Creating a referral marketing strategy for your daycare is one of the best ways to promote your center, encourage parent validation and gain new families. Online reviews and digital communication give parents a lot of influence among their peers. Why not give them the opportunity to advertise for you in exchange for a reward?
What is Referral Marketing?
Referral marketing takes place when your current customers spread the word about your center to friends or family members, who then become your customers too. If your child care business has a referral program, your current families are encouraged to refer people in exchange for a reward or discount. Using a referral marketing strategy makes for a win-win-win situation: you get a new customer; your current customer gets a reward for referring the new customer; and the new customer finds a new child care solution from a trusted source.
Referral Program Ideas for Your Daycare
Creating a customer referral program, or “refer a friend” program, for your daycare encourages your current families to reach out to other families and tell them about your center. This process will likely happen naturally; a good incentive speeds it up. It’s a way to say “thank you” to your supportive families, and make them feel good about helping your center out!
Here are some ideas for your daycare referral program:
Use a Reward that Supports Your Business
You want to make sure that the incentives you offer benefit both you and your customer. Use this opportunity to your advantage by rewarding parents with a discount on their child care tuition fee or free tickets for an event at your daycare. This way, you keep parents invested in what you have to offer them.
Document the Referral
It’s important that you document referrals so your center can keep track of them, and the referring parents receive credit. There are many ways you can document the referral. If your daycare center has a website, you can easily record referrals online by creating a web form for referring parents to fill out. This same form can be shared with your email subscribers and social media followers to encourage them to participate in your referral program.
In addition to creating a form for referring families, you’ll want to include a place for new parents to note if someone has referred them on your registration form. This way, if a parent forgets to fill out a form, they still receive credit.
Advertise Your Referral Program
If you want families to participate in your referral program, you need to make them aware of it! Find multiple ways to inform parents of the program so they can take advantage of it.
- Include your referral program details in your parent handbook so they are informed right from the beginning.
- Provide a handout for current parents, future customers, and kids to take home with them.
- Mention the program in your email newsletter with a linked form for them to submit.
- Share the link to your social media accounts as well.
