Are you using discount codes to drive more bookings for your classes? Including a discount code in your marketing campaigns – whether in an email to your most loyal customers, on a flyer pinned to a local noticeboard, as a reward for following you on social media, or anything in between – can be a really useful item in your promotional toolbox!
While you don’t want to run discounts too often, having a clear strategy about when and how you make them work for your business will undoubtedly help to catch the eye of potential customers, and ultimately drive more bookings.
Here are three quick and easy ideas to get you started.
Related article: How to create discount codes for your classes (Happity Help Centre)
1. Use a discount code to make your flyers and posters more effective
Ever wondered if your physical marketing – flyers, posters, leaflets and the like – are really bringing you more customers? As well as making them more persuasive to parents, including a discount code on your materials is a great way to find out!
You could offer the first class at half-price, or, if you know that people tend to fall in love with your sessions after attending a few weeks in a row, consider offering a discount on a block of 2 or 3.
Once you’ve decided on your offer, simply include your code – e.g. 1STCLASS50 – on your next print run. You can then count up how many people used the code to tell you the total number of new customers your flyers and posters brought through the doors. Simple!
Related article: 3 Ways To Save Time As A Busy Baby And Toddler Class Owner
2. Run a seasonal offer with a discount code to fill quieter classes
All baby and toddler businesses are different, but it’s very common for classes to be quieter in certain seasons – often over the spring and summer when parents are spending more time outdoors.
If you have a seasonal dip in bookings, try running a targeted discount to encourage your families to keep space in their schedule for your classes. Discounting your summer term block bookings, if you have them, could be especially effective. Just make sure you have a sensible refund/swap policy so that parents can shift to another class if they have to miss a session due to illness etc.
Related article: Quiet Classes This Term? Here Are 3 Things To Try
3. Let your families bring their friends and boost your word-of-mouth marketing
Even in the age of digital marketing, social ads, and fully AI-generated campaigns, there is still no more effective way to gain new customers than good old word-of-mouth.
Chances are your biggest fans are already singing your praises in their WhatsApp groups and local cafes. Offering a Bring A Friend discount makes it really easy for them to take the next step, and turn those casual mentions into actual bookings.
Try sending your parents a Bring a Friend discount code as a thank you after their second or third session. At this point, you know they are enjoying your classes, and they are still new enough to be top of mind in conversations and chats with friends, too.
Over to you
Whether you’ve been using tactical discounts and offers for years, or are only just getting started, we hope this article has provided some new ideas you can start testing with your business.
Good luck, and don’t forget to drop us a DM on social to let us know how you got on!
Class provider? Let us help.
With 2.6m parents using Happity, we are the UK’s most-loved platform for finding baby and toddler classes.
Whether you want help reaching more families, need a booking system, or are just getting started, we’re here to support your journey.
Register and list for free here
