Invite and Delight

So now you’ve made an amazing first impression, garnered interest for your business, and maybe even captured some leads! What’s next?

Think of every new customer as a first time guest that you’re inviting into your home. The “invitation” is an important step in turning customer leads into actual customers. You want to make sure to tailor your messaging to them, and make it a no-brainer for them to come to your activities!

Here are a few impactful ways to invite families to their first experience with you:

• Free Trial Class - Your first class/visit/experience is on us!
• Family Events - Join our community/meet other families like you!
• Tours/Info Sessions - Peek inside our classroom experience!
• Party Consultation - Let us plan your perfect party!

Keep the message simple and personalized with a clear call to action (CTA) so you can track conversion rates. CTAs are the way you ask your customers to do something – that can be anything from a button that links to a contact form, a specific promo code for them to apply on their first order, or a link to an event page. Email service providers like Mailchimp or Constant Contact allow you to see both open and click through rates so you can analyze which subject lines, offers, and content were the most successful, and evolve what works and reject what doesn’t.

(Sawyer Tools integrates with both platforms to easily and efficiently handle your new customer communication. Learn more here.)

Rolling Out the Red Carpet

The day has come for a new family or student to arrive! This is the time to WOW them with a delightful first experience. You’ve already done the work to create an awesome business and service for families, but there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to setting your business apart from the rest of the competition. 

Here are a few things that turn a good experience into a delightful one:

1. Prepare for their arrival
2. If possible, call or email a new customer the day before to remind them of their upcoming visit. This establishes a higher level of care and service even before they have met you in person.
3. You and your staff should have a nametag ready and a welcome packet with information about your services, schedule, or any other marketing materials that are applicable. 
4. (Not sure when someone is a first time customer? Sawyer Tools shows who is brand new to your business or first time attendee of a class right on the class roster. Click here to learn more.)
5. Introduce them to other families 
6. New experiences can be daunting for children and their families. If there’s time, show them where to go, explain what to expect, and introduce them to other families in the activity.
7. Thank them and ask them about their experience
8. This is a crucial step and one that is often forgotten. After class, make sure to touch base to thank them for coming and get feedback about their experience. 
9. If you were able to observe or you taught the class yourself, add specific things you saw to improve the customer experience and help them see themselves returning. 

Inviting Them Back

Almost as important as making sure their first experience is remarkable, is making sure to let them know that you’re looking forward to having them back! Many times kids activity businesses are nervous about sounding too pushy or sales-y, but if you don’t ask for the sale, you run the risk of losing the sale.

If you’ve done a great job inviting a new customer into an experience, wow’d them with personalized service, and left them feeling excited about their time with you, then it is a no-brainer to check in a few days later to find a time when you will see them again. 

Parents are busy, plain and simple, and often need a gentle reminder of upcoming registration periods, special offers, and what to do next. Selling is part of the amazing service you, as a business owner, are providing families. Sending a thoughtful follow up email 24 hours after their first experience with you goes a long way and lets families know that you care about their business. 

The follow-up email should include:

• A personalized message
• A special offer or suggestion for them -  new member promo code, registration period reminder, recommended services curated for them.
• Your contact information and times to get in touch with you
• If applicable, a new customer survey or rating site to review their experience with you

Follow up with a friendly phone call within 2-3 days to remind them about your email and make yourself available should they have any questions or need help registering. 

At the end of the day, even if someone doesn’t sign up on the spot or even a few days later, they will remember how you made them feel. That feeling is why you got into this business - keep families feeling happy, feeling cared about, and feeling seen. The rest will come with time!

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