For example, did you know that 80% of Millennials expect immediate responses and 60% of Gen Z are likely to hang up if their call isn't answered within 45 seconds?
That's just one reason why it's crucial to follow up with leads quickly.
One way to improve response times is to centralize and automate your lead capture process.
This helps you organize all your leads in one place and send automated follow-up emails, whether your leads come from phone calls, Facebook messages and ads, online directories, or your website.
When you do this, you maximize your chances for success. Want to achieve more, with less work? See exactly how in this article. 👇
The Value of Immediate Follow-Up
In our recent survey, we found that 90% of childcare professionals don't respond to leads right away. This is a problem because research shows that contacting a lead after 30 minutes is 21X less effective than following up within 5 minutes.
Even contacting a lead at the 5-minute mark means they're 10% less likely to respond. This
is especially important for Millennial and Gen Z parents who are inquiring from various sources like phone calls, Facebook messages, and website forms.
If you don't have a way to capture leads from multiple sources in one central location, immediate follow-up is impossible. That's why childcare centers that use a centralized hub to streamline lead response time have greater enrollment success.
Best Practices to Improve Lead Response Time: Capture Leads in One Place
1) Instantly capture and respond to phone calls.Almost 25% of inquiries for your childcare business come from phone calls.
However, staff are often unavailable to answer these calls and, if they can answer, contact information is scattered all over the place. 84% of respondents from our survey said they rely on spreadsheets, notebooks, or sticky notes to capture incoming leads. This disorganization leads to inconsistent childcare experiences and causes confusion for employees, making it difficult to train new staff.
To combat this issue, consider using telephony, a software feature that automatically records and stores phone calls and voicemails in a digital record for review and follow-up. 68% of our top converters use call recording to capture and store incoming phone leads and more easily convert them to enrollments.
2) Streamline lead communications from Facebook.With 2.8 billion monthly active users, it's no surprise that Facebook is a popular platform for childcare businesses to generate leads and connect with parents. In fact, 90% of parents use Facebook every week. But without a way to organize and quickly respond to Facebook inquiries, leads can fall through the cracks.
That's where childcare software with Facebook integration can help. With this software, you can seamlessly organize and track leads and communications coming from Facebook in one place, and even automate replies. The software captures the parent's contact information and uses automated follow-up communications via Facebook Messenger to encourage families to schedule a tour and eventually register.
For multi-center organizations, you can even integrate multiple Facebook Business accounts to track leads for each location. Plus, you can understand and report on what's working for your business by tracking Facebook as a marketing lead source. 28% of our top converters use Facebook integration to follow up with Messenger and Lead Ad inquiries faster and from one central location.
3) Immediately capture and reply to leads from childcare directories.Generating new leads is critical to hitting your enrollment goals. One way to generate more leads is to use childcare listing directories like Winnie or Kinside. These directories make it easy for parents to find childcare centers in their area and learn more about them, including tuition costs, family reviews, and facility photos. Plus, using a listing directory can improve your website's ranking on Google by providing a reputable link back to your site.
To get started, you can easily create listings on these directories to showcase your programs and receive inquiries. And with the right technology, you can capture new leads generated from listing directories and automatically follow up with them through email or text. This way, your staff won't have to log into multiple directories to keep track of new family leads.
4) Use landing pages and web forms to capture interest.70% of childcare owners and directors use landing pages and web forms to capture more leads. These tools are especially important because if you don't offer quick and easy ways for prospective families to inquire online, they'll go somewhere else for childcare.
To make the process as smooth as possible for parents, particularly Millennials and Gen Z who value their time, it's a good idea to use childcare software to design your landing pages and forms or seamlessly integrate with custom landing pages and form builders. Make sure to place your web forms "above the fold" on your web pages and consider using childcare software that immediately organizes lead information for quick, automated follow-up.
As for how many landing pages and web forms you should have, the more the better. Our top converters average 35% more active landing pages, and companies that increased the number of landing pages on their website from 10 to 15 saw a 55% increase in leads. So, the main question you should be asking yourself is, "Am I creating enough landing pages?"
Follow-up faster to build better relationships with families.
So how can you make your lead response time better?
It's not just about blocking out time to follow up with families. It's more about having the right tools in place to do so.
Changing your current enrollment process in small ways can have a big impact. Enhance how, where, and when you respond to potential families to grow enrollments and build long-lasting relationships.
Already a User or Simply Want to Learn More?
Download the benchmark report to increase family and staff retention, practically hands-free.
Not a User Yet?
Schedule a free demo to see how LineLeader can help you fall (back) in love with your childcare business.
Additional Resources
- Unlock 5 key takeaways to elevate your childcare experience.
- Today's staff and families are looking for a better experience: here's why.
- Deliver the ultimate childcare staff and family experience.
- See 5 surprising takeaways from our benchmark report.
- Get expert tips for boosting family and staff retention.
- Understand the preferences and behavior of Millennial and Gen Z parents.
