March 4, 2020
If your franchise location is going to freshly emerge into a new market at the end of the school year, a great opportunity lies ahead. While you lack the security of an existing customer base, you have plenty of lead time to round out your Summer Camp registration.
You will have 6+ months before your grand opening, plenty of time (actually, right on time!) to emerge into a working parent’s camp planning. In fact, January- March is the prime time.
Your marketing plan for summer begins in winter. Think in broad terms, you want to market your new location as an afterschool program and a summer camp. While you are building your enrollment for fall at the beginning of the year, booking summer childcare is the foremost goal of a working parent. Some parents may wait to commit to afterschool. Count on them to try you out first; once you win over your Summer Camp clientele, after school won’t be far from their minds.
1- Highlight every week of camp, now! Google Business Posts, Facebook, and apps like Peachjar, which the schools that you will service may use, should be utilized. Look at your 4-6 months lead-up to camp, write a short blurb with the date and week’s activity highlights. Don’t forget the dates!
2-Email your customer marketing interest list with a short breakdown of the camp weeks and a link to register. Send these emails bi-monthly with a rotating image.
3-Feet on the ground in the communities you serve is essential. People should see, hear, and talk about you. Meet with PTSA, ROA board, participate in farmer’s markets, community festivals, sponsor school STEM Night, distribute flyers door to door as allowed by the community and local ordinances, etc.
4-Be sure to have plenty of your camp brochure on hand. Yes, registration is done digitally, but you need a tangible brochure to feel legit in a potential customer’s hand, especially when talking up your new franchise in-person to potential customers.
If you have been faithfully building your marketing email list, along with your franchise established social media presence, and meeting people in the communities you will serve, your consistency will pay off.