Launching a business is always tough. However, since the pandemic, getting business has become even more of a challenge. Daycares have especially been hit hard. The most important fact to know now is how to get more business for your daycare. So how do daycares get clients?
Daycares get clients through a variety of methods, namely through making a website, posting signs in various locations, reaching out to friends and family, and listing services on networking sites. Daycares also get clients through social media advertising, advertising on sites like google, staying current in their local directories, and being professional.
8 Ways to Attract Clients
There are many different ways to bring clients into your daycare. While some might make you uncomfortable, the number of options you have is vast enough that you’ll for sure find a couple of advertising methods that will work for you and your business model.
Make A Website
With so many people limiting the amount of time they spend outside their homes, there has been a major increase in internet use and internet surfing. Having a website to advertise your daycare is a great way to reach all of the people spending time on the web.
Your website is essentially an advertisement, so it should include all of the exceptional and unique traits about your daycare, such as mentioning if you have won any awards or pointing out the unique style in which you care for children. It is also a good idea to put your prices on the website. Most importantly, make sure your website has a working, easy to use method for potential clients to get in contact with you.
Reach Out to Friends and Family
This can feel like an awkward conversation to have with those closest to you at first, but your friends and family are your best source for clients, especially if you are just starting. There are multiple reasons why you should reach out to your friends and family and offer your services:
- Your friends and family would probably actually appreciate the fact that they can leave their children in the care of someone they know well instead of a stranger when they head off to work.
- You also will probably have interacted with their children to some degree and will know the personality and potentially some of the needs of the child you’ll be taking into your daycare.
- You can have face to face conversations with your prospective clients instead of nervously waiting to see if anyone will contact you about your daycare services. Your friends and family will also be more prompt in letting you know whether they’re interested or not.
- Even if your family and friends don’t need daycare, they can reach out to their social circles and spread the word about your daycare. In this way, your social circle becomes another source of advertising for you.
Also, having a daycare that is full of the children of your friends and family can be good for the kids also. It will be easier for them to make friends and they’ll potentially get along more easily than a daycare full of strangers.
Making Use of Posting Signs
This method of getting clients has been around for centuries, but it still holds as an effective method of finding those in need of your services. While people don’t go out too much nowadays, there are still plenty of people who make runs to the store or a similar necessary outing who just might see a sign advertising your daycare. Some of the most popular places to post signs are:
- On your lawn. This is also a great way to get neighbors into your daycare. Having a daycare full of children from around the same neighborhood is a great way to support lifelong friendships.
- On telephone poles. I have found about many a yard sale simply because of glancing at a pole that’s next to a stop sign. Sometimes you can get permission to post the sign on other government poles.
- On the lawn of businesses. Many businesses love helping out others. Asking a business near you that gets a lot of customers if you can put up a sign is a wonderful idea. Keep in mind some businesses might do it for a small fee.
List Your Daycare on Commercial Sites
If you’re trying to get people to your daycare, one way is to post your daycare on a commerce site such as Facebook Marketplace. Other sites you could do this on are ones such as eBay and OfferUp. Using these websites is a bit unconventional, but it will surely help you reach a wider audience and people that you wouldn’t usually come in contact with.
However, like with all online shopping, it’s a good idea to be a bit careful with how you communicate with potential clients on these sites.
Be Professional
This aspect of getting clients focuses more on helping you land the client rather than attracting them to your daycare. When someone comes to see your establishment or gets in contact with you, there’s no guarantee they’ll actually become a client. However, if you present yourself and your daycare professionally, you’re more likely to get the client. A few ways you can be professional are:
- Have a contract prepared for them to sign and mention it to them when they come. This shows you are serious about taking good care of your children.
- Prepare a set of rules or guidelines you will enforce in your daycare and show it to potential clients. This allows your clients to better understand how your daycare works and if it’ll be a good fit for them or not.
- Become knowledgeable about child development. Knowing more than the basics of caring for a child is a plus for any parent. This can be as simple as doing a lot of reading about childhood development or more in-depth such as getting a degree centered around the subject.
- Make a calendar of when you are open, and which holidays you do or don’t work. You will especially appreciate this when a holiday comes around and no one’s calling you to look after their child.
Do an Ad on Google or Use Your Website
In this day and age where everyone uses Google to find out information, doing an ad on a search engine is a surefire way of getting new clients. However, it’s important to note that using Google AdWords can be a bit on the pricey side.
If you’d rather not pay for ads, posting articles on your daycare website that have search engine optimized language is another good way to get traffic. Articles that mention daycare a lot or talk about other subjects that are related to daycare will bring traffic to your website. This increase of people coming to your website should result in more clients.
Posting articles on your website is also a great idea because it attracts people that maybe weren’t even looking for a daycare. However, once they are on your website, they are presented with the daycare opportunity and might take it.
Get on The Map
Having your daycare available on map apps, such as google maps, is essential in this day and age. Most people will just use Google Maps when they need services near their house.
Having your daycare in Google Maps will bring in customers. Make sure that when your daycare shows up on google maps, people can:
- Click on your website. This will allow potential customers to get to know your daycare better.
- See some reviews. People feel very hesitant about going somewhere that doesn’t have any reviews on it.
- Has a good picture. If the picture for the location of your daycare looks scary, people won’t come.
- Has a working telephone number. When the phone number doesn’t work, people tend to look elsewhere.
Making sure that potential clients can find you is essential for bringing in new customers.
Use Social Media
Everyone is using social media nowadays. This makes it the perfect place to promote your business. Subtle promoting such as casually mentioning your daycare in a post is good, but you can also do more targeted promotion if necessary.
You can also have a social media page for your daycare. Such a page will allow clients and others to follow you, which will give you exposure to more clients.
Learn other ways to attract parents to your daycare HERE!
Related Questions
1. What should be on your daycare website to attract customers?
The most important aspect of your website is going to be the layout. If the website is easy to navigate, then people will like being on it more and will actually spend time browsing the website, leading to interest and potentially more customers.
Your daycare website should also share as much information as possible in brief, concise sections. Long sections are discouraging to read. Try to be specific and make a point in only one or two sentences.
2. What aspect of being a daycare is most important for potential clients?
What each set of parents is most concerned about when thinking about their child differs. However, most parents will consider the location of the daycare as being in the top three of most important factors.
Because the location is important, most daycares focus on attracting customers from within the neighborhood or comfortable driving distance. However, it’s also important to consider that some parents are willing to drive farther for a better, more child-focused daycare.
Please note: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a legal expert to address your specific needs.
To learn more on how to start your own daycare checkout my startup course and documents here.
Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Childcare Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online daycare business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a childcare business owner, I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Daycare Business Boss: I want to help childcare business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.