Childcare marketing: how independent centres fill vacancies

On This Page

1. What an empty place costs you
2. How parents choose a centre
3. 1. Make the tour easy to book
4. 2. Keep vacancies accurate everywhere
5. 3. Word of mouth, within the rules
6. 4. Google reviews
7. 5. Your Google Business Profile
8. 6. Your website
9. 7. Social media and parenting groups
10. 8. Your rating
11. 9. Keep the families you have
12. For new centres: marketing before you open
13. A monthly childcare marketing checklist
14. Questions I get asked

Search "childcare marketing" and page one is almost all agencies. The best evidence on how Australian parents actually choose a centre comes from the ACCC's childcare inquiry, and it points somewhere else: parents shortlist on price, distance and availability, then decide on the educators and a visit, guided by friends, family and online reviews. So the marketing that fills places at an independent centre is mostly unglamorous. Make the tour easy to book, keep your vacancies accurate everywhere parents look, earn reviews and referrals within the rules, and keep the families you have. This guide goes through each, in the order parents use them.

I build websites for childcare and early learning centres. Everything below comes from the ACCC, StartingBlocks, ACECQA, the Department of Education, the OAIC and Google, with sources at the end.

What an empty place costs you

Before spending anything on marketing, it helps to know what a vacancy is worth. Put in your own numbers. It uses your full daily fee, which the Child Care Subsidy and the family's gap pay between them.

The example uses made-up figures. Whatever yours are, compare one filled place over a year with what any marketing costs. Remember too that some vacancies aren't marketing problems. The Productivity Commission found services "have been delaying expansion plans, closing rooms and limiting enrolments as they are unable to find qualified staff". If a room can't be staffed, advertising it wastes money.

How parents choose a centre

The ACCC's final report describes three steps. "Affordability, location and availability" narrow the list, and parents look very locally, usually within a couple of kilometres of home. Then quality decides, and "the quality of educators and educator-child relationships is particularly important". And at the end, "in person visits and word of mouth (including recommendations from family and friends, and online reviews) play an important role".

The ACCC also asked where parents got their information. In order: visiting the centre, friends and family, online reviews, the centre's own website, parenting groups, social media, StartingBlocks, and comparison websites. That order is the shape of a childcare marketing plan. My guide to what a childcare website needs covers the website piece in detail.

1. Make the tour easy to book

A visit is the top source of information for parents, and StartingBlocks tells families to "visit the service in person at least once" if they can. Everything else in your marketing should lead here.

• Put "Book a tour" on every page of your website and as the main button on your Google profile.
• Offer set tour times each week, so a parent can pick one without a phone call.
• Answer enquiries quickly. I'd aim for the same day, because a parent comparing centres is likely to book with whoever gets back first.
• Use the tour to answer what StartingBlocks tells parents to ask: who will be my child's main carer, how will you comfort them if they're upset, how will I hear about their eating, sleeping and toileting, and what's your staff turnover like.

Free tours and free trial periods are on the Department of Education's list of things you can advertise.

2. Keep vacancies accurate everywhere

Availability is one of the three things parents shortlist on, and the ACCC found the baby room is usually the tight one: children aged 0 to 2 were the only age group where waitlists held more places than were on offer. So say which rooms have places on which days, rather than "Enquire about vacancies".

Your vacancies on StartingBlocks come from what you enter in the Child Care Subsidy System's Provider Entry Point, or through your childcare software, by age group and day. Changes take 24 to 48 hours to appear, and ACECQA says vacancies must be reported each Friday. Update your website and Google profile at the same time, so a parent who checks all three sees the same answer.

StartingBlocks also shows parents when the regulator last visited your service and flags any enforcement action. Your marketing can't change what's shown there, so it's worth keeping your details current and knowing what's on your page.

3. Word of mouth, within the rules

Friends and family are the second most common source of information for parents. Referrals are your best marketing, and the easiest place to break a rule.

The Department of Education says providers "must not offer prohibited inducements when advertising or promoting their service": cash, vouchers or gift cards, tablets and other devices, and other gifts or giveaways. That includes offers to families already enrolled if they're likely to bring in another family. So "refer a friend and get a $100 voucher" is out.

What you can do is make recommending you easy. Give enrolled families something to pass on, like the tour link or a printed card with the tour times. Invite them to bring a friend to an open morning. Low-value branded merchandise is allowed within the Department's limit for each enrolment agreement, and you can advertise the charity and community work you do. My offers checker goes through common examples.

4. Google reviews

Online reviews are the third most common source. Ask for them, within Google's rules and the ACCC's.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Keep the message short. Something like: "We'd love other families to hear what it's like here. If you have two minutes, would you leave us a Google review? [link]"

5. Your Google Business Profile

Families searching for care nearby see your Google Business Profile in Maps and search results. Google says to use as few categories as possible and pick the most specific one that describes your main service. Search the category list for "child care" and "preschool" and choose the closest. Keep your hours, photos and tour link the same as your website. Add real photos of your rooms, garden and educators at work, following the photo rules below. My Google Business Profile checklist was written for clinics, but most of it applies to a centre.

6. Your website

The centre's own website is the fourth most common source. Its job is to turn a parent who's heard of you into one who books a tour: your suburb, places by room, fees with a plain explanation of the subsidy, your educators, a day in each room, your child safety approach, your rating shown correctly, and "Book a tour" on every page. The full list, with a marked-up example homepage, is in my childcare website guide.

7. Social media and parenting groups

Parenting groups and social media came next in the ACCC's list. They're good for showing what a day looks like, and they're where photos of children cause the most trouble.

The National Law and Regulations now limit personal devices in services. In a centre, staff can't use or carry personal devices while working directly with children, and photos and videos of children have to be taken on devices the service supplies. The OAIC treats images of people as personal information and says it's good practice to get express consent after explaining how a photo will be used and who will see it, and to discuss it with a child's parent or guardian. I'd get written consent that names each place a photo will appear, and favour photos that don't show faces: hands at work, activities, children from behind, the rooms themselves.

8. Your rating

ACECQA encourages services to promote their rating and provides media release templates for Exceeding, Meeting and Working Towards, with tips for local media. If you use the official rating logo, it must match your current overall rating exactly, and ACECQA says a false or misleading statement about your rating is an offence. When a rating changes or an Excellent rating expires, update everything that mentions it. The detail is in my rating section.

Keep the rating in proportion, though. The ACCC found many households don't place high importance on the ratings when choosing. A good rating helps. It doesn't replace the tour.

9. Keep the families you have

The ACCC found "the most common reason for why parents and guardians switched" services was quality, "with price appearing to play a lesser role". Every family that stays is a place you don't have to fill, and a family who might recommend you. What keeps them is what parents chose you for: the educators, and how well you communicate. Daily updates, a familiar face at drop-off, and quick answers when something goes wrong are marketing too.

For new centres: marketing before you open

ACECQA says it is an offence to advertise an education and care service before it is approved, unless an application for approval has been lodged and not yet decided. In Western Australia a provider pleaded guilty over a billboard for a proposed centre that didn't have approval. Check where your application stands before the pre-opening campaign starts.

A monthly childcare marketing checklist

None of this needs an agency. It needs a routine. Tick these off each month; the list remembers your progress on this device.

Questions I get asked

What is the best way to market a childcare centre?

Make the tour easy to book, keep vacancies accurate by room on your website, Google profile and StartingBlocks, ask every family for a Google review, and look after the families you have. The ACCC found visits, word of mouth and online reviews matter most to parents.

How do I increase enrolments at my childcare centre?

Show which rooms have places on which days, answer enquiries quickly, offer set tour times, and make it easy for enrolled families to recommend you. Check first whether any empty room is really a staffing limit.

Can we offer a referral bonus to families?

No. The Department of Education counts offers to enrolled families that are likely to bring in another family as prohibited inducements. Free tours and trial days are allowed.

Can we offer a discount to fill places?

Yes. The Department allows discounted or free care, but the discount must be reported correctly if the family claims the Child Care Subsidy.

Should we use our NQS rating in marketing?

Yes, if it's current and shown correctly. ACECQA provides media release templates. Don't lean on it alone: the ACCC found many parents don't place high importance on ratings.

Can we post photos of children on social media?

With written consent from the parent or guardian for that use, taken on a device the service supplies. Many centres use photos that don't show faces.

Can we advertise before our centre is approved?

Not unless an application for approval has been lodged. ACECQA says advertising a service before then is an offence.