You’ve gotten much better at gathering information from the enrollment prospect who contact your center. On your lead forms and in your initial conversations, you now ask more questions about their needs and concerns and the ways they found out about you. So how do you use this information to help inquiring families seriously consider you as their child care choice?
1. Marketing messages. To make your marketing messages meaningful, you must know what matters to your prospects. The more you know, the more your marketing messages can speak their language and call them to action.
2. Maximizing reach. What are best marketing channels for reaching target audiences with your messages? Until you know where they go to research early care and education options and to make buying decisions, your efforts to reach them will only be hit and miss. This is why it is so important to always ask, “What are the ways you heard about us?’ and note prospects’ responses.
3. Personalizing enrollment interviews. Whether in email messages, on the phone, or during a center visit, personalizing your conversation helps the prospect feel you really care. Rather that robotically asking profile questions, you can use specific needsinformation you have gathered to make your conversation warm and personal. A statement, such as, “It sounds like you are concerned about your child being in child care for the first time. Let me tell you how we will work together to make sure Jason feels comfortable and welcome here.” makes your prospect begin to view you as a partner rather than simply another option.
The more detailed the information you gather from enrollment prospects you want to serve, the more targeted and effective you can make your marketing messages, the methods you choose to deliver them, and the conversations you have as they move from consideration to decision.
Julie Wassom
The Child Care Marketing Expert and Coach
Marketing and Sales Speaker/Consultant/Author
303-910-3083
julie@juliewassom.com
www.juliewassom.com
