Open houses are the best way to convince parents to sign their children up your centre. But for an open house to be an effective marketing tool, there are some pre open-house preparations to be made and a budget allocated. What you want to is create a memorable experience for both the parents and the child.

1. Timing
Open houses should be over the weekends so that the working parents can check out your centre at a leisurely pace. It can be over one weekend or if resources permit, offer it over two or three weekends.

2. Promoting your open house
There are a number of ways to ensure that news of your open house is spread.
- Put up a banner, with the date and time of your open house, about two weeks before your actual open house.
- Take up an advertisement in the local papers announcing your open house.
- Put up notices in as many high traffic areas as possible such as local cafés and eating places. Do not forget to put it up your own centre so that the other parents are informed. Nothing beats word of mouth advertising.
- Print flyers and distribute it at high traffic areas in and around your neighbourhood a week before your open house.

3. Pre event preparations
- Do some spring cleaning. Ensure that the centre is neat and tidy, no wires exposed, the books and notes neatly stacked, dirty stains painted over, etc.
- Frame up all your the licenses and awards and put them up. Pin up nice photographs of children's activities and their drawings.
- Ensure that all the necessary materials are ready and inserted into nice presentation folders. Items include curriculum, time table, food menu, etc. Prepare a few sets.
- Prepare a nice little album / scrapbook of photographs

4. Open house programme
- Ensure that you have sufficient brochures for the parents to bring home.
- Ensure that you have lots of enrollment forms and writing materials available
- Prepare a programme for the children e.g. face painting, art and craft, story telling, etc.
- Ensure that you have enough helpers on the day of your open house
- Prepare some snacks and light refreshments
- If budget permits, prepare small little door gifts and give it to them as they depart, preferably with the name of your centre printed. Examples of door gift as car decals or balloons.

After the open house is over, the work is not done yet. Remember to follow up on all your leads. Write little notes on the form such as when to follow up with them, etc so that you do not forget. Organise and file them in an orderly manner. One suggestion is to file them according to when they said that they will sign up, so that you know when to follow up.

Happy organising!