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How to Use A Childcare CRM to Build Web Forms & Track Your ROI

We all know ChildcareCRM is a fantastic tool for guiding potential families through the enrollment funnel. By thoughtfully setting up drip campaigns, you can deliver the right message at the right time while ensuring NO ONE falls through the cracks.

As important as sending out new communications is (along with all the other features a childcare CRM offers), you can also use the system to track where your leads are coming from, where they are in the funnel, and what your ROI (return on investment) on any given lead source is.

Tracking Lead Sources in a Childcare CRM

Most of us know about the “Lead Source” field and that we’re supposed to ask “Where did you hear about us?” to every family that contacts us. That’s great. Definitely don’t stop doing that. But…

The issue with leaving it up to the parent to tell us where they “came from” is that they’ll answer “Google” 98 percent of the time, when they’re not answering “so-and-so-friend referred me", right?! While referrals and Google searches will likely remain your bread-and-butter lead sources, what if you’re running a Facebook campaign and want to know what your ROI for the ad is?

Well, let's discuss...Again, it isn’t likely that the parent is going to tell you they clicked on a Facebook ad, mostly because they either don't remember and/or choose to cite Google as their source for everything. So, don’t count on that for determining your ROI. Also, the most information Facebook gives you is who clicked the ad and, if you have your Facebook pixel set up to track conversions, who submitted a form. 

Figuring out what happens after that person contacts your childcare center is up to you. Luckily, the right childcare CRM can help with that. 

Here’s what you can do...

Use web forms to collect data for your marketing reports. For any digital ad, backlink, form on your website, or event you’re attending (with your handy tablet for form collection, of course), consider the following:

  1. Create a campaign in your CRM under the Marketing Tab. Name it something you’ll recognize later as related to a specific ad, etc., and don’t forget to enter the cost of the ad/event/whatever you’re tracking.

  2. Create a form and link it to that campaign. If you’re using this form on a tablet at a live event, you’re pretty much done after this simple step.

  3. Ensure cohesive click-through. For any digital ad (Facebook, Instagram, AdWords, etc.) have the ad click-through (using a link) to a landing page that has the corresponding form on it. When someone submits the form, they will enter your Childcare CRM platform as part of the specified campaign. 

  4. Run a Campaign Report after all your leads have had a chance to either enroll or…well, make the wrong decision. Assuming you have your center’s pricing entered, the CRM will actually tell you what that ad’s ROI was!

Boom. Done. Easy Peasy.

Obviously, this method only works for online forms and event forms. There are ways to track incoming calls to a degree, but you still have to ask how they heard of you – even though they’ll most likely say "Google." But that topic is for another time.

Do you know where your money is going? Do you have a different method? 

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2C MARKETING & DESIGN GROUP

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