Marketing And Selling To Schools For Children’s Activity Providers

As a children’s activity provider, it can be challenging to build a steady and reliable income stream. Especially when we factor in recent economic events.  Marketing and growth strategies can be costly, and with ever-changing algorithms, it can be difficult to reach the right target audience on social media alone. However, one often overlooked method of marketing that can help you build more financial stability into your business is partnering with and selling to schools and nurseries.

Here are some reasons why using schools and nurseries can be an effective way to market your services and build financial stability into your business:

1. Schools and nurseries have a captive audience

Schools and nurseries have a captive audience of parents and children who are already interested in education and enrichment activities. By partnering with schools and nurseries, you can tap into this audience and showcase your services to potential customers who are already looking for activities for their children. Many of my Approaching Schools Academy members adopt this approach and regularly attract new children into their community classes each time they visit a school.

2. Builds trust with parents

Parents trust schools and nurseries to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their children. By partnering with these settings, you are able to build trust with parents, who will be more likely to trust your business and services as well.  Schools are discerning about who they work with so this will add credibility to your overall presence within the community and allow word of mouth to spread much further as a result. Many of my Approaching Schools Academy members notice a ripple effect into all areas of their business after starting the process of working with schools.

3. Provides a steady stream of revenue

Partnering with schools and nurseries can provide a steady stream of revenue for your business. You can offer extra-curricular activities, enrichment workshops, curriculum lessons or camps during school holidays, which can provide a reliable income stream throughout the year.  Where schools or nurseries are able to fund you to come in, you no longer have to worry about class sizes or venue hire impacting your profits.  Several of my Approaching Schools Academy members report receiving a more reliable income from their school/nursery work in comparison to their community classes.

4. Cost-effective marketing

Marketing can be expensive, especially if you’re a small business. By partnering with schools and nurseries, you can market your services to a targeted audience without having to spend a lot of money on advertising or marketing materials.  All of the marketing strategies I teach within the Approaching Schools Academy can be implemented for free or for a minimal cost, such as paying for postage or printing.  There are no paid advertising campaigns or expensive software involved.

5. Builds a loyal customer base

By offering your services to schools and nurseries, you can build a loyal customer base. School staff who are happy with the services you provide will be more likely to continue using your services in the future, as well as recommend you to their parents and potentially other schools and settings too.  Many of my Approaching Schools Academy members have been able to build up their business by offering packages to several private nurseries within one chain or multiple schools within a Multi-Academy Trust, for example.

To sum up, partnering with schools and nurseries is an often overlooked method of marketing and growth strategy that can really help children’s activity providers to build more financial stability into their businesses. By tapping into the captive audience of parents and children, building trust, providing a steady stream of revenue, and creating a loyal customer base, you can build a successful and sustainable business. So, consider reaching out to schools and nurseries in your area to explore partnership opportunities and help your business grow this year.

You can find out more about growing your business selling to schools and nurseries in my free guide, available to download at www.ceryskeneally.com

Cerys Keneally is an award-winning trainer and speaker for the children’s activity industry.  Drawing on 20 years of A.C.E. experience in Activities, Coaching and Education, Cerys has trained over 3,000 providers in her selling to schools methods to date, through her industry-famous 5 day challenges.  She is the proud creator of a pioneering, CPD accredited programme, the Approaching Schools Academy, where she works directly with over 100 members per year who get fantastic results.