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<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nCreate a brand.\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0Develop a simple logo with a few words and an image that tells your story. \u00a0Make sure it goes everywhere your business is represented — on staff T-shirts, company letterhead and the pens you hand out as marketing materials. \u00a0Your logo and business name should be prominent in your target market.\u00a0 Everything should link back to the image you are trying to convey.<\/p>\n Create a customer referral program<\/strong>.\u00a0 Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool.\u00a0 Encourage word-of-mouth advertising by creating a referral program. Design a flier and distribute it to your current parents announcing the details.\u00a0 Many centers offer parents a reward for making referrals to their centers. By encouraging the parents who use your services to promote you, you gain a powerful advocate in the eyes of prospective customers.<\/p>\n Host an open house.\u00a0 <\/strong>Hold an open house or an event that showcases what you have to offer. Invite the community and welcome parents. An open house lets parents browse your facilities, talk to teachers and get to know the feeling of the center. If you\u2019re in a neighborhood with plenty of child care centers, make sure you highlight what makes your center different.\u00a0 Don’t limit your open houses to September for the start of pre-school or summer when kids are out of school. \u00a0Consider an open house monthly or at least four times a year.<\/p>\n Create promotional materials.<\/strong>\u00a0 A low-cost way to build your brand is to target specific neighborhoods in the market that you serve. Print a specific message or offer on door hangers and place them on doorknobs in your area. This can be particularly effective if targeted to a particular time when people might be thinking of day care options.<\/p>\n Technology expands your marketing opportunities<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Technology provides even more creative ways in which to market your program.<\/p>\n Times have changed.\u00a0 For the most part, parents today are millennial parents, and they are “high information” parents.\u00a0 Families are doing extensive research before they reach out to connect with you.\u00a0 It\u2019s estimated that 60% of their decision has already been made by the time they contact you.\u00a0 If they do contact you, it\u2019s because your center has made their short list of the top three to five options in their mind.<\/p>\n This fact cannot<\/u> be understated.\u00a0 The majority of families are making decisions about whether to contact your child care without even talking to you or scheduling a tour. This is why online reputation and outreach are so important.<\/p>\n Online reviews and testimonials should always be a key focus for your child care center.\u00a0 Reviews and testimonials are very important factors to parents when deciding which child care center to choose.<\/p>\n Engage in Social Media<\/strong><\/p>\n Social media is powerful; you can reach a lot of people in a very short amount of time.\u00a0 A Facebook page is critical for any child care center.\u00a0 Use it to keep your community informed on your key dates and events \u2014 when your school year starts, etc. \u00a0It is also an easy way to be found should one of your clients recommend you \u2014 if they have \u201cliked\u201d your page, they can simply share it with others.\u00a0 Be assured that prospective parents will check online reviews for your center.<\/p>\n Have a website<\/strong><\/p>\n Most people will do a Google or Bing search to find you. \u00a0And guess what? \u00a0If you’re not online, you can’t be found! \u00a0Your website doesn\u2019t have to be elaborate; the main thing is it needs to be welcoming, organized and clean.\u00a0 You can also create your own for free by using sites like wix.com or weebly.com.<\/p>\n Your website should contain your contact information, hours, information about you and your program, the age groups and programs you offer.\u00a0 You could also allow parents to take an online virtual tour.\u00a0 Place your parent handbook, policies, and enrollment packet online so parents can read them ahead of time.\u00a0 Try to make it as easy as possible for parents to learn about your center.<\/p>\n ChildWatch<\/em> provides features to help centers identify the different means through which their clients learned about them, whether it was through word of mouth, referrals, internet search, social media or some other medium.\u00a0 This allows centers to focus their marketing efforts in areas that are more likely to reach parents.<\/p>\n No matter which strategies you use, remember that being successful in business today means taking marketing as seriously as you do the rest of your business. You don\u2019t have to be a marketing expert to get started –you just need to get started!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Market Your Day Care Center In our previous article, we stressed the fact that first impressions are everything in the child care industry. If you own or manage a child care center, chances are you are up against some stiff competition.\u00a0 Effective marketing allows you to let potential clients know your philosophy and approach to child care and to communicate who you are. What are the things you can do to set yourself apart from the competition?\u00a0 You can start by sharing your story:\u00a0 the number of years you\u2019ve been in the child care field, the educational environment your center […]<\/p>\n