually free, making it a good option for daycares to grow with a limited budget.