Are your kid’s class bookings low right now? You’re not the only one. It’s a hot topic in our Children’s Activity Provider’s Community over on Facebook. We know that, as small biz owners it’s tough if low numbers mean that you are only just breaking even with each class you run. Or worse still, not making enough to cover the costs of running the class. So what can you do?
We’ve put together some tips and ideas from children’s activity providers in our community as well as some of our own to help.
Firstly – hang in there!
There’s a lot of things you can do to help boost numbers and get your classes filled. So do hang on in there.
Shout out loud about your classes
As Frank Sinatra once sang start spreading the word! Or start spreading it even louder!
Make sure parents see or hear about your classes so that they can easily find and book them:
- Make sure your website is up to date and that it’s easy for parents to find your classes and book them – especially on a mobile! Is it easy to find out when and where classes take place? Is there a nice big Book Now button or link?
- List your classes in as many places as you can where local parents will be looking for them. That might mean in local family magazines or local websites with classes listed. And, of course, on Happity. Not joined Happity yet? Over 1 million parents searched on Happity last year to find and book baby and toddler classes. Make sure they find yours.
- Go old school with flyers. And display or hand them out in as many places as you can where you know parents with babies or toddlers will be. Think about local nurseries and playgroups, local baby & toddler groups, church and community hall noticeboards, nurseries, antenatal clinics and the waiting room at your local GP. Or post flyers through letterboxes in streets near your class venue. And have a stack of flyers available at each of your classes too. You can ask parents to hand them out and help spread the word.
Stand out from the crowd with Happity’s marketing features
Get your classes seen by more parents by using Happity’s marketing features. They’re available with a Happity membership. Features such as our Promoted Listings are super affordable and will get your classes in front of the eyeballs of more potential customers. Which will bring more bookings and help you fill your classes faster.
Kid’s class bookings low? Entice new customers with a special event
Plan a special class or event that will appeal to families. Use this as a hook to get parents through the door. It could be a Halloween or Christmas special. Or maybe a class as part of a local family event. Parents who join your special class will hopefully enjoy it so much that they book more of your classes.
Let parents try before they buy
Consider offering trial classes so that parents can see what your classes are like before committing to a full term. Use the word ‘Trial’ rather than ‘Pay As You Go’ so parents know that they get a one-off session and then if they want to continue they need to sign up for the rest of the term.
Smaller block bookings might help
Try to sell your tickets in small blocks, rather than whole terms initially. Once people love your class and know they will come regularly they will be more likely to book a whole term. Perhaps this means offering monthly block bookings instead of or as well as being able to book a whole term.
Fill gaps with drop-ins
You can offer drop-in sessions to fill any gaps in your classes. If you have spaces to fill then promote these drop-in spaces on your social media to let people know.
On Happity you can choose to set up Single Tickets as well as Block tickets and Term tickets so that you have flexibility and lots of ways to choose how you sell your classes.
Kid’s class bookings low? Harness the power of word of mouth
When you are considering buying something what’s the first thing you do? Check the reviews. If they’re glowing you’re much more likely to spend your money and make the purchase. It’s the same for your kid’s classes. Positive reviews from parents who have loved your classes can make a big difference.
Make it easy for people to leave reviews. It can really help to sell classes when your kid’s class bookings are low. That could be having a form they can quickly and easily fill in on your website. It could be handing out slips after class for people to leave feedback. It could mean running a giveaway so that anyone who leaves a review is entered into a draw to win a prize.
Once you have positive reviews and testimonials shout about them loud and proud. You could include them on your flyers, on your social media and on your website.
Supercharge your social media
We’ve left this one until last but its certainly not least. Social media is a great way to engage with and communicate with your customers. You can let them know about any last minute drop-in spaces, trials, offers…and use it to fill your classes faster.
We know how busy you are and how hard it is to find time (and also ideas) to keep your social media platforms up to date. So here are a few ideas of the type of content you could regularly post on your social media:
- Photos of your classes in action
- Reels of setting up your class/your classes in action
- A carousel (multiple images) of lovely reviews
- A post of reel listing all the reasons why people should come to your class
- Posts about any offers, special events, drop in places available or exciting news
- Posts/reels all about you!
Top tip: To create posts quickly and easily try using Canva. It’s a great way to make posts, reels, stories and even design flyers, logos and banners. It’s such a great tool to use as you don’t have to be super tech savvy or a graphic designer to create really polished and professional looking posts.
Don’t forget!: If you’re a Happity member tag us in your posts and we will try to share as many as we can to our stories to give your classes a little extra boost too!
You might also like:
Join our Children’s Activity Providers Community
16 Social Media Content Ideas For Your Baby & Toddler Classes
