6 Tips for Children’s Activities Providers to Increasing your Revenue
As a children’s activity provider, we know that two constant aims are to keep parents (and children!) happy and to keep the doors open and the money flowing. So, the team at LoveAdmin asked their Strategic Business Manager, James Brooker for his advice on how ICAP members can achieve exactly that.
1. Increase revenue by communicating with parents
Whether it’s social media, SMS, email or something else, connecting with your customer is key. Parents told us in our recent What Parent’s Want research that 31% are more likely to renew due to effective communication. It doesn’t only help keep your existing parents happy but is key to becoming visible to potential new customers.
Where to start:
Booking software should show you when someone abandons your checkout process, you can send reminders to people who may have been distracted and even provide an offer to help them finish signing up
Send targeted emails at the times you know your customers will be making bookings. Such as school holidays, weekends and evenings. And don’t forget seasonal or holiday events and courses!
If you offer merchandise or have a shop, send notifications about stock levels or what’s new. Ahead of a new term or coming up to key events are perfect times.
Think about offering discounts to customers who have left, setting a reminder 6-12 months later to try and bring them back
James adds, “Proactive communication is vital to your success. When done well, it can make filling your classes and camps a breeze. The key for me is consistency, all of your communications should look similar, use a similar language style, and be sent out regularly. The worst communication is sporadic, not concise, and inconsistent.”
Do you want to explore what else you can achieve using customer comms? Find more resources here.
2. Consider switching from termly to monthly billing
There is plenty of debate about the pros and cons of termly vs monthly billing, but when it comes to revenue management, monthly is best. When it comes to keeping parents happy, it’s also the winner with 56% wanting monthly billing (far higher than other options).
Now, we know that you may feel it means more admin time, but that doesn’t need to be the case. You can automate invoicing, chasing late payments and more with software like LoveAdmin.
James explains, “Simplicity is key. Monthly billing gives both you and your parents consistency and will help future planning. It will make joining much easier on your parents with no big upfront sum and will line up with their other outgoings. Offering a mix of payment options focussed around the most popular will cement the feeling of having flexibility with the framework you set. “
3. Increase revenue by building business partnerships
Finding ways to expand your reach beyond your current customer base can be tricky. That’s why partnerships are useful. Try talking to schools and nurseries in the surrounding area. The wonderful Cerys Keneally has helped hundreds of activity providers to build these partnerships.
We also recommend reaching out to local businesses who are often looking for social projects to be a part of, why not offer the opportunity to sponsor scholarships as part of a hardship fund or for your next shining star?
James says, “Building partnerships in the local community is a fantastic way to build your profile and get a financial boost too. Opportunities to improve your reputation and your revenue are equally important, don’t choose one or other.”
4. Offer a referral scheme for those who already love you
Have you ever been influenced to buy something or sign up to a service due to a recommendation from a friend? Did you read reviews of the company?
74% of people say recommendations from individuals they know influence their purchasing decisions. This is why referrals can make such an impact on your revenue growth. Fortunately, it’s simple to create a referral scheme that works. Just make sure to incentivise it with rewards that your customer would value. It could be a sibling discount, branded clothing, first access to a holiday camp or a voucher. You can also offer discounts or vouchers to any parents who recommend another new parent and their child signs up.
James shares, “Trust is king. Your parents can be an army of free advertisers ready to promote your activities to new audiences. Offering incentives that add value, such as unique branded items or exclusive early access to an event is a great way of rewarding referrals, making parents actively go out and attract new people to join.”
5. Unlock the power of your timetable
Did you know that your timetable could hold the key to growing revenue?
Analysing your timetable can help identify areas of focus for you and your team. From marketing and hiring new staff to deciding on new classes – reviewing your timetable should be a priority. It’ll also give you a better idea of where your money is coming in, so you know what areas are the most profitable.
Where to start?
What does your class capacity look like?
What does your availability look like, and how well spread are your staff?
Do you have staff running to different locations for small classes?
Should you be making any classes smaller or bigger to allow for demand?
By taking a look at things like capacity, availability and class size you’ll have a better idea at what is attracting parents, how well allocated your staff are and where you may want to make improvements.
James explains, “A timetable is a living thing and should be tweaked on a regular basis to make sure it’s working for you. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a full class is the perfect class. A full class means you have more demand for spaces than the spaces you have available. So, you may want to add more spaces, or run that class again, to make sure prospective parents don’t look elsewhere.”
6. Your website is the window to your business
Having a website that your customers enjoy using may not always seem the most important. But did you know it can directly impact your revenue and customer retention?
In our recent research we found that 85% of parents expect an efficient online experience when it comes to booking, communication and seeing class availability. This means that you need to make every part of the online customer experience as easy as possible.
This may seem like quite a scary undertaking, you’re not website experts! But don’t worry, there are two simple areas you can focus on that will cover most of this.
First, look at your class timetable. It needs to be easy to understand and click through. Second, work on your checkout process. It needs to be straightforward, and according to 63% of the parents we surveyed, offer direct debit. Pretend you’re a customer looking to book or better yet, ask friends and family to try and give their feedback. Sometimes we can be blind to what is working and not, so a second opinion can help.
Once you have the feedback on what your current process is, you know what to look for when you’re reviewing the software that you use…
Are you looking at long lists of classes or is there a nice timetable and calendar view?
Can you share images, videos and descriptions?
How easy is it for users to filter down their preferences by location, time and teacher?
James adds, “Online booking is the only way parents want to sign up for children’s activities. Having a simple journey from being interested in a session to being signed up for it is no longer a nice to have, but a critical element of success.”
LoveAdmin clients get access to strategic advice at no extra cost. If you want a helping hand with increasing your revenue – Book a free no-obligation demo and one of our friendly team will walk you through how we can help.