How to connect with parents in your early education business

Relationships are at the core of any successful child care center, preschool, Montessori, special needs, or private elementary school. This includes the interaction you have with parents, teachers, children, and their providers. Involving members of each of these four groups will help ensure that your center or school is more successful.

Today, we will focus on involving parents. From the first time a parent comes across one of your ads, from print to a recommendation from someone else who knows your school to an exit interview when they leave your school, you’re engaging that parent with your point of contact. Since we work in a competitive environment, it is important that each contact is as beneficial as possible.

1. Internet presence-For many early education companies, this is limited to a website, and many times these websites are built, launched, and forgotten. Your website gives you the opportunity to provide parents with the best and most up-to-date information about your center or school and its activities. It gives you the opportunity to show parents that you are better and more knowledgeable than your competition. Review and improve your website at least every 90 days. It may only be small changes at first, but getting into the habit will lead you to learn more and make bigger improvements as you go along.
2. Social Media Platforms-Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, and Instagram are all useful platforms.
3. Staff-Every staff member, from your principal and teachers to your cook and handyman, can be a walking ambassador for your company. Who knows more than these people about the operation of “their” center or school. Everyone spends money on advertising. If you choose to incentivize your staff to attract more parents, you have the opportunity to increase your enrollment and reward your staff…creating greater staff loyalty as a by-product. While it may not be typical for you, advertising expenses paid to staff can certainly be more beneficial to you than the money you spend with vendors.
4. Sellers-Most people don’t think of most of their vendors as sources of new business, but chances are your vendors interact with a lot of parents in your local area. These people are highly skilled and often overlooked resources. These relationships can be set up as barter relationships (they send parents to you and you send them clients) or you can choose to pay them for each new referral that stays enrolled for X period of time.
5. Printed media-Although print media is less used in the age of the Internet and social media connectivity, it is still an important factor in capturing the initial attention of parents and keeping them informed once they have become customers. There’s still a place for print media, but it can be very helpful to you if you remember that almost anything you’ve ever done in print can be done digitally faster and cheaper.
6. The exit interview-If you conduct exit interviews with your staff or parents, you have an opportunity to learn how you can better connect with parents. Many people will share information in an exit interview that they won’t share in the middle of a relationship. This is a great way to discover new options.
7. Local Elementary Schools-There are few things better than local school teachers who will recommend your center or school to parents. These contact points can send elementary-age children to you, as well as their younger siblings.
8. Open house-An open house for local parents to see your center or school and meet your teachers is always fun and not terribly expensive for the chance to get face to face with potential customers.

These proven tools can greatly enhance your early education business. Its effective use can also give you a cumulative effect, as more parents who become customers means more parents refer other parents.

(Disclaimer: Always consult the appropriate professionals before acting. By and prior to the use of the information provided in this document, the reader agrees that BFS® is not responsible for the viewer’s actions related to such information.)