The early childhood education (ECE) landscape is experiencing major changes—and if your childcare business isn’t adapting, you may be falling behind. In a recent conversation, Brett Neller, CEO of LineLeader, and Bruce Spurr, CEO of Grow Your Center, explored key takeaways from the 2025 ECE Benchmark Report, with a focus on shifting parent demand, changing enrollment patterns, and how to stay competitive in a saturated market.
If you’ve noticed fewer tour requests, slower enrollment, or unpredictable performance across your locations, you’re not alone. These trends are being felt nationwide. But the good news? With the right data and strategy, providers can not only weather the shift—they can thrive.
The Demand Curve is Changing
The Benchmark Report reveals some surprising insights. Demand is no longer evenly distributed across age groups or geographic areas. Infant and toddler programs remain in high demand, while some preschool classrooms—especially in oversaturated suburban areas—are seeing enrollment plateaus. At the same time, regional differences in staffing and parent preferences are causing performance to vary widely across multi-site operators.
While some of these changes are outside your control, how you respond is not. Operators who understand where demand is shifting—and adjust their messaging, staffing, and classroom availability accordingly—are in the best position to maintain stable enrollment.
Enrollment Starts with Speed
The conversation also highlighted an important reality: Millennial and Gen Z parents now make up the majority of today’s childcare seekers. These digital-native families expect convenience, immediacy, and transparency at every stage of the journey. If your team takes too long to respond to inquiries or follow up on tour requests, parents won’t wait—they’ll move on.
That's why fast, automated follow-up is no longer optional. The most successful centers follow up within minutes, not hours or days. This builds trust quickly and gives parents confidence that your center is organized, responsive, and ready to support their family.
Marketing with Intent
As parent expectations evolve, so must your childcare marketing strategies. Word-of-mouth still plays a role, but it’s no longer enough in a competitive market. Top-performing providers are investing in digital marketing—paid ads, email nurturing, SEO, and targeted campaigns based on age group and location.
They're also embracing personalization. Using a CRM system, they can track where leads are in the journey and deliver relevant messages, whether it's a reminder to book a tour, an upcoming open house, or a personalized note from a center director.
This type of data-driven childcare marketing isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity for filling classrooms consistently.
Bruce emphasized the importance of focusing on leads:
"We have 3 pillars we are asking our clients to focus on in 2025. One of them is our 'leave no lead behind' policy. The cost of getting a lead has gone up. We find the noise floor in marketing, in general, has gone up so much… to pop up above it to get attention from a parent who's super busy and inundated with ads is harder. Everyone wants to hit that young parent market."
Centralized Enrollment Powers Consistency
Another trend highlighted in the report is the move toward centralized enrollment models. Instead of relying on individual center directors—who may be juggling dozens of daily responsibilities—to respond to leads, centralized teams can manage inquiries across all locations. This ensures no family slips through the cracks and allows for faster follow-up, tour scheduling, and a smoother overall experience.
With centralized systems, operators can also build out detailed profiles for each center, including classroom availability, hours, location details, and unique selling points. That way, families get tailored information quickly—and your team spends less time manually answering the same questions.
Use Data to Drive Smart Decisions
One of the most valuable takeaways from the conversation is that operators must use data to make decisions—not assumptions. With the right CRM in place, you can see performance by location, track where parents drop off in the enrollment funnel, and identify what's working (or not).
This insight allows leaders to replicate the best practices of high-performing centers across their full network, helping to close performance gaps and improve outcomes across the board.
As Brett summarized:
“A CRM lets you pinpoint where families are dropping off, learn from your top-performing centers, and scale those best practices across your portfolio.”
The Bottom Line
The ECE industry isn’t slowing down—it’s shifting. Families are more selective, the market is more competitive, and data is more essential than ever. But with the right tools and strategy, your childcare business can stay ahead.
To learn more about these trends and how to adapt, check out the full 2025 ECE Benchmark Report from LineLeader.
