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With Summer camps under way at many of our campuses, it’s time to prepare for the NEXT transition…FALL ENROLLMENTS! You’ve  heard me talk about the need to stay focused on what’s UPCOMING to ensure we’re properly prepared and allow ample time for marketing and converting our existing students/campers through transitions.

Below are my recommendations to set you up for a successful Fall enrollment season:

  1. Load Calamatic with your Fall Belt/Path schedule BEFORE Summer camps begin.
    1. This will give interested parties the ability to enroll immediately (otherwise you risk losing the sale!)
  1. Set up your promotions.
    1. Promotions should not be combined with other offers, so plan out which method makes the most sense for your campus.
    2. Early Bird Special
      1. Set up a promotion where the earlier they sign up, the more they save (i.e. Offer your best discount before July 4th. Offer another discount tier after July 4th until around Aug 1 before school starts).
      2. This creates a sense of urgency to enroll sooner and not wait until school starts (after school starts, many parents take about a month to figure out schedules before adding in any new programs).
    3. 10% Rebate Promotion
      1. The more Summer camps they enroll in, the bigger their rebate towards Fall enrollment.
      2. You would take 10% of their total Summer spend and put it towards Fall enrollment.
      3. This is a one-time rebate/payment.
    4. Deposit
      1. If customers want to wait to enroll until after school starts or until they know their Fall schedule, they can put down a $50 non-refundable deposit to ‘hold’ the early bird discount pricing.
  1. Print out the Fall enrollment flyerwith your Early Bird special and put them in the Friday take home folders.
    1. During camps, we recommend sending students home on Friday with a folder containing their completion certificate, a class/campus photo, and a flyer for Fall enrollment.
  1. Have the Fall enrollment poster printed and on your front door starting the first week of camps!
    1. You want to start educating every parent that walks through your door for Summer that you also offer Fall after-school programs.
  1. Directors should be talking to ALL parents at drop off and pick up.
    1. Building relationships is KEY to building and maintaining enrollments
    2. Talk to them about additional camp enrollments. Re-enrollments are a big source of total summer enrollments.
    3. Talk to them about Fall after-school programs
  1. Instructors should be trained to ‘talk up’ additional programs.
    1. Instructors spend the most time with students and are building relationships with them
    2. Instructors can mention other programs to build interest with the students (additional camps and Fall programs)
    3. You should be inviting parents to come in on Fridays to see what the students have been doing all week
      1. Instructor can present to the group of students and parents what is going into the Friday take home folders:
      2. Summer camp flyer – Mention some of the other camps happening later that summer
      3. Fall enrollment flyer – Briefly talk about Fall after-school programs where we teach our full STEM curriculum
    4. Consider incentivizing them ($20-50/enrollment they earn)

Making these efforts now will set you up for a more successful Fall enrollment season. Delaying these actions until mid- or late summer will not give you sufficient exposure to capitalize on the exponential foot traffic that we traditionally see during the Summer months.