“I was concerned about moving everything to an online system but with Kids Club HQ we've saved hours on invoicing, creating registers and updating children's files. As an additional bonus, I don't need half the storage for all these things any more!”
Goodbye admin, hello digital efficiency.
See how your club could run smoothly with Kids Club HQ.
Expand your business with the skills and unique selling points you already have.
Are you a business owner with regular self-doubt about where to take your business? You’re not alone! Almost half of the UK’s business owners admit to having no business plan at all.
But even if you do have a plan, if you’re in a direction dilemma right now, we’ve got the tips to help you find exactly where you need to go to find great business growth. And the best bit? You already know them!
1. Feedback
Asking your existing parents and carers for feedback is the best boost to your marketing confidence.
Ask what children and parents in your area are looking for. Are they simply looking for childcare or specific activities? Tailoring your club offer to reflect your community’s needs helps you establish better engagement and a supportive network.
You can also ask them what they already love about you and what they would ideally like to see in the future. You can get a warm glow from the praise (not to mention some great marketing content), and you can identify specifically how to develop your business in the months and years to come.
Both are great ways to find the path to customer adoration and healthier profits – put your shyness to one side for this one!
2. Loyalty
Your existing customer base is the key to growing your business and its income. For example, if you create a loyalty programme, such as a sibling discount, parents will thank you for making their lives easier while you generate more sales.
Another way to expand your business through customer loyalty is by offering the chance for customers to refer a friend, so they can both receive a special offer. That way, they both get a cool perk and you get a new customer – triple happiness!
Discounts are well known for being a tool used by successful businesses, and if you’re worried that this is a bit of a gamble, trust us: your parents will love you for it!
3. Target your marketing
Clear and direct messages to each sector of your audience will get you what you need from them – and importantly, they’ll get what they need from you.
Do you need the parents who pay by childcare vouchers to know something about their payments? Is there an activity you want to promote at one location and not another? And do your parents respond better to emails sent directly than through social media?
Splitting out message topics and sharing them on the most effective platform will make your comms clearer, show your customer that you’re thinking about them, and get the results you need.
Do your research about the various ways you can target your marketing messages, and then send out some love letters!
4. Reporting
Using your booking platform’s tools and features is the only way to stay on top of your numbers. Kids Club HQ has listened to people who provide many different kinds of wraparound care, which is why we’ve made sure our system can:
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Manage the inevitable changes to bookings
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Automate invoicing
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Automatically generate registers
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Track payments and make sure you can see who owes you, at a glance
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Deal with last-minute or ad-hoc bookings and cancellations.
Ultimately, the dashboard gives a quick view of upcoming dates and how bookings are looking. With this information, you can make clear, informed decisions about your business and whether you need to make any changes.
5. Communicating
You won’t have a relationship with your clients if you don’t talk to them!
The Kids Club HQ system is set up so you can reach out and chat with your clients in the following ways:
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Send reminders of your unique selling points and offers – do this regularly and clearly, and show how you benefit their families
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Automated emails for booking confirmation, payment receipt and due payment reminders – without these income streams, we’d all be lost, right?!
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Bulk emails for all or groups of customers (e.g. parents of children who attend the after-school club) – you can send these quickly and easily.
Other ways to communicate with your database include:
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Social media – a free and compelling way to reach your wider community
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Word-of-mouth – chat with your parents at the school gate, community events and parents’ evenings
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Collaboration with local schools – ask them to send your newsletters or announcements for maximum readership
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Flyers and posters – can be created using free online tools and distributed in local businesses
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School mail (where children take leaflets home in their book bags) – a great way to get the word out (please just make sure your school agrees to this)!
Include a call to action in every communication, but you don’t have to make them all about sales. You could send a message about your team and then link to your website’s Meet the Team page or talk about a recent special event and link them to the full gallery. Don’t worry: the sales will still come.
6. Insights
You need to have all the information at your fingertips before you can identify your strengths, weaknesses and any gaps in income.
The Kids Club HQ dashboard has the following features:
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The dashboard allows you to view all clubs at once, in groups of clubs or as single clubs
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The booking numbers view shows you all the details and allows you to view multiple clubs side by side, in a selected date range
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The income report shows your income over time and can be viewed monthly, weekly, daily, split by sessions, extras and charges
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The credit control view helps you keep on top of those parents who owe money, and you can chase up with bulk emails.
7. Shout from the rooftops!
Your unique selling points are what make you who you are, and that’s why your customers love you.
So take some time to recognise your strengths and don’t be afraid to include them in your marketing efforts. It will pay off, and the best bit is you don’t need to spend lots of money, lots of time or lots of effort!
In the end…
Your unique people, brand personality and services are what make your business what it is.
Engage both online and in real life with your parents and children to gain honest feedback and then be prepared to adapt and evolve. Find future clients with the marketing you do now – marketing that not only promotes sales but also shows off who you and your team truly are.
Use online tools at your disposal to see insights into your business – the numbers, big and small, the trends and the direction different areas of it are moving in. Learn from mistakes and celebrate the wins.
With the passion, dedication and expertise you already have, your club will become an even more cherished part of the local community, providing a fun, safe, and play-rich environment for children to learn, play, and grow.