Grow Your Enrollment by Building Your House List

House list is not a familiar terminology. But, it is a practice that most business owners perform unknowingly. If you’ve ever created a list of people who have sought your services or enquired about the same, that is a house list. More the information you have on record of the customer, the better it is for your business to grow. Typically, the house list has two information points: name and contact details.

Don’t ignore the house list

While you may fail to see the importance of creating a database of potential and existing clients, a house list is the secret ingredient to expand your business or services. A house list offers an effective and affordable solution to build a relationship with prospective parents.

• You can maximize enrollment numbers by staying actively in touch with parents by providing regular updates and winning their trust in the process. When parents are ready to enrol their child, your child care services will be the first name they think of.
• When you get a call of inquiry for enrollment, you may lack the necessary space, today. But, when an unexpected opening springs up, filling the space will be easy when you connect with prospects.
• Staying in touch which families till the time they are ready to enrol their child also becomes easier with a house list.
• A house list doubles up as an additional revenue generator for your childcare centre. Parents on the list can be sent emails with special offers and services. If you’re planning on hosting a fundraiser, you have a ready list of participants.
• Sending out regular emails also provides the necessary visibility for your centre and its initiatives.

Convincing parents to divulge the necessary information to create a house list

Now that you’re aware of the importance of a house list, the next important question is how to convince parents to part with the necessary information? There are a few ways of setting up a database of potential and interested parents. Most importantly, in order to extract information from parents, you need to offer something valuable in return. Here is how it can be done:

1. A simple phone call: You can request for information through a phone call. It doesn’t mean that you call parents, unexpectedly, and hound them information. Create an e-packet of information about the centre, its services and a few parent testimonials. When you receive a call of enquiry, request for the phone number or email address to send the information. There you have it: a simple request got you a new name and contact details to add to your house list.

2. Website visitor: Set up an opt-in form on the centre website. Interested parents can fill out the forms and stay connected with the latest updates of the childcare centre. To draw attention, offer an attractive and irresistible free offer on the site. Such an offer can be anything from a free gift to educative tutorials and worksheets.

3. Social media: Social media is an effective platform to target young parents. Link an opt-in form with your social media page. Interested parents will sign up for newsletters. Again, it is critical to offer a freebie to get the parents interested. These could be as simple as ‘A guide to cooking nutritious and simple meals for your child’ or ‘Tips on choosing the right childcare services.’

Once you’ve set up your house list, it is time to get to work. The real work starts when you open the communication channel. Parents enrol their child only when they ‘trust and like’ a childcare centre. Communication is essential in winning them over.