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Four Key Tips on Marketing for Family Child Care Providers |
April 2008
Here are some tips to help providers promote their business:
| 1. | You can compete with other homes and centers by identifying the benefits of your program and communicating them to parents. Benefits explain how your program will help children and their parents: "Individual attention to help your child grow and learn," "Flexible hours to meet a parent's busy schedule," "Accredited by NAFCC," and so on. Your benefits should answer the question, "Why should a parent bring their child to your program?" Ask the parents in your program, your daycare children, other providers, and your regulator for suggestions of benefits that describe your program. | |
| 2. | Promoting your program should be seen as an ongoing process that reaches out to current families, prospective families, and past families: | |
| • | Communicate regularly with current families about the benefits of your program through a newsletter, emails, written notes, bulletin board postings, etc. | |
| • | Offer a finder's fee to current families if they refer a new family to you that you enroll. This fee can be an offer of free care or money. | |
| • | Have a celebration (holiday party, summer barbeque, etc.) where you invite current and past families to come to your home and interact with each other. Current families who meet past families will gain a greater appreciation for your work. | |
| • | Keep track of children through letters and photos after they leave your program. Post these letters and photos (with permission) in a scrapbook or on your wall. The best measure of success of your program is how well children do after leaving your program. | |
| 3. | Use the services of your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency (CCRR) to help your promote your program: | |
| • | Regularly update your enrollment information, including future vacancies. | |
| • | Talk to a referral counselor on a regular basis about the supply and demand for child care in your area. Ask for advice about how you can better meet the needs of parents. | |
| • | Keep up with the rates charged by other providers by asking for the latest rate information. | |
| 4. | Compare the quality of care your offer with the rates you charge parents. If you are offering a high-quality program, your rates should reflect this. The more you are able to communicate the benefits of your program, the higher your rates can be. Too often parents cannot see a difference in the quality from one provider to another and therefore make their decision based on rates. It's up to providers to show parents what they are paying for. Set a goal of raising your rates once a year, and put a statement that this will happen in your contract. | |
For more information, see the Family Child Care Marketing Guide (www.redleafpress.org or 1-800-423-8309).
This handout was produced by Think Small (www.thinksmall.org).
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