Running a great school is the best thing you can do to drive enrollment. Next to that, you need to invest in digital marketing. It makes sense in theory, but putting it into practice can be overwhelming.
There are so many moving parts, options, and new concepts to learn. Branding, web presence, email campaigns, paid ads — the list goes on. And even if you are an expert in all those pieces, do you know how to tell whether your efforts are successful?
You didn’t become a childcare owner to devote yourself to digital marketing, but you don’t want to stay in the dark about it either.
You need a partner to help you navigate your marketing challenges. Ideally, this partner should be well-versed not only in digital marketing but in the childcare industry specifically.
Why a Childcare Marketing Agency Is as Important as a CRM
Childcare requires specific expertise that not many marketers have. With a marketing team made up of childcare experts, you can turn challenges like reputation management, social media, and email marketing into assets.
When you need help defining your target market or understanding what “success” looks like for your school, the right marketing agency can fill the gaps and help you achieve your goals.
You’ve heard the adage, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” That’s often the case with childcare owners who approach digital marketing. They’re unclear about methods, values, results, return on investment, and other important information, making it difficult or impossible for them to find the right marketing partner.
Or, they might find a decent match but inadvertently sabotage themselves by omitting crucial information, leading to poor communication and campaign failures. This wastes time and money, leading to frustration and the opinion that “marketing doesn’t work.”
To avoid that, we at Rose Marketing Solutions have developed a system of standards — the Five Es — to ensure our clients always receive the best service.
The Five Es
As we’ve said, it’s essential to partner with an agency fluent in the childcare industry. Finding a marketing partner who follows the Five Es is also vital. Those Five Es are:
Engage
We begin each relationship with a discovery call, during which we get to know you and your business, confirm your goals, and gather all the information we need to create your marketing plan.
Establish
With your objectives in mind, we create a customized marketing plan using only the most effective and relevant strategies.
Execute
Our team of experts uses our proven processes to implement your custom plan.
Evaluate
Each month, we monitor the performance of each service and document the results in a custom, easy-to-understand dashboard of marketing metrics.
Educate
We meet monthly to guide you through that dashboard so you and your team can be crystal-clear about our work, the success of our efforts, and the next steps.
Make Enrollment 10 Times Easier With These Four Tips
When it comes to marketing, always start with a plan — even before you find a marketing partner.
Don’t overextend yourself by trying to learn everything at once. Start with one thing and take baby steps until you’re proficient. To help, we recommend the following plan:
1. Have your enrolled families help drive enrollment
Again, the best marketing strategy is running a great school. Once you’ve done that, find ways your happy, enrolled families can share their thoughts and experiences with others.
Do this by asking them to write reviews (on Google, Yelp, or Facebook) and to share their stories and experiences online with their personal network. You can also create a referral program to reward parents for bringing in new families.
This step should come before any other digital marketing effort. It’s simple and doesn’t cost a penny.
2. Prepare your front desk staff for incoming calls
Phone leads are like gold for your business. Make sure your staff understands that and knows how to make the most of them.
Train your staff to have meaningful phone conversations that result in tours and enrollments. This applies tenfold if you’re spending money on paid ads.
3. Don’t run ads until you’re ready
Running paid ads before you’re ready is a waste of money. Instead, optimize your results by being prepared. Here are some simple but effective ways you can get the most out of your paid ads:
- Practice reputation management (address bad reviews calmly and professionally)
- Optimize your website
- Set a healthy ad budget
4. Set realistic expectations for your digital ads
Too often, our clients’ expectations of their paid ads are unrealistic, which usually results from common misconceptions about how paid ads work. We take the time to address this in the “educate” stage of our Five Es.
The average cost-per-click for our childcare clients is $2.50. This may sound alarming; however, our clients usually see a ROAS (return on ad spend) of 600–1,200%. We’re proud of our accomplishments and how we apply our experience to our clients.
Final Thoughts
We’ll repeat it because we believe it so sincerely: marketing alone isn’t enough. Running a great school is the key to long-term success.
Exceptional tools like Kangarootime can help you run a great school, manage a great staff, and maintain a great business. Solutions from billing to parent engagement to classroom management can take your school from good to excellent.
That’s not to say marketing isn’t essential. It’s like the saying, “If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound?” If you have a great school but no one knows about it, you may as well close your doors.
If you’d like a marketing partner to help with digital ads, reputation management, social media, and CRM support, we’d love to chat with you about our services.
