To operate a sustainable daycare, you need to understand that it is equally important to know how to market and sell your services to your target audience.
Scan the daycare environment
You need to understand your environment. Find out what are the legal issues that can impact your daycare business operations such as licenses and safety regulations. In some instances, there are regulations on the maximum number of children you can provide care for as well as mandatory certifications which the owner would have to possess such as Degree/Diploma in Early Childhood Development or First Aid CPR. In addition, you should conduct a competitive study of your competitors.
Gather as much information as possible about your competitors; find how many daycare facilities are there within a 500 meters from you, know what are their charges and preferably how many children they are caring for.
Understand your target daycare audience
It is important to know who your target audience are. Are you targeting at parents living within the vicinity of your daycare or parents working near your daycare.
Decide on a strategy to differentiate your daycare
You will need to decide how you intend to differentiate your daycare from your competitors and ensure that whichever strategy you decide upon, it must be sustainable and preferably not easily duplicated. Will it be based on fees charged or additional services provided such as new daycare facilities, longer operating hours, better quality meals, better quality curriculum, low caregiver to child ratio, etc.
Pricing your daycare services
Price is the value on which your customer places on a product/service. The value is determined by the strength of the need as well as the purchasing power of the target audience. By understanding your competitors, you will be able to determine the level of demand for your services. In addition, you need to have a clear understanding of the financial demographics of your target audience as that will determine if they are willing / able to pay for your services.
Promoting your daycare business
Finally, you need to decide how you can promote your daycare services to them. That is determined by the demographics of your target audience. Should you use flyers, posters, internet or even take up an classified advertisement in a community newsletter / newspaper.
