Learn how a strong class registration software can help your children’s education business grow.

When you start your children’s education or activity business, it might feel like just getting bookings is a win, no matter how they register. Or, perhaps you have been running your business for quite a while and you don’t want to mess with success, even if it means you are taking registrations by phone, missing bookings during non-work hours, and manually inputting all of the information for each student.

Using a class registration software can help parents book more easily with you and save you time so you can focus more on doing what you love: educating children. Continue reading to learn more about how class registration software can make a difference for your business. Looking to start a camp? Learn how to find the best software to manage your camp in our guide. 

How does class registration software benefit your business?

Versatile

A robust class registration software accomplishes a lot, but the number one goal is to make it as easy as possible for parents to book classes. Some parents want to book directly on your website, so the software should give you an option to place a scheduling widget on your site. Others like to go to a marketplace that houses a lot of providers, so they can book all different types of classes in one place. The best class registration software lets you have options, so both types of parents can find your classes and book them.

With COVID-19 still a serious threat, especially to families, low-touch and online class registration is a necessity for businesses. Online registration systems also allow businesses to take bookings outside of working hours. After analyzing over 2.3 million bookings made on Sawyer last year, we found that 38% came in outside of business hours. If you rely on taking bookings by phone, that means you may be missing out on almost 40% of potential new students!

Professional

Class registration software also makes your business look more professional. Parents need to feel comfortable before they entrust someone with their child. A professional website with an easy-to-use and well designed booking system is an important step in that direction. Supplement your professional schedule and registration software with high-quality photos that show happy children and dedicated instructors. For tips on this, check out our guide to learn how to build your photo library.

Another aspect of a professional business is accurate  tracking. If you want to ask questions to each parent, such as “does your child have allergies?” or “what are your child’s pronouns?”, then having a professional system to record  these responses is of the utmost importance. Rather than asking these questions over the phone and writing down responses on scrap paper or even tracking them yourself in a spreadsheet, a good class registration software will include the option to ask these questions directly in the sign-up flow as well as organize and store the responses for you.

Flexible

Parents like having options. Their schedules and the schedules of their children are often in flux, so flexibility is important. If you use a class registration software, you can offer different types of bookings to meet the needs of more families. For example, you can offer semesters and camps but also include a drop-in option, so new children can try out the class or sign up when they have a free day. Moreover, when you are able to offer early drop-off, transportation from school, and late pick-up, you increase the chances of a parent booking your class and purchasing one of those add-ons to make their lives easier. 

What about sibling discounts, coupons, and gift cards? A strong class registration software allows parents to take advantage of these opportunities to book more frequently with you. In addition, free trials or promotions to discount the first class in a series increases the chances of more bookings down the line. In fact, our analysis showed that 30% of families who book a free class or trial convert to a paid customer within the same month. Can’t argue with that!

Trustworthy

A final, but equally important, aspect of a good class registration software is the seamless integration of reviews and testimonials. Before parents click submit on a new provider’s class, they want to see what other families have to say. Showing reviews from real parents right on your class registration page will increase enrollment and build trust. Testimonials and reviews are a type of user-generated content (UGC) and a study done by Hootsuite showed that customers are 2.4 times more likely to view user-generated content as authentic compared to brand-created content.

If increasing enrollment by taking bookings around the clock, making parents feel more comfortable, offering more options, and highlighting positive reviews sounds good to you, consider signing up for a free trial with Sawyer for Business. Our class registration software streamlines your business operations, increases your year-over-year revenue by 30% on average, and saves you 28 hours per week. Ready to grow? Sawyer will help you every step of the way.