Fun Fact!

The most productive day of the workweek is Tuesday.

Fun Fact!

Contrary to popular belief, opossums, squirrels, chipmunks and mice do not carry rabies.

Facebook User Information

Definition: 

Facebook is a free-access social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. The website's name refers to the paper facebooks depicting members of a campus community that some colleges and preparatory schools give to incoming students, faculty, and staff as a way to get to know other people on campus.

Facts:

-More than 200 million active Facebook users

-Majority of facebook users log on at least once a day

-More than 20 millions users update their statuses at least once a day

-The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older

-Average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site

-More than 3.5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day

Fun Fact!

The average American uses eight times as much fuel energy as an average person anywhere else in the world.

Fun Fact!

During his or her lifetime, the average human will grow 590 miles of hair.

Social Media...tools

A big part of social media is frequent updates to stay "top of mind" with your facebook fans, Twitter followers and blog readers.

My weapon of choice is the Apple iPhone.

It is the easiest smartphone on the market to use and has a number of social media applications that can be used to update facebook, Twitter, blogs and PRWeb. You can pick up one for $99 at your local Apple store. Best bet is to get it directly form Apple so that they can give you the quick tour of how to use it!

Fun Fact!

You are more likely to get attacked by a cow than a shark.

Social Media and You

Social Media is here to stay, regardless of your personal feelings about the viability of the medium.

This post is the first of a series that looks at social media, the tools and best practices for making it work for you. We'll answer the most common questions:

• What is it?
• How does it work?
• Will it work for childcare?
• How do I do it right?
• If I build it, will they come?

Let's start by defining social media. Here's the definition per Wikipedia:

Social media is content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies.

At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers.

Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal and business. Businesses also refer to social media as user-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated media (CGM).

Fact or Fiction?

See how many you can get right. Answers are at the bottom. Good luck!

1. Stress will turn your hair gray

2. Running on a treadmill puts the same amount of stress on your knees than running on asphalt or pavement

3. Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different

4. According to U.S. laws, a beer commercial can never show a person actually drinking beer

5. When it comes to working out, you've got to feel some pain if you're going to gain any benefits

6. Organized crime is estimated to account for 10% of the United States’ national income

7. When your face blushes, the lining of your stomach turns red too

8. To sell your home faster, and for more money, paint it yellow

9. Acne is caused by not washing properly

10. People with blue eyes are better able to see in the dark

Answers (Don't Cheat!): 1. Fiction 2. Fact 3. Fact 4. Fact 5. Fiction 6. Fact 7. Fact  8. Fact 9. Fiction 10. Fact

Marketing Basics - Focus

"To accomplish more, sometimes you need to see less."

In a world where we put a premium in "multi-tasking", I'm going to ask you to learn to focus on one thing.

I have a theory on "multi-tasking" and it goes like this: We really don't multi-task, we do a bunch of disjointed single tasks which make us feel "busy/productive" which leads to mediocre results. Not applying our full attention and focus leads to "re-dos", mistakes and wasted resources. It also serves as a convenient way to avoid the development of a skill called prioritization.

The secret weapon in Marketing is focus.

Do your research and planning but stay focused on high impact activities that will benefit your center the most. Apply your time and effort to a specific program and follow it through all of its stages: concept, execution, tracking, reporting and refinement. Don't try to stretch yourself and do too many campaigns or programs at the same time. All you'll do is frustrate yourself and waste resources. The chance of success actually goes down if you have too many balls in the air at one time.

This is not to say that you shouldn't be doing multiple things at one time. The key here is to be realistic in setting your goals and targeted campaigns so that you have enough time and resources (money and people) to complete the tasks. It's better to do fewer things completely than doing a number of things half way.

This all sounds simple but take a minute to think about your current and past Marketing programs. Do you still have "open" tasks? Are you getting the results? How much time and money have you spent?

Here's something to focus on that will help your enrollment and retention. Set up a Referral Program for your staff and customers (parents). Incent people to find you two more people just like them. Give them a substantial reward, track and celebrate the referrals.

Focus on this one program and it's just a matter of time before you see something cool... results.

The million dollar question...

"How did you hear about us?"

A simple question that could save you tons of money and time!

Asking people how they heard about you is the easiest way to find out what's working and what's not in your marketing campaigns. Keep track for the responses and review every quarter. Keep going with the one's that make the phone ring and abandon the ones that don't!

FunTrax!

FunTrax Dollar Promotion!

PureFun! customers can sign up for FunTrax for just $1 a month through March 2009!

Funtrax is a Web based reward and incentive system, designed to help Childcare Centers define and reward the behavior they value in their staff. FunTrax is designed to help centers motivate and incent their staff, through a culture of immediate validation. The "catch someone doing the right thing" concept is taken to the next level with this easy to use tool.

Owners, Supervisors and Team leaders benefit from a solution that helps build your culture and turn employees into "Ambassadors" of your Brand!

Improved morale, reduced turnover and increased productivity are just a couple of clicks away!

Click here to get started with FunTrax!

Your Marketing Tool Kit

Here is another question that I get quite a bit. "What marketing tools should I have?"

At a minimum you should have:

• Business cards
• Signage (Street & Building)
• Letterhead
• Web Site
• Informational brochure

Advanced tool kit includes:

• All of the above
• Blog
• Email signature
• Email tool & template (Constant Contact is a good option)
  
• Counter top sign templates

That should be all you'll need to make a lasting impression.

Passion

Just a quick note to remind you to keep your heads up!

What you do is important and valued by all whom you serve.

Don't let a slumping economy take away your passion to do what you love.

Consistency

This first thing I do when I'm called in to help a center is gather up all of their marketing and printed materials. Every flyer, business card and pricing sheet. Anything that leaves the center is collected and evaluated.

Here's the secret... I'm looking for the most important marketing fundamental, consistency.

Nothing does more damage to a brand than inconsistent messaging and branding. When I say "branding" think look and feel. Mis-matched collateral and different design confuses people and hinders building brand equity. Simply put, inconsistent marketing leaves people with a bad impression.

Here are a few things I've found and simple solutions:

• Different business card designs for different people. All business cards should have the same design with just the name and title adjusted. Throw away old cards that do not match.
• "Mis-matched" collateral. All collateral should have the same design. Try something simple like your center name or logo at the top of a Word document. Keep things the same color and size for a more professional look.
  
• Multi-colored collateral. Use color sparingly to call attention to one specific point. Adults do not appreciate multi-colored communications, simple black and white is fine.
• Multi-sized copy. Here's another time where simple is better. You should use no more than two sizes in a normal document. The headline should be the largest with the content a smaller size. Think about all of the articles you read in the newspaper and magazines.
  
• No branding or messaging. Make sure that your name, tag line and 3 key points about your center are on all of your collateral. The top (header) and bottom of the page (footer) are good places for your "standard" messaging. Make sure it's easy to read but not overpowering. Assume that everyone is seeing your brand for the first and only time so it's important that we make it prominent and memorable.
  

Oh, one last thing... use good paper for all of your printed materials. It's better to have fewer pieces that are higher quality.

What's "Better for Kids?"

It's best to share Todd's own words:

It all started on a flight out of Denver with what appeared to be another “what’s old is new again” business book. Something was different this time. This book asked the toughest question… "So what?"

It hit me hard - we weren’t doing anything different, anything that mattered.

It became so obvious…be "Better for Kids".

Deep down we all really want what’s "Better" for kids. So it became our charter to establish a vendor/customer relationship that’s really a partnership based on addressing the needs of kids. It has to be far more than just juice, toilet paper and green beans. Being Better for Kids meant putting them first. It meant creating a new standard for us and embarking on initiatives designed to impact childhood issues ranging from obesity to illiteracy.

Some of our initiatives come under the heading “Better for You”, so you can be Better for Kids. The goal is simple; help centers become profitable advocates for our children.

"Better for Kids", a slogan?

NO, it’s a movement- Join Us!

Signage

Stand at street level facing your center and ask yourself the following:

• Can I see my main sign from the road?
• Is there anything blocking the view of my main sign from all directions?
• Can drivers see my sign from at least 1/4 mile away?
  
• Is my sign simple and clear enough for a driver to understand as they go by?
• Does my building have any signage to support my main street sign?

This seems pretty obvious but at least 50% of the centers I visit have weak street level visibility and branding.

Here are some examples of what I've seen:

• Signs blocked by bushes
• Signs blocked by cars
• Signs that are too low
  
• Signs with letters too small to be seen from a car
• Lighted signs that are not lit
• Broken or faded signs
• Old "event" banners (Now Open, Summer Camp, etc...)

Here are a couple of things to do:

• Take down old banners with dated messaging. "Now Open" is not good if you have been open for 5 years.
  
• Clean all of your existing signs. First impressions are important. Does a dirty sign make you think "great place for my child"?
  
• Replace any broken or faded signs inside and out. I'd rather you have no sign. A missing sign may mean that a new one is on the way. A broken sign says "I don't care."
  
• Move anything that blocks it from all sides. Go do this right now!!!!
  
• Change the message twice a week if you have a sign with removable letters. Drivers like to read things, give them something to think about. Make your sign a "visual destination" every time they drive by.
  
• Make sure your building has at least your name on the front to support your street sign. Don't lose an opportunity to get your name out there!
  
• Make sure your sign is simple enough to be read by someone at "driving speed". A fancy sign may not be a better sign!
  

I know you're thinking "thanks for nothing Mo" but trust me on this one. Street level visibility is step #1 in getting new folks to realize that you exist. If they can't see you, they can't meet and love you!

Better Begins...

To understand where we are going, you need to understand where we came from.

It all began with PureFUN! Juice in 1999, but our roots in the childcare industry go back much further. After owning and operating multiple childcare centers for several years, PureFUN! owners, Todd and Carol Harrison, took their insight and understanding of challenges facing today’s professional childcare provider into the world of service and supply.

There’s no doubt that our juice products were a hit from the start. The delicious taste, the wide variety of flavors and cost-effective pricing programs were certainly big parts of the success. If you listen to our customers, it has always been our excellent service that has helped us stand out from the rest. So we expanded our inventory to include a host of cleaning, food, apparel and paper supplies that are an everyday concern for directors.

The objective is simple... provide the same level of service that Todd and Carol expected as childcare center owners.