Declining Enrollment Culprits

“Is your enrollment increasing, holding steady, or declining?” asks Roger Neugebauer, a contributor to the book, Managing Money in Early Childhood Organizations. “If your enrollment is declining,” he explains, “there are three likely culprits, each requiring different action on your part.”

• Customer satisfaction may be eroding.
  This can happen to any center, but it is a particularly common affliction in centers that have enjoyed extended periods of success. Month after month of long waiting lists and positive press coverage can lull any staff into taking parent satisfaction for granted…
  
  
• Competition may be heating up.
  Five years ago you may have been the only show in town. But today there may be a number of centers that are chipping away at your customer base…
  
  
• Your market may be changing.
  Demographic shifts may be occurring in your community that are impacting the demand for your services. Maybe the neighborhoods around your center are aging...Maybe household incomes aren’t keeping pace with inflation, and families can’t afford you anymore…

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