Day care centers have traditionally relied on word-of-mouth to boost enrollment. Delighted parents tell their friends and family and the entire profitability of the center relies heavily on referrals. However, sticking to this routine in today's modern marketplace is a mistake, and you have to spend time putting together a strong marketing plan to give parents faith in your day care program. To help you with this, consider implementing the three steps below:

Make Your Marketing Material Professional

When it comes to marketing your day care program, it is easy to fall into the trap of pitching your website to the wrong audience. Oftentimes, day care owners will make the mistake of designing their website as if it is intended to be seen by children themselves. Many day care centers will try to be "cute" by using large animations, childish fonts, and bright colors. While this can be a good thing — it helps people understand what the business is about — you need to keep in mind that you are marketing to parents, not children.

As such, you need to ensure that your website is entirely professional. Yes, it is okay to add in images of cuddly toys and cute babies, but you also need to strike the correct balance with professionalism. When it comes to programs for daycare, the main thing parents should know is that their children are safe with the providers. To do this, you need to use a professional tone with a website that conveys your experience in working with children.

Boost Your Social Reputation

Modern parents use social media, so you should capitalize on the benefits that a good social media reputation can bring to your business. This can be seen right from the start of the parent's decision making process — chances are the first thing parents will do is look online for reviews if they're interested in finding a child care provider.

As such, one of the first bits of information parents will see regarding your day care center is your social media profiles. It's important that your social media profiles are suitable for a professional company, but you also need to make sure that they don't come across as too cold. The best way to avoid this is to encourage discussions on your social media pages by responding to reviews, answering queries and providing informative posts that people can react to. When it comes to choosing a day care center, parents need more than a polished website to instill trust in you, and by boosting your social media presence, you can help guide parents seamlessly through the decision-making process.

Invest in Technology

Investing in childcare software can be a great way to distinguish your business from other day care centers. Unfortunately, the childcare industry as a whole isn't the most dynamic sector, and many day care programs use the same tools and techniques as they did when they first started. This is a major mistake — investing in childcare software can not only help you run your business, but it can also increase the likelihood of parents enrolling their children in your program.

The best childcare software packages will give you the following benefits:

• Attendance tracking and reporting.
• Security alerts.
• Emergency emails and texts to parents.
• Automated billing and invoicing.
• Enrollment management and scheduling.
• Automated reminders to parents.

In addition to these standard features, you should also look for additional features, such as the ability to share photos instantly with parents in one central location.

Parents aren't going to choose your day care center simply because it has a great childcare management platform; however, a slick and professional day care software package can help reassure parents that their children are in safe hands.