WHAT IS FAMILY CHILD CARE MARKETING
Family child care is a profession and it is unique. It requires a large variety of skills. A provider is in the business of nurturing and teaching young children, many times for more than 50 hours a week. Providers must learn to balance the personal and business side of their profession to be successful.
If you choose the business of child care, you also choose to be in control, which can mean setting rates and hours, deciding what type of customers you want and what type of curriculum you will be offering.
Family child care marketing is how you communicate the benefits of your business to your potential customers. Its not just advertising, but it defines your service of meeting the needs of children and parents. Price your service (what is my time worth), and promoting you service (How do I tell others about my program) is the key to marketing.
Studies show parents highest priorities are they from a child care provider is safety and high-quality care so they have a sense of ease so in order to go about their business of supporting their family.
Marketing is about keeping your current customers happy and offering the kind of care your future customers will want.
The needs of parents have changed. It is important to keep up with changing times. There is now a greater demand for part-time and structured activities and schedule.
This means asking lots of questions of your clients to find out their needs and how your business fits.
Part of your job in marketing is educating your parents in what high quality care entails.
For example your business needs to have child-centered activities, nutritious meals, individual care and a safe, homey environment run by a trained provider.
The number of children enrolling in family day care is declining. Enrolling in centers and unregulated child care homes is growing. This can be due to providers failure to market their businesses, this will mean competition from others will increase. With expanded choices, parents are demanding more and more from their child care provider. They want providers that are actually educating their children.
A provider will need to spend more time and money on advertising and promoting their business because it could take longer to fill child care openings.
Child care providers that have good business skills and the ability to communicate with parents and understand the value of marketing will succeed.
