CHILDCARE MARKETING STRATEGY
How to Run a Successful Open Day for Your Adelaide Childcare Centre
By ChildCare Marketing | childcaremarketing.com.au | March 2026
Why Open Days Drive Enrolments
An open day is your opportunity to convert interested families into enrolled families. A parent who visits your centre and sees happy children, warm educators, and quality facilities is far more likely to enrol than a family who only reads your website. Open days create emotional connection and reduce perceived risk. They answer the unspoken question every parent has: ‘Will my child be safe and happy here?’
Planning Timeline: 6 Weeks Out
Successful open days are planned, not spontaneous. Begin planning 6 weeks before your target date. Week 1 involves deciding your date and time. Choose a Saturday morning (9-11am is ideal) or a weekday afternoon (4-6pm) when working parents can attend. Avoid school holidays and major holidays.
Week 2 involves creating promotion materials and setting up digital promotion. Week 3-4 is heavy promotion across all channels. Week 5 involves logistics—staffing, catering, activity planning. Week 6 is final reminders and contingency planning.
Digital Promotion via Facebook Events
Create a Facebook event 4 weeks before your open day. Invite all families currently enrolled and ask them to invite friends. Share the event link on your business page, website, and in parent communication. Use a professional image that shows happy children at your centre.
Event details should include: date, time, location, parking information, what to expect, and a clear call-to-action (‘Book your spot’ or ‘Register here’). Include a link to an online registration form. This serves two purposes: it gives you a count of attendees and captures their contact information before they arrive.
Google Ads and Letterbox Drops
Run a Google Ads campaign 3 weeks before your open day targeting searches like ‘childcare near [your suburb]’ and ‘open day childcare [your area]’. Use the campaign to drive traffic to your open day landing page. Set a modest daily budget of 50-100 dollars. This is not about big spend; it is about reaching high-intent families.
Consider a targeted letterbox drop in your local area 2 weeks before the open day. A professional flyer with tear-off contact details or a QR code linking to your registration page will generate quality enquiries from local families.
On-the-Day Experience: Centre Tour
Plan your centre tour carefully. A good tour takes 15-20 minutes and shows the full journey of a child’s day: arrival, learning spaces, outdoor areas, mealtimes, rest areas, and pick-up. Highlight your unique features: technology, outdoor play, multilingual staff, or special curriculum.
Brief all educators in advance. They should greet families warmly, answer questions, and make children feel comfortable with visitors. A child playing happily is the best advertisement. Allow families to linger in spaces where children are active. Parents want to see engaged, happy children, not silent compliance.
Educator Introductions and Connection
Families choose centres based on trust in educators. Dedicate time during your open day for families to meet key staff. Have educators introduce themselves, share their qualifications and philosophy, and tell a short story about why they love working with children. Personal connection builds confidence.
Assign a main ‘host’ educator who greets families, takes them on tour, and answers detailed questions. This person should be warm, knowledgeable, and genuinely interested in families. Their demeanour sets the tone for the entire visit.
Children’s Activities and Engagement
Plan a simple activity for visiting children: a craft station, sensory play, or a short story time. This keeps children engaged and happy while parents tour the facility. A happy child having fun is powerful marketing. Parents see their own child potentially enjoying your centre, and that image drives enrolment decisions.
Keep activities simple and supervised. You are not trying to impress with elaborate activities, just show that your centre is engaging and safe. A colouring station, playdough, or building blocks is sufficient. The goal is to keep children content while parents are confident and attentive.
Follow-Up Sequence: Same-Day Email
Capture email addresses from all visitors during registration. On the evening of your open day, send a thank-you email thanking families for attending and reiterating key messages. Include a link to a simple next-step form: ‘Interested in enrolling? Complete this quick form and we’ll be in touch.’
This same-day email is critical. It maintains momentum and keeps your centre top-of-mind when families are excited about what they saw.
3-Day and 7-Day Follow-Up Calls
Assign staff to call all visitors 3 days after the open day. The call should be warm and personal, not pushy. Ask how they felt about the visit, answer any remaining questions, and invite them to schedule an enrolment conversation or trial session.
A follow-up 7 days later via email with a special ‘open day exclusive’ offer (e.g., ‘Enrol this week and receive one week’s free trial’) creates urgency without pressure.
Converting Visitors to Enrolments
The conversion funnel works like this: open day attendee > trial session > enrolment conversation > enrolment. Not every visitor will convert, and that is normal. Your goal is to move as many as possible down the funnel. Offer a free trial session to interested families. Trial sessions where children spend a few hours at your centre are powerful conversion tools. Families see their child thriving, and enrolment becomes the natural next step.
Pro Tip: Create a ‘post-open-day special’ offer valid for 14 days: families who enrol within two weeks of the open day receive one week’s free childcare. This creates urgency and converts fence-sitters into enrolments.
Post-Event Review Generation
In your follow-up emails and calls, ask families to leave a Google review of your open day experience. Positive reviews build social proof for future families. Aim for 10-15 new reviews following your open day. These reviews will show up prominently in local search and Google Business Profile, attracting more enquiries.
Want expert childcare marketing support? Visit childcaremarketing.com.au or call us today.
© 2026 ChildCare Marketing | childcaremarketing.com.au | info@growonline.com.au
