Your business has its own fingerprint, and your marketing should match who you are as an organization.
That’s why we always schedule a discovery call with our clients. This in-depth and revealing exchange ensures we understand the heart of your company and create a marketing strategy that’s in tune with your vision, goals, and unique brand voice.
Below, we’ll share what to expect from your discovery call with Rose Marketing Solutions and how you can make the most of it.
Goals for the Discovery Call Process
We don’t take our relationships with our clients lightly. The discovery call provides a valuable setting for us to get to know the stakeholders in your organization, and vice versa. We’ll learn who you are as a business, what you’re offering, and who your audience is, as well as what you need and what resources you plan to use to get there.
You might already have your marketing goals figured out with pinpoint precision, or you might want to spend some time fine tuning those together. Either way, the better we get to know you and your objectives, the more effective we can be in our proposal for you.
During the call, one of our goals is to collect the relevant information we need to get started working for you quickly — so you can see results as soon as possible. And, of course, we always want to make sure you’re comfortable with us, we’re a good fit for your needs, and the basis is there for a long-term, successful relationship.
How to Prepare for the Discovery Call
Most businesses don’t want to wait around for results, so we try to be as considerate of your time as possible. We’ll come to the discovery call with some specific questions, and the more complete picture we get during the call, the better we’ll understand exactly what you need and what we can deliver.
Of course, we’ll eventually get all the necessary information even if it’s not available in the discovery call, but having it handy at this point facilitates a much faster process.
Questions to Expect
The questions themselves are simple. However, they’re designed to inspire more in-depth conversations about insights that drive your childcare business. Essentially, we’ll be discussing:
- Who are you?
- Who do you want to target?
- What do you want to sell?
- Why do people want to buy from you vs. a competitor?
- Where do you sell? (online only, in store, etc.)
- How do you anticipate finding new customers? (social media, paid ads, blog, etc.)
What Information to Bring
To answer those questions in a full way, you’ll want to come prepared with information top-of-mind and readily available. This ensures the most efficient call possible, along with the quickest path to great results.
If you have any of the following, they’ll be excellent resources for the discovery call.
Mission statement. When we hear you talk about your company in your own words, with all the language you’ve carefully curated and the feeling you have behind it, we can better craft marketing that aligns with your vision and mission. You know what’s special about your organization. The discovery call allows you to communicate that to us in the terms you already know best reach your audience.
Ideal customer. If you already know who your ideal customer is, that’s great information to bring to the discovery call. How far do they travel to reach you? What do they value most? Are they looking for all-inclusive tuition? A specific curriculum? Certain types of foods? We want to know the buyer persona you’re trying to reach, or at least the one you’re trying to reach first.
Current marketing efforts. We’ll be inquiring about your current marketing efforts, such as Facebook ads, social posts, analytics, or blog writing, and any pain points with your existing marketing plan. It might seem awkward, but it’s also important to share with us about any other marketing entities or agencies you’re working with. While we can handle a full range of marketing services, we understand that you may already have existing partners in place for certain efforts. We’re happy and able to work together with them to ensure success.
Top marketing KPIs. Your top marketing key performance indicators will tell us where to aim. What does success look like to you, and how will you measure it? It might be phone calls or website form fills that convert to tours, or tours that convert to enrollments.
Highest return. If we focus our efforts on marketing a service with a low profit margin, we could actually do more harm than good. To avoid this, we want to prioritize services that have the highest return and the greatest benefit for your business. Perhaps that’s before or after school care, or perhaps it’s attracting parents of younger children to achieve greater lifetime value from their enrollment.
Top three competitors. We’ll look at a three- to five-mile radius around your school to identify proximate competitors, but your insights here are valuable. Who do you feel your top competitors are based on quality of care, educational level, or any other metric?
How clients find you. In childcare, the number one way families often find new facilities is by driving past and noticing your building. The next most common is a personal referral. Does this hold true for your company? Have you had other successful methods, like community outreach or paid ads? How do you track where your families come from?
Digital footprint. Because families will check your website and read online reviews about your facility, we like to get a good idea of your existing digital footprint. Are families leaving reviews about you online? Do directories like Yelp and Care.com list your information correctly? Does your online presence accurately reflect your mission and the kind of care you provide?
Ongoing communication. As we work together, it’s important for us to stay up-to-date on your capacity. How many children can you care for in your facility? When you get close to your limit, how will you communicate that to us? We don’t want to start a major marketing campaign only to bring in tours you can’t accommodate. Or maybe you’d like to develop a solid waitlist, so meeting families even after you’re over capacity is welcome. Having a clear communication plan in place will facilitate the best ongoing outcomes.
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Ask Us Anything
Do you have questions for us? The discovery call is a great time to ask questions about what services we offer, how we might address your pain points, and your specific marketing interests. Do you want better social media strategies, or are you interested in reputation management? Are you hoping to drive enrollment, or do you have an acute need for a better website experience?
During the discovery call, we’ll look to better understand what brought you here. And more importantly, we’ll talk about what you’re hoping we can do to improve your results. From there, we can further discuss improvement ideas that align with your goals.
The Gateway to a Great Start
You didn’t get into the childcare business to do marketing. You got into it to make a difference in the lives of children and families.
Our goal is to empower you to keep the focus on your mission, not your marketing. An in-depth discovery call is the gateway to making you even more successful in the things that really matter to you and the children in your care.