How to Get More Online Reviews For your Childcare Center

As a business owner, you’re always looking for ways to get more online reviews. After all it’s the key to building enrollments. 

Search engines put a lot of emphasis on reviews when ranking content.  In fact, online reviews are often some of the first results that show up when your potential customers are searching for a new preschool.  With good reason - studies show that 85% of consumers place as much trust in online reviews as they do in-person recommendations -- making them invaluable to your business.

In an earlier article, we covered the basics of How to Get More Online Reviews For Your School. Now, let’s cover some next level ideas for increasing the number of positive reviews for your center.

Add a "Click to Review" Button

You’re always communicating with your families.  Ask for a review with a friendly request such as “Happy with our school? Share your story with other families who are looking for childcare.”  

Make it easy for them by including a link directly to review sites in all of the following places:

• Your website 
• Facebook page
• Event invites
• e-newsletters
• Your email signature 

Use Social Media

• ASK. Create monthly social media posts asking for a review. (For example: Love our school?  Please leave us a review and help other families looking for care.) 
   
• POST. When reviews are posted on your Facebook page, reply to them with a thank you. Share them on other social media platforms with some kind words, and tag the reviewer. Not only are you building a strong relationship with that family, you’ll encourage others to leave a review and reach families looking for a new center.
   
• REWARD. Incentivize (but do not pay) for reviews.  For example, offer a donation to a local children’s charity for each new online review.

Ask Families IRL (in real life)

• Create a counter card to display in your school lobby to ask for reviews. When you get a kind compliment from a family, thank them and hand them a card asking if they would share their compliment for others to see.
   
• Ask for reviews at school events - have a laptop or tablet ready with the review site open in case you have an especially happy familly who is willing to do it on the spot. 
   
• Don’t forget to ask disenrolling families to leave a review. After all, they are probably not leaving because of a bad experience. They may be aging out or moving to a new town and are willing to leave their happy story before they go.  It may be your last chance to ask for a review.

Happy customers are usually very willing to provide positive feedback. Often, all you need to do is ask and make the process quick and easy for them. It can sometimes feel awkward to ask; the best way to make it more comfortable is to do it often.