One of the biggest challenges I faced when I started my home daycare was marketing. This came as a really big surprise to me as I never thought I would need to do any marketing at all. After all I was well known in our community, had a ton of friends with kids, had a nice little house, I’m out going, etc. And most importantly I had several moms encourage me to start a daycare with the promise that they would enroll their children with me.

When the dust settled (and I had quit my job), got my license in place, organized the house, etc none of them actually enrolled! It dawned on me then and there that I would have to get more serious about getting the word out.

Below is a list of the marketing activities that I tried. Some of it was a complete waste of time and money; some of them worked beautifully. Here’s what I tried:

· Print ads
· Mailers
· Door Hangers
· Car Sign
· Chamber of Commerce
· Mom’s Groups
· Internet Referral Network – Called the 3 C’s
· Flyers
· Website
· Others
· Word of Mouth

Print Ads

Let me start off with print ads. Print ads were probably the least effective and the biggest waste of money. It was one of our first marketing efforts. In Metro Detroit we have a publication specifically devoted to moms/parents. We really thought that it was a no brainer, due to the focus of the publication and that it was centered right in our community.

I put together a really nice inch by inch classified ad and signed the contract. We receive three calls from the ad but did not sign up one child. We tried the ad for 5 months for $189 per month, for a total of $950. With no results. Not the direction we wanted to go!
So, much to our surprise print ads, where not the right path. Not to say that it wouldn’t work for you but if you’re on a limited budget try something else to promote your daycare.

Mailers

Mailer’s where marginal. The first concern was having to put together something presentable to send the letters on. We chose to be traditional and printed out letterhead and envelopes. To print out a thousand of both was approximately $200 total for one color. The next issue was coming up with a list to send the letters to. We were able get a list from the city but it had issues. We only had the actually names of the residents on roughly half of the addresses on the list.

What do you normally do with a letter that’s entitled “Dear Resident”? I know what I do – round file. The alternative was to buy a list from a list company but that is another $100 that we just did not want to spend.

Another negative of the mailers was just the amount of time it took to print out, fold and stuff the envelopes.

As mentioned above, one of the main things we learned in general was to market directly in our neighborhood. And mailers can do just that. Unlike the print ad that was spread out throughout Metro Detroit we were able to focus our marketing dollars on our best possible prospects. Basically all our kids lived within 2 miles and most of them lived within 1 mile from us. So with mailers you’re able to control exactly who gets the letter, and keep your costs down.

All in all, this was a mediocre route for me. Looking back I guess if I could have gotten a list of homes with families, kids in my age group, and just sent out a mailer to 100 names or so when I had a vacancy that would have worked – though I don’t know how or if a list like that exists. Perhaps you could get a list like that from your local elementary school.

Stay tuned for part 2 -4 on Starting a Home Daycare – Marketing

Tania Rauth wrote a book on how to start and run a home daycare. More info at starting a daycare or how to run a daycare

In general there are a few common marketing themes that you want to keep in mind in order to start a daycare. Number one is you want to keep all efforts very focused in a three to five mile radius of your home. Most of your kids are going to be coming from your neighborhood. Also, you want to show your location on all of your advertisements via a simple and easy-to-read map. The most important thing here is to point out your daycare’s location relative to the parent’s home or job. The more convenient/close it appears the better.

Number two is to create “urgency” and legitimacy right from the beginning with your ads (I talked a lot about this in my book and the other articles). In other words, you want to let the parents know that a rare vacancy has popped open. Say something like “Spot just opened for 12-24 month old” on all of your ads. Wording your ad like this implies a couple of things – the spot won’t stay open for long. And that you have customers, which seems to imply that other parents trust you so you must be ok.

Number three is consistency. Whatever marketing tools you decide to put into place, you have to be patient enough to see if they will work or not. They all take time, some more than others, but I certainly learned that you have to give them enough to see if they are working or you will just waste your time.

Last word, I have to admit the marketing aspect was a good kind of challenge for me. It was fun and exciting to see what worked. It was one of the aspects of the daycare that really felt like a business. We had to get clients and do it in the most cost effective way so that we would still make a profit. Getting the phone to ring felt really great and was rewarding. So use your creativity, with the idea of getting in front of as many parents as possible with the least amount of effort or cash to reach them.

Tania Rauth wrote a book on how to start and run a home daycare. More info at starting a daycare or how to run a daycare

Know Your Customers

Knowing your customer is the key to successfully marketing your center. The more you know about the parents’ expectations, the easier it will be to develop a program that meets their needs, as well as the kid’s. You can also, develop a list of questions to help you identify what the parents will likely need, want and expect of your center.

The questions may include:

1. What type of service will be provided?

2. What are the operating hours?

3. Do the operating hours match the parents’ work schedule?

4. Is extended evening care available?

5. Where is the center located?

6. Is the location convenient and easily accessible?

7. How many staff members training in early childhood education or a related field?

8. What is the teacher-to-child ratio?

9. Will there be a curriculum? Will it be structured?

10. Will you create an activities schedule?

11. How will the center be operated? Hours? Activities?

12. Have medical/first aid policies been developed?

13. What will the sleeping arrangements be?

Once you have answered these questions, you will have a foundation from which to develop your marketing plan.

Know the Competition

A vital rule of marketing is to know your competitors. Although operating a home daycare won’t require you to compete for business like a daycare center would. It is still best to know who your competitors are.

Your competitors should include all those who offer related services. They may be in the same geographic area or another area that is accessible to your clients. To determine the competitiveness of your market, find out…

1. The location of other childcare services in your area.

2. Who your major competitors are?

3. How long your competitors have been in business.

4. How your center will benefit the clients more than your competitors’ centers.

5. If there is a need for additional centers in your area or in an area that is easily accessible?

6. How competitors’ centers are like or different from yours.

7. What your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses are?

8. How competitors will act when you enter the market.

9. What competitors’ are your competitors’ reputations, etc., are.

Find out as much as possible about your competitors.

Get The Word Out

Marketing your daycare center will require several strategies. The best on that I recommend is word of mouth. Tell everyone you know about your business, most likely they will know someone who needs your services. By the way word of mouth marketing is the cheapest of all.

However, any other method of advertising you use, you will have to spend money and costs will very.

You should put your marketing plan into action at least five months before you open for business. Make sure your advertisements match the image you are trying to project.

If you are going to pay to advertise, try to meet your competitors head on. Look at your competitors. In what sections do they advertise? What size advertisements do they use?

Inexpensive Advertising Techniques
If you do not have the money to advertise by television, newspaper, or radio don’t here are other inexpensive, yet effective ways to do so. Here is a list of some of the things you can do:

Fliers and brochures

Business cards

Referral agencies

Networking

Yellow Pages

Classified ads

A successful marketing plan, carried out effectively should render your business successful. Again know who your customers are, find out who and where your competitors are, and then market your business until you reach your opening day goals.

To find more in-depth information on the ways to market a Home Daycare please visit: http://www.asapchildcare.com