Marketing Methods

Once upon a time I was reading a message board post wherein a few moms were discussing daycare. One of the posters commented that she thought it was not appropriate for home daycare providers to advertise. I thought this comment was a little strange and anticipated another parent piping in with a contrary view. Unfortunately that view never came about and other parents supported this poster's comment. I was astonished at this revelation. Why is it that some parents do not think that home daycare providers should be afforded the opportunity to advertise? The answer is simple - because these types of people do not view home daycare providers as business people.

I once attended a conference wherein the key note speaker said something interesting that I never forgot. What he said was this, "You wake up each morning on a name brand mattress. You get in the shower and wash your hair with your name brand shampoo. You step out and grab your name brand towel. You slather your name brand toothpaste on your name brand toothbrush. You jump into your name brand trousers and straighten your name brand tie. You then eat your name brand yogurt, get in to your name brand car and you head off to your name brand work place. And then you turn around and tell people that advertising doesn't work".

When I first heard that paragraph above I had an epiphany. Business is all about branding. And branding is all about reputation. And reputation is earned and fiercely protected. Therefore, we do what ever is in our power to build and maintain a reputation for service and quality that we then use to our advantage when advertising our business.

There are business niches even in the daycare world. It is fine to use your CPR training, your ECE training and your background check as additional reasons for choosing your daycare over another. But what is your niche? Do you offer a curriculum that is different from other area providers? Do you have some type of special certification or education that makes you a cut above the rest? Or perhaps your years of experience and therefore, dependability, are your marketing edge. Regardless of what it is you have to offer that is special it is imperative that you hone in on that specific and market it accordingly.

In this day of free Internet advertising on sites like Kijiji it is all too easy to get lost in the shuffle. There are far too many daycare providers, babysitters, and others, who have no business at all running a daycare, listing their ads right along side yours. Your daycare, as great as it might be invariably gets lost in the mountains of advertisements that are posted hourly. If you are serious about building a name, and maintaining a full daycare earning maximum income you have to advertise in areas outside of free Internet sites.

My favourite method of advertising is good old Canada Post. Not only have I used their free 'billboard' space on the sides of their many, many boxes ( much to my chagrin I was once called by the Post Master asking that I remove these posters. I did so only to repost them a few weeks later with no notice at all.) I have handed over hard earned cash with a hope of a return on my investment. When I have advertised via mail I have printed up post-card sized ads on brightly coloured card stock and had them delivered to each and every mail box in my area. This is by far, the most cost efficient means of advertising to a target group of people who live in your area. The cost to produce and mail 500 cards is around $120.00. People love card stock and when it's bright and cheery they feel the need to hang on to it for a while. I have had many occasions wherein a parent will call me six months to a year after sending out those precious cards having hung on to them for this long a period. Post cards are magic. Not only are post card effective they target a specific audience and remind everyone in your area that you exist and are open for business. And even if every card ends up in the recycle bin someone in that household had to have, at the very least, glanced at your name.

I often hear of providers who refuse to advertise but instead depend on word-of-mouth. I love personal referrals but I dare say it is not the best idea to depend on others to keep your bank account full. You must take some action to ensure your name and openings are well-known to every neighbour. Personal referrals are great but they rarely keep most daycare providers full when they need new clientele. Rely on and ask for personal referrals but always have an active advertisement out there in the world somewhere.

My favourite method of online advertising are sites that have area specific searches and lists of daycare providers. Two great sites that come to mind are daycarebear.ca (or daycarebear.com) and ontariohomedaycare.ca. Both of these sites allow providers to advertise and parents the ability to search areas specific to their needs. In this day when parents are so strapped for time any site or avenue that saves them time and narrows their search are sites that every provider wants to be part of.

It would be great if every provider could afford to plaster sides of buses with their daycare name. Unfortunately, for many of us this is not a financially viable option. However, advertising doesn't have to be big to be effective. Build your business on your good name and find your niche. Use your niche and your name to attract those clients you want to procure and retain.

Get your name out there. Tell others who you are. With enough work, a little bit of money and some luck, tomorrow there will be a mom on maternity leave opening the refrigerator to find her name brand milk who will once again see your post card attached to the front of the door. Get out there today. What are you waiting for?



For concerns, advice or suggestions I welcome your email at judytrickett@yahoo.ca