Positioning your service
All marketing strategy is built on segmentation, targeting and positioning. Positioning is about placing your service and image in the mind of the target market. Unlike physical products, services are intangible, so buyers will look for evidence of service quality and other points of differentiation. No particular childcare service will win if each resembles the other. You need work out what it is that makes your service different and then tell your potential market how you are different and why that difference makes you a better choice.
While the task of positioning is to deliver a central idea, differentiation goes one step further by adding a set of meaningful and valued differences to distinguish your service from the competition. All products or services can be differentiated to some extent, however not all differences are meaningful or worthwhile. A difference will be stronger to the extent that it satisfies the following criteria:
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Important: the difference delivers a highly valued benefit to a sufficient number of customers |
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Distinctive: the difference is delivered in a distinctive way |
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Superior: the difference is superior to other ways of obtaining the benefit |
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Pre-emptive: the difference cannot be easily copied by a competitor |
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Affordable: the buyer can afford to pay for the difference |
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Profitable: the company will find it profitable to introduce the difference |
What are our points of differentiation? What is important, distinctive, superior, pre-emptive, affordable and profitable? Remember, other childcare services offer the same service; it is the ‘extras’ that make a point of differentiation.
We can look at our list of key messages and work out whether they are unique to family day care.
Our key messages:
| Key Message |
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Is it a point of differentiation, ie important, distinctive, superior, pre-emptive, affordable and profitable? |
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We are a high quality, cost effective childcare option |
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No. Other childcare services can claim the same, and the perception that family day care is a ‘cheap’ childcare option can work against your marketing efforts |
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Our consistency of care and low staff turnover impacts positively on your child |
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No. While consistent care and low staff turnover may have positive impacts on children, there remains a 25% turnover of carers in the industry |
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Meaningful, long term relationships make our service and level of care unique |
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Yes and no. There are plenty of stories about other childcare workers and the long term relationships they form with children in care |
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Our home-based childcare option offers excellent development and learning experiences |
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Yes and no. The point of differentiation is that we are home-based; other forms of childcare also offer excellent development and learning experiences |
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Small groups of children result in an individual, personal approach to childcare |
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Yes. Our ratios are lower than any other childcare sector; and siblings are able to stay together, not be separated into rooms according to age |
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Our organisation, standards and objectives are constantly reviewed and aligned with best practice
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No. All organisations should be able to say the same |
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We are flexible, and will negotiate hours and days with our families where possible |
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Yes. This is distinct point of difference, particularly our capacity to accommodate variable work patterns by offering overnight and weekend care |
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We understand and embrace cultural diversity, reflecting this in our service
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No. Other services would do the same |
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Our care, support and relationships extend to the whole family, not just the child in care |
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Yes and no. While some carers may do this and some families may value the extension of care, it may not necessarily be the case in all care situations and many families may not value this part of the service |
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We are professionals with an unrivalled level of childcare and parenting experience |
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No. Other forms of childcare can say the same |
So, of a set of 10 key messages, only two of them can clearly communicate definite points of difference between family day care and other childcare services. That’s not to say that the others are not important – they are; they just don’t set our service apart from the competition.
The number one point of difference between centre-based care and family day care is the small group environment where each child is treated as an individual, and daily experiences are tailored to each child’s developmental stage and interests.
No other formal childcare service offers such low carer to child ratios (either 1:4 or 1:5 depending on the State/Territory) – and this, together with flexibility of hours, consistency of one primary carer, hourly rather than daily fees and a strong regulatory framework – makes family day care a childcare option that is unique.
Use this information to help your family day care service stand out from the crowd. |
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To make those points of difference meaningful to your target market you need to develop a positioning statement in your marketing plan that follows the form:
To [target group and need], our [brand] is [concept] that [point of difference].
For example:
To [busy working mothers] who need [the very best care for their children], [family day care] is the [only accredited childcare service] that [enables your child to learn and grow with a small group of other children in a secure family home with one professional carer].
Or
To hardworking shift workers who need peace of mind on the job, family day care is the only accredited childcare service that provides overnight and weekend care for your child in the comfort of a family home.
Or
To new Australians who need close-knit family ties for their children, family day care is the only accredited childcare service that enables your children play and learn together in the warmth and security of a family home.
There are a hundred variations on this theme – each designed to position your service as an attractive option in the minds of your particular market segments. Once you have developed a clear positioning statement for each market segment, it should be communicated through all the elements of the marketing mix.
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