Kindergarden Launching a best-in-class customer experience for parents and their children

Kindergarden, a professional childcare organization and a part of Bright Horizons, one of the largest childcare organizations in the world, was facing a challenge in engaging with parents in a meaningful and impactful way. The organization understood the importance of building strong relationships with families, but the demands of modern parenting made it difficult to keep up. To overcome this challenge, Kindergarden teamed up with Penfield Digital, a Salesforce technology consulting firm specializing in customer engagement solutions, to find a way to improve parent engagement through technology.

Penfield Digital recommended the use of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, a cloud-based platform that enables organizations to design, manage, and automate customer journeys, as the solution to Kindergarden's problem. With Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Kindergarden could easily create targeted and personalized communications to engage with its families and keep them informed about the latest news and events at the organization.

The partnership between Penfield Digital and Kindergarden focused on creating three key customer journeys to improve the experience for families:

1. Guided Tours of Kindergarden Locations: The first customer journey was designed for prospective parents who were interested in visiting one of the Kindergarden locations. The journey started with a targeted email campaign inviting them to take a tour of the facilities. The email provided a link to schedule a tour, and once the appointment was confirmed, a reminder email was sent 24 hours prior to the tour. On the day of the tour, the parents received an SMS message with the location details and a map of the facility. The SMS message also included a phone number for the tour guide in case the parents needed any assistance. The tour guide was equipped with the necessary information about the parents and their tour, including any specific requirements or requests they had made.

2. Waiting Lists: The second customer journey was designed for families who had placed their child on the waiting list for enrollment at Kindergarden. The journey started with an automated email that confirmed the child's placement on the waiting list and provided information on the enrollment process. The email also included a link to a pre-enrollment questionnaire to gather important information about the child and the family. Subsequent emails provided updates on the waiting list status, including the expected enrollment date and any additional information the parents needed to provide. The journey ended with an automated email confirming the child's enrollment and providing all necessary information for the first day of school.

3. After-School Daycare Enrollment Journeys: The third customer journey was designed for families who were interested in enrolling their child in after-school daycare at Kindergarden. The journey started with a targeted email campaign inviting parents to enroll their children in the after-school program. The email provided a link to schedule a tour of the facilities and (future release) to meet with the after-school program director. Once the appointment was confirmed, a reminder email was sent 24 hours prior to the tour. On the day of the tour, the parents received an SMS message with the location details and a map of the facility. The SMS message also included a phone number for Kindergarden employees in case the parents needed any assistance. The Kindergarden employees were equipped with the necessary information about the parents and their tour, including any specific requirements or requests they had made.

The result was increased enrollment, higher parent satisfaction, and a stronger reputation!