After researching your closest competitors, you’ll have a good idea of how child care centers nearby differentiate themselves from one another. Your next step should be identifying what services you offer that set you apart. These services and areas of focus are your daycare’s competitive advantage.
Identifying and highlighting your competitive advantage throughout your digital marketing will help you attract parents to your daycare. Setting a narrower focus to grow your enrollment might seem counterintuitive. However, choosing a few competitive advantages where your center truly excels appeals to a group of parents more likely to become clients.
There are many areas of focus that could set you apart from other local child care options. This list of competitive advantages is a good starting point as you brainstorm ways to differentiate your daycare.
- Education-focused daycares put structured learning first and offer developmentally-appropriate activities to help kids learn to love learning.
- Family child care offers care for a small number of children in the provider’s home with smaller provider to child ratios and more flexibility.
- Age-specific child care providers offer specialized care for children of a specific age or developmental stage, much like grade school.
- Cost is often the deciding factor for families choosing child care. Proving your value can attract parents to your daycare.
- A commitment to convenient, open communication between child care provider and parents is a relief for parents nervous about sending their child to daycare.
- Extended hours, such as overnight care or flexible pickup times, are appealing to parents who work second and third shifts, or don’t have a set schedule at all times.
- Teacher qualification requirements vary by state. Regardless of minimum requirements, employing a large number of highly qualified and experienced teachers is a competitive advantage.
