It’s the age old question; ‘How can I market my day care business locally without it costing an arm and a leg?’. Truly, it’s not that difficult, just takes a little hard, consistent work. First off, get some stationary printed which should consist of;
- Business cards - Your letterheads - A5 sized brochures/flyers to be distributed locally. These should spell out the key selling points of your day care and why parents would be foolish to go elsewhere;
- Your contact details - What your day care offers in terms of curriculum, additional services e.g. afterschool, drama classes etc. - Let the flyer be a vouchere e.g. present the flyer and get one week free. - Anything extraordinarily special about your day care that makes it stand out from the competition.
Think about paying a couple of kids or even enlisting the services of a flyer distribution company to distribute flyers on cars (focusing on cars with evidence of child activity). Don’t break the law so double check the appropriate city ordinances before you go plastering your town with advertising paraphenalia.
It is worth checking into mass mailings out of your local post office ensuring that the direct targets are subdivisions containing lots of young families and not retirement communities (having said that, I have had many a grandma forward my flyer to her children for their children!!!).
Next it’s time for you to step out and do a little leg work and local networking. On this particular mission think places of congregation for locals, especially anywhere they have to hang around for significant time periods with nothing to do;
- Doctor and dentist waiting rooms - these places are crammed full of potential clients. - Any and all clinics where pregnant women attend…do I need to spell it out? - Be creative and think of places where you have a captive audience, where people are waiting around and desperate enough to read advertising literature (think cereal boxes!).
Get your binoculars out and go discover the location of;
- Banks and credit unions - they often have bulletin boards and they all have lines of people just waiting….. - Try to find local community notice boards - often found at the library, hospital or chamber of commerce. - Trawl your local stores and ask if they would post your flyer in their window or door.
Pay a visit to your local schools because they often have notice boards and you might be able to post your flyer there. Sweet talk the prinicial or careers officer and try to arrange doing a talk on child care or the day care business for the P.T.A. or a careers class (it’s all exposure and building trust locally).
These are just a few easier ways of marketing your day care locally. So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself out there.
Find out about childcare from Fiona Lohrenz who has run her own day care for the past 10 years. She incorporates all that knowledge into her website and her ‘Start a Day Care Business’ DVD guide: Start A Day Care Business DVD Find her at: ChildCareOnly.com
- Fiona Lohrenz
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