Have you
ever been to a shop and have waited for some time to have someone come and ask
you “Would you like some assistance”. Have you ever been through a bad customer
service experience when you feel that you have not gotten what you have paid
for? I am sure that we can all say ‘yes’ to this.
So why
is this different in childcare? Why are our customers not always seen as
important?
Regardless if you are in Childcare or any other industry; customer service is
vital to any businesses success?
The
important question here is “Who is customer?”
If you
ask many staff in the Early Childhood Industry “who are your customers” the
common responses will be children, followed by parents and then staff. All three
responses are true and correct; however your core customer is the parent,
parents are the ones that make the final decision to use you or not to use you.
Happy staff with high morale will support you and praise the Centre they work
with; unhappy staff will tell their families and friends negative experiences
they are having.
Happy
staff = happy children = happy parents
Why are
parents your core customers? As previously stated they ultimately decide to use
you or one of your competitor’s. Parents are the ones that pay the accounts;
parents are the ones that decide which early year’s education they would like
for their child; the environment they would like their child in; the type of
staff to care for their child.
I am not
saying that children and staff are not important, they most definitely are, but
predominately parents are the customers that build our occupancy, our centres’
word of mouth, the centre’s reputation and most of all make the business
profitable and viable or on the downside non profitable and not sustainable.
So the
underlying question is: “is Customer service important?”
The
simple and straight answer is YES most definitely.
Did you
know that 90% of your enquires are from word of mouth?
This is
a very large percentage and just take the time to step back and think………….90% of
word of mouth from your existing clients is what is going to build and sustain
strong occupancy for you……… Are your existing families happy with care and
service being provided?
It is
much more expensive to find new customers rather than retain the ones that you
have, because the ones that you have are customers that are going to build your
centre’s word of mouth.
It's
about revenue, because a lost customer means lost revenue and an unhappy
customer can damage your reputation.
How
can we ensure that we have consistent, positive and outstanding Customer
Service?
Take
your rose coloured glasses off and start to think outside the box. It is human
nature to slip into a comfortable state in your work environment and become
accustomed to your surroundings and your service delivery; as we get caught up
with all the day to day tasks in running a childcare business.
Take off
your rose coloured glasses and start to look around and see what parents see,
ask and find out what do your customers want? Really it’s not that hard; all
parents want is to feel like they are the only parent in the centre. Is this
hard to achieve? Is it hard to put into practice? Is it difficult to maintain?
Most
definitely not!!! Simple and cost effective strategies are the ones that are
going to make every parent feel that they are the only parent in the centre.
Here
are some strategies we use;
-
Do a
welcome letter before children start addressed to the child. The child will
be the first to open this and families will appreciate that their child has
been welcomed into the centre with a lot of excitement that little Johnny
maybe got his very first letter in the mail off you!
-
Ring
families after 20 minutes with a new child or upset child. Why do we wait
for families to ring us? Imagine how the family would feel that you have
taken two minutes out to let them know that their child is fine and has
settled in well? How comforting is it to the parent that they know you care
about them and are assisting them and their child to settle into your
centre!
-
Follow up on all your enquiries. When parents first choose childcare they
often will visit all in the area so you need to be the one that stands out.
-
Follow up on all parent concerns and questions within 24 hours. Parents
appreciate and feel special when you have taken the time to answer their
questions. There is nothing worse then telling them “sure I will call you
back….I will follow up on this” and then this does not happen. That parent
feels unappreciated and that there questions or concerns are not relevant or
important to you…
-
Do a
first day letter with a photo. Email this to the family at their work or
address, families again will feel that they are not forgotten about and that
they are the only parent in the world at your centre.
-
Know
all your parents by their first name. It is not only respectful to the
family but it shows the family that you acknowledge them and their child as
an individual to the centre.
-
Get
your staff to know all families by their first name.
-
Acknowledge parents involvement and assistance in the newsletter and foyer
areas. Families dedicate their time and assistance to the centre so let’s
take five minutes out to say thank you in the newsletter. We all love
acknowledgement and praise after all…
-
Get
off you butt and welcome every family and child every day. There is nothing
worse than families walking into the centre and not one staff member greets
the family good morning or even in the afternoon to say good night. Is this
good customer service? Most definitely not and it is these experiences that
families will remember. Remember they are the families that build that 90%
of word of mouth.
-
Record and remember special days, anniversaries, child and parent birthdays
etc. Give parents birthday cards made by their child (CCMS has come in handy
for another useful cause). Buy or make child birthday cakes (don’t forget to
tell the parents you do it either)
-
Ring
Families. What is the most common trend in childcare? Ring the family when
the child is sick or unhappy. Why……………….Let’s do the opposite……….. Ring or
email families to let them know that their child has had a good day. The
.25c will go a million miles.
What
are some important aspects of effective customer service?
-
Knowing your customers' needs- The key is to know what your families want
and this is quite common when families decide to chose childcare. High
quality care, safe and clean environment, healthy and nutrition meals but
most important to feel that they and their children are important. You can
bet that your centre may be clean, well presented and provide high quality
care but does this incorporate superior customer service? Does this involve
training your staff on superior services for families, making them feel
important and special each and every day
-
Identifying your key service activities. What makes your customer service
stand out from the rest? Have this written down? Give staff key customer
service points that they can also ways refer to. Why are you unique in a
world that is highly regulated and controlled?
-
In a
competitive marketplace it makes sense to aim to provide superior service.
Customers base their purchasing decisions on the service they receive, not
just price, quality and availability. We all know that childcare is a
competitive market so you need to stand out from the rest.
-
Promoting your service is not about spending lots of money on advertising.
It is about the superior customer service that you provide because existing
families are who spread the positive word of mouth and reputation about your
centre. What better testimonial from someone who uses your service.
-
Research shows that 90% of your Centre’s enquiries come through word of
mouth recommendations from current parents. This is written again because it
is something you should never forget. How are you making your current
parents happy?
Remember word of mouth can make you or break you!
Are
your parents happy?
So we
can see that although customer service is imperative to your business there are
very simple, cost effective ways that you can implement to ensure that your
customer service is superior and your are providing all families with the sense
of being the only family at the centre.
As the
saying goes “A happy customer is a customer for life”
________________________________________________________________________
100%
Money Back Guarantee*
If
Succeed Consultancy does not improve your Centre financially beyond their
management fees we give you all your money back.
We
take on all the risk, giving you confidence, and ensuring you actually get
results from an organisation that puts their money where their mouth is.
*
Conditions Apply: For Long Term Contracts and Accreditation Only. You need to be
pre approved to become a client. Our systems must be followed through the
consistent completion of the management agenda’s.
P: 1300
077 248
We also
encourage you read our second article; “Are you ready for 2010?”
We often
get a lot of emails on how our articles have assisted many owner’s and Centres
like yours, please feel free to share your successes with us at
enquiries@succeedconsultancy.com.au
Tanya
Clayson
Succeed Consultancy.
Operations Manager
________________________________________________________________________
Date: November 2009
Proudly brought to you by industry expert; Tanya Clayson from Succeed
Consultancy.
Email: enquiries@succeedconsultancy.com.au www.succeedconsultancy.com.au
Phone: 1300 077 248 Fax: (02) 4233 1568
Historical Independent Consultant
Articles
Article Title Article Provider Date
Are you ready for 2010? Succeed
Consultancy Oct 09
Preparing your centre for 2010
Expect a Star Sep 09
Negotiating finance: The smart way Guild Financial Group Sep 09
Tax depreciation for the child care centre owner BMT Tax Depreciation
May 09
Utilising your local community to market your centre Succeed
Consultancy May 09
Equipping your new childcare centre Judius Educational Resources Sep
08
Finding the right staff for your team Expect a Star Sep 08
The benefits of using consultants Maximise Childcare Consultants Aug
08
Doing it right for the children
Childcare NSW Jul 08
Buying a childcare centre Childcare Sales Australia Jul 08
The challenges of recruitment Succeed Consultancy Jun 08
A peek into business in the future
Care Central Solutions Apr 08
Are you surfing the CCMS net? Care Central Solutions Mar 08
Building
a strong team Succeed Consultancy Mar 08
Are you new to business? Here are some handy hints
business.gov.au Feb 08
Preparing for the Child Care Management System
Succeed Consultancy Jan 08
The Childcare Industry - A Valuers Opinion Egan National Valuers
Jan 08
The Benefits of a Professional Employment Strategy Expect
a Star Nov 07
CCB Acquittals: What are they? Am I losing money?
Succeed Consultancy Oct 07
Traineeships - the future of childcare
Expect a Star Oct 07
CCB: The Importance of a strong system Succeed Consultancy
Sep 07
Are you ready to expand your business?
Maximise Consultancy Sep 07
Take your centre to the next level
Maximise Consultancy Aug 07
In the lead up to the first day
Maximise Consultancy Aug 07
What to look for when buying...
Maximise Consultancy Jul 07
10 Marketing Tips
Marketing Angels Jul 07
Special Audio Interview Pt 1
Maximise Consultancy Oct 06
Special Audio Interview Pt 2
Maximise Consultancy Oct 06
Aged Care Sales Launch
ACMA Aug 06
Who's Minding the Kids
National Apr 06
