Archive for 'Need'

Why You Need a Website for Your Day Care

Friday, April 1st, 2011 at 11:00 am  
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Why You Need a Website for Your Day Care

Your day care business can benefit enormously from having a website and blog. I have connected with a lot of clients that otherwise might not have found me or might have overlooked my service in favor of one of the above. There are many bigger, faster, shinier, more centrally located days with bigger advertising budgets than mine.

People were impressed with my website; with the pictures, information and ‘glimpse inside’ that it offered. The Montessori curriculum, the beautiful, country setting and the fact that we are a family run business appealed to them. They felt like they knew us already thanks to the ‘personal touch’ effect of the website.

Communication with potential and existing clients is so much easier, as is marketing your day care when you have an online presence. It is not difficult to maintain or create a website and a professional look can be easily achieved. Your business can be marketed better by a regularly updated, vibrant website and blog than by other methods at less cost. Include lots of information about you and your day care ensure your site is easily navigated.

The early stages involved quite a bit of work ensuring all my keywords and tags were effective, submitting to online child care and business directories but the work paid off. Most google and other search engine queries for day care in my area will have my business listed in the first few results.

Ensure you have pictures of your bright, airy playrooms, outdoor playgrounds and shots of the exterior of your day care. Help parents understand what your day care offers by incorporating details of important policies, your educational curriculum and what you charge. Downloads of your parent handbook and day care contract provides answers many telling questions for parents and puts their minds at rest.

Keep your existing and future clients up to speed and interested in your day care by adding a blog to your website. I am getting lots of positive comments and responses having recently begun my own blog – WordPress makes it easy for even the most technically challenged to to this. Put pictures of you and your employees on a staff page and include a few details about each person. This way, you won’t be such a stranger to your potential clients and they’ll be much more inclined to consider your service.

 

 

 

ChildCareOnly.com is the brainchild of Fiona Lohrenz who has 10 years experience running a day care. Fiona has also produced a ‘Start a Daycare Business’ DVD all about the Day Care Business. Fiona can be found at her website on Daycare

Daycare Marketing: What Materials Do You Need?

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 at 3:00 am  
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Daycare Marketing: What Materials Do You Need?

One of the biggest mistakes many daycares make is printing their own marketing materials. They view marketing as an expense, when it is actually an investment designed to make money. A professional presentation will always achieve more responses than desktop-printed materials, so choose an affordable online printing company such as PsPrint to deliver your message with professionalism.

Must-have daycare marketing materials:

 

Business cards – Business cards are cheap and expendable. Print as many as you can hand out, and make sure everyone you meet has one. This includes your mom and your banker, and everyone in between.

Postcards – Postcards are likewise extremely cost effective and are a great way to get your clientele to take a closer look at your daycare.

Posters – Strategically placed posters can grab attention. Try community bulletin boards, and if you’re close to a large institution such as a university, tech firm or factory, see if you can purchase some ad space in hallways and on bulletin boards and place your posters there. Maybe you have someone on the inside who can do this for you free of charge.

Flyers – Like posters, flyers can be placed on bulletin boards and anywhere else your target audience frequents. Under windshield wipers in the grocery store parking lot is a good option.

Daycare booklets/guides – A rather unique, yet extremely effective approach to daycare marketing is to print booklets that educate parents on child development: intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Not only will your booklet add value and have shelf life, it will demonstrate that you’re an expert in this field and build trust and confidence.

Catalogs – Daycares are not retail businesses by trade, but that doesn’t mean you can’t upsell. See if your suppliers allow you to become resellers so you can profit from selling kid-safe and kid-friendly products to parents. Some companies sell green products for kids, a hot trend among many parents today. Send your catalogs home with your clientele.

Brochures – A sound brochure tells parents everything they need to know about your daycare so they can make sound child care decisions.

Calendars – Everyone loves (and uses) free calendars. Make yours kid-friendly and interactive with important date reminders, stickers, vivid images and other fun add-ons that draw attention to your company 365 days a year.

Greeting cards – Few businesses are as personal as daycares, so send your parents greeting cards in appreciation. Better yet, send your children greeting cards on birthdays and holidays, and include a small token of appreciation (such as a coupon for a free ice cream cone at a local restaurant).

Stickers – Kids love stickers. They’ll use them. Everywhere. Make sure yours have your name on them, and let your kids get a’stickin’!

Newsletters – A formal approach to staying connected with your clients. Highlight new advances in child care, what you’re doing in your daycare, and include photos (with permission) of your kids at work and play.

Other materials you should consider producing include a website, door hangers and a corporate identity package (complete with letterhead, envelopes, brochure, flyer, business card and pocket folder). Why a corporate ID package for a daycare? If you’re close to a large institution, you might be able to contract daycare services through the company, and a corporate ID package is exactly what you’ll need to make the professional presentation the decision-makers are looking for.

Learn about how your auto shop can take your exposure to the next level of branding through PsPrint’s auto body shop business marketing plans. Capitalize upon the variety of printing services that PsPrint offers to maximize your company’s branding efforts and marketing presence.