The road to finding the right daycare is a long one. Consider the timeline of events that your customers will experience. It begins when they receive the amazing news that they’re pregnant! They only have nine months to prepare for their arrival. The search for the perfect daycare begins, because just weeks after the baby is born, parents head back to work.
It’s important to understand that researching and selecting a child care option can be a daunting task for new parents. They are looking for trustworthy and knowledgeable caretakers. Even when parents find a child care option that fits, it’s difficult to hand that newborn bundle of joy over and return to work.
How can you ease parents through the process?
From the moment you meet your potential clients, you have to be responsive. Reply in a timely manner to their messages and return phone calls. Comment and engage with your followers on social media to keep them informed on a daily basis about the goings-on of your business. Parents will want to know that you are an accessible, organized and empathetic business owner.
Make new parents’ experience as easy as possible. This starts with the first touch point: your website. Your website is a window into your daycare center and should be a reflection of the atmosphere and services that you provide to your clients. Information should be easy to locate and a clear call to action is necessary to convince your audience to reach out and schedule a visit. A contact form, button or call out are great examples of a call to action. See the blue button in the advertisement below?
The text in the blue button is an example of a call to action. This instruction to the audience is designed to provoke an immediate response, such as “Sign Up Now” or “Schedule A Tour.”
The goal of your website should be to schedule tours, with your tours turning into daycare registrations. All of these touch points should be as consistent as possible. This will create a base for a trusting relationship between you and your clients. In addition to digital marketing, reputation management should remain a top priority. Parents are likely to ask their friends for recommendations and browse review sites for information. Responding to all reviews, good and bad, will show that you are invested in your center and your clientele.
