Exclusive look into insights from LineLeader’s soon to be released 2023 Benchmark report

LineLeader, the leading childcare lead management software provider, has published its annual benchmark report detailing key insights gathered from the analysis of data received from its 6,000 strong centre network, 3,000 early childhood professionals and 100 Australian early childhood leaders. 

 

The “Dive Into 2023: Delivering the Ultimate Childcare Staff and Family Experience” report aims to identify and communicate statistically significant drivers of lead management and enrollment success in the centre based early childhood space, as well as capturing staff retention strategies to support the broader early childcare sector in building knowledge about these crucial areas. 

 

“For the past decade, we’ve analysed aggregate data from our 6,000 childcare centre customers across five countries to identify ways to help owners and operators to boost enrollment levels and parent retention,” Lineleader CEO Matt Amoia said.

 

“This year, we’re also including results from our survey of over 3,000 childcare professionals and an additional deep dive survey of a further 100 Australian based leaders to share insights on what drives a great staff and family experience.” 

 

The key findings in this year’s report are as follows:

 

Key Takeaway #1: Centralise Lead Capture to Improve Response Time

 

Lead response time is the single largest driver of conversion success.

 

The LineLeader survey found that 90 per cent of managers don’t respond to leads right away. This is problematic because research shows that contacting a lead after 30 minutes is 21 times less effective than following up within five minutes.

 

With Millennial and Gen Z parents enquiring through a variety of different channels, such as phone calls, Facebook messages, and website forms, if a service does not have a way to capture leads from multiple sources efficiently and consolidate them in one location, immediate follow-up is impossible. 

 

That’s why ECEC services that use a centralised hub, like LineLeader, to streamline lead capture have greater enrolment success.

 

Key Takeaway #2: Deliver Personalised Moments and Experiences

 

Personalisation is essential for both enrolment and retention success.

 

Personalisation is crucial for success in the enrolment process and in maintaining relationships with enrolled families. By consistently providing personalised communication, and letting staff receive parents’ real time feedback, engagement and loyalty increases materially.

 

The survey found that in order to make emails and texts stand out and effectively connect with their intended audience, it’s important to treat families like VIPs. Communications should be addressed to readers by their first name, include specific centre locations or programs that they enquired about and any content that relates to their child’s age or developmental stage should be included.

 

This process can be time consuming if done manually, but using software makes it easier by allowing users to quickly and efficiently customise their communications with easy to use personalisation keys like [Guardian First Name] or [Lead Start Date].

 

Key Takeaway #3: Empower Families with Self-Service Options

 

Self-service options increase parent satisfaction rates.

 

In today’s busy world, finding ways to save time is essential. Self-service options help parents

manage common childcare tasks on their own time and is a preferred method of interaction for today’s independent and tech savvy families. 

 

There are many areas where a centre can implement self-service options including adding an online tour scheduler to their website, including online enrolment forms and also by having an efficient and modern online payment system. 

 

In addition, parent experience platforms like LineLeader also have extensive app capabilities that allow parents to perform all of these functions at the press of a button. 

 

Key Takeaway #4: Automate Manual, Time-Consuming Tasks

 

Manual, time-consuming tasks are eating up six plus hours a week.

 

Over 60 per cent of workers estimate that they could save six or more hours a week by automating repetitive tasks. This is especially relevant in the ECEC sector where there are so many manual tasks involved in day to day centre operations. 

 

LineLeader’s survey found that its top enrollment converters send 36 per cent more texts and 77 per cent more emails than the average centre manager. How do they have time for that? It’s all about “automated communications”. 

 

Not only will automating marketing and enrollment processes help a director make the most of their time, it also keeps branding consistent and helps reach other goals more quickly.

 

Key Takeaway #5: Get Real-Time Access to All Data in One Place

 

You can’t measure what you can’t see.

 

This year’s survey revealed that many childcare businesses spend a significant amount of time each week (between one and six hours) compiling reports by hand. So how much time could be saved if the process was automated?

 

One company reported saving eight hours per day. With real-time reporting, it is possible to manage performance at a glance and track staff productivity, conversion success, lead sources, and family engagement by individual locations, regions, or at the corporate level.

 

In addition, users can automate the sharing of these reports via email to ensure everyone has the insights they need. Real-time reporting and automation helps a centre manager or business owner quickly access the data needed to optimise any childcare experience.

 

To receive exclusive access to this year’s “Dive Into 2023: Delivering the Ultimate Childcare Staff and Family Experience” report as soon as it is released please click here.