Meeting Modern Expectations: Smart Strategies to Wow Parents and Protect Your Team

In today’s fast-paced world, parents are looking for more than just fantastic sessions for their children. They expect a seamless, tech-enabled, and highly professional experience from the activity providers they trust. But how can children activity providers deliver all of that without burning out their teams?

In a recent webinar, the LoveAdmin team shared practical insights from the What Families Want research, revealing how children’s activity providers can enhance their offering in three key areas: communication, convenience, and professionalism — all without adding to their administrative burden.

Why expectations are rising

Parents are busier than ever and increasingly reliant on technology to manage their lives. Every new tech development — whether it’s a smarter iPhone or more intuitive AI – raises their expectations across the board. For activity providers, this creates pressure to match that level of convenience and clarity, despite limited resources.

The good news? Families are still willing to invest. According to LoveAdmin’s research, average weekly spend per child has increased to £29, with 43% of families spending over £30. Despite the cost-of-living pressures, the demand for quality activities remains strong — particularly in performing arts, football, swimming, and now, even arts and crafts.

The top 3 ways to improve the family experience

To thrive in this environment without exhausting your team, LoveAdmin suggests focusing on three areas:

1. Clear communications – Without the burnout

Parents want more updates – and not just the basics. They’re hungry for relevant, timely, and concise communication. Why? Because their lives are chaotic and their kids aren’t the best messengers (we’ve all found the crumpled note at the bottom of the bag!).

Key communication parents want includes:

• Booking and renewal updates (56% said this was essential)

• Progress updates on their child’s development (53%)

• General news (49%)

• Pricing updates – with plenty of notice (46%)

So, how can providers deliver all this without adding hours of admin?

Simple, effective tactics:

• Automate routine emails: Think booking confirmations, payment receipts, and reminders – these can all be templated and triggered by system events

• Create reusable templates: Keep design and formatting consistent to save time and present a more professional image

• Read your emails like a parent: Ask yourself – is it clear, useful, and engaging? Better yet, ask actual parents for feedback

• Choose the right channels: Not every message needs to be an email. Use your website, booking portal, or app notifications for common updates parents can access anytime

By implementing these simple strategies, providers can keep parents in the loop without spending hours drafting individual messages.

Communication channels & strategy

• Avoid the one-off email. While email is standard, it’s not the only channel, and you may want to use a range of tools to capture attention. Use:
  • Social media for social proof and engagement

  • SMS for notifications due to higher open rates

• Apps for when you want to send urgent messages

• Think strategically about what medium best suits the message to improve engagement

Parent expectations

• Digital-first is essential: 75% of families prefer digital booking/renewals

• Information is lacking: 24% want better communication around payments, confirmations, next steps

• Mobile-first mindset: Parents expect mobile-optimised websites and apps

• Payment flexibility is key:
  • Options like direct debit, cash, monthly/annual plans are necessary

• Booking is too slow:
  • 16% cited long booking processes as a pain point

  • Real example: 7 forms for one afterschool club = unnecessary friction and frustration

Streamlining bookings – Actionable advice

• Challenge what you really need to control
  • Many manual steps can be replaced with automation and smart validation

• Add steps to your checkout flow to collect key info (e.g., medical data, payment details) without requiring back-and-forth

• Self-service is key: Let customers complete bookings with minimal human touch, reserving manual checks for edge cases

• Don’t fear change:
  • Fear of parent backlash is common but rarely justified when changes are clearly communicated and bring genuine improvements

Key mindset shift:

Move from “managing every detail manually” to “designing a system where parents can self-serve with confidence”. Your team focuses on exceptions – not routine admin. Let your club management system and automations do the heavy lifting for you.

Define and uphold brand standards

Your brand isn’t just a logo – it’s every point of interaction. Ask:

• What does our website look like? Is it fun, clear, mobile-friendly?

• What’s the tone of our emails? Friendly and human, or robotic?

• How do children and parents feel in the first five minutes of a session?

• Is our team uniformed and consistent?

• Does our physical space reflect our values and professionalism?

Every touchpoint should echo your standards – branding isn’t just aesthetics; it’s perception of quality.

Make every message count

Even “boring” communications like invoices, reminders, and confirmations shape perception. Avoid the “this will do” mindset.

Instead:

• Use friendly, polished language

• Ensure the design and tone match your brand

• Include the right level of detail so parents feel informed, not overwhelmed

If a parent’s only visible experience is booking, confirmation, and drop-off, that’s where their opinion is formed. If these touchpoints are sloppy, they may assume the sessions are too.

Final thought

Parents are time-poor and emotionally invested. They’ll judge your program not just on the quality of your classes – but also on the clarity, speed, and professionalism of every interaction around them.

Getting this right doesn’t mean losing the human touch – it means designing your systems to support it more sustainably, so the human moments you do have are even better.

You can also explore the full research report, “What Families Want”:
🔗 Download the free report here

Looking to strengthen your marketing skills? The LoveAdmin School of Marketing is a free, practical resource designed specifically for activity providers. It’s a great opportunity to build your confidence and grow your organisation.
🔗 Find out more and sign up here