Your staff has the power to bring enrollments to you and keep them as loyal customers, or drive them away into the waiting arms of your competition. Teachers affect the quality of care as perceived by the parents, the image prospects get when they visit your center, and their decision whether or not to remain enrolled.
Most staff do not see these critical roles as marketing. They feel marketing is the director’s job. So how can you get your staff to recognize the value of their impact on enrollment and then enlist them as your marketing partners?
Awareness
First, let them know the value they have in upholding the image of your center.
Point out important daily activities that DO communicate a marketing message to customers and visiting parents. How they greet parents, the way they answer the telephone, and the way they interact with children all have significant impact on parents’ decisions to enroll and stay enrolled. Set up performance expectations as your marketing partners.
Involvement
Create opportunities for your staff to be more directly involved in enrollment building. For instance, let staff know the name and specific needs of visiting parents and children, so she can greet them by name when they enter her classroom. If appropriate, take over for your teacher, so she can explain her own classroom to parent and child. This positions your teacher not only as an early care and education specialist, but as your marketing partner. Impressive!
Recognition
Recognition is a strong motivator of desired behavior. When your teachers exhibit good marketing partnership behavior, acknowledge them right away with a compliment, recognition in a staff meeting, or even a small gift, such as a flower or personal note from you. Reward your team with a larger prize for helping you reach or maintain capacity utilization goals. This encouragement will reinforce their value as your marketing partners and motivate them to continue.
As your staff becomes more comfortable and confident in their role as marketing partners in your center, you will be amazed at how much easier they can make building and maintaining enrollment.
Julie Wassom
“The Speaker Whose Message Means Business”
Marketing and Sales Speaker/Consultant/Author
Call me: 303-693-2306
Fax me: 303-617-6422
E-me: julie@juliewassom.com
See me: www.juliewassom.com
