A great strategy you can use to gain more exposure for your childcare, Montessori school, special needs school, preschool, or private elementary is to host an open house. This is a great community outreach strategy and allows you to connect one-on-one with your target audience. It allows you to showcase your center to prospective parents, introduce your educators, and get your other marketing materials into the right hands.
Prior to the event, put a lot of time into promoting your open house. Send direct mail pieces to your current clients, use email marketing, distribute flyers, press releases, and anything else that will help get the word out about your upcoming event.
It takes a lot of work to get parents’ attention in this noisy world. They are inundated with marketing materials and ads from every direction. Make sure you do enough marketing with the right marketing materials so you don’t get lost in the mix.
But being prepared is essential to making this work for you. Here are a few tips to help you be better prepared:
- Greet your guests at the door and have some soft background music playing. This can add to the ambience of your center and produce a calming effect for the parents and their children.
- Make sure you have something to keep the kids occupied so you can talk to the parents without so many interruptions.
- Have a sign-in book or sheet. You want to collect their name, phone, and email address. The goal is simply to get enough information so you can start communicating with them on a regular basis.
- Make sure your center is in top notch shape. Pay attention to the details. Make sure books are put in the shelf, learning materials put away, chairs in order, and check everything to make sure you are making the best presentation for your center. Details matter when it comes to attracting parents (and children) to your childcare center.
- Have plenty of marketing materials available – business cards, brochures, flyers, etc.
- Have some simple refreshments. Drinks, cookies, etc. will suffice.
If you just do the six things listed above, you will be in much better shape than a lot of your competitors who may be doing the same thing.
Best to you….Brad Barnett, President BFS®
BFS® is the Largest Non-Governmental Provider of FREE Resources to the Early Education Industry. If you have questions on a topic, watch a quick video by going to our YouTube Channel or access information by clicking on the Instant Q & A tab at the top of this page.
Our new book How 1000s of Childcare Centers and Schools Are Making Millions is now available in hardback, Kindle, and Nook so you and your directors can reference the information whenever and wherever you need it. All profits from every book sold go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This is a great way for you to give to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and get this great resource as a bonus for yourself, your staff, and your company. Click Here to order your copy today..
(Legal Disclaimer: Always consult the proper professionals before taking action. By and before the use of the information provided herein, reader agrees that BFS® is not responsible for viewer’s actions related to said information.)