Early Years Marketing 1: Creating an image

Creating an image for an early years setting or organisation involves bringing together the core values and services and expressing these in a way that reflects how the organisation would like to be viewed by its customers. This is best achieved by working through a step-by-step process to identify all the aspects which contribute to the image and then establishing how these can be managed practically on a day-to-day basis.

Defining the vision and values
Central to any organisation or setting will be the vision and values which define what it stands for, and which underpin all that it does. These will only be effective if they are shared by all the members of the team and are therefore best drawn up as a group exercise so that everyone participates and can feel ownership.
The vision is a statement of what the organisation is setting out to achieve and where it would like to be in three or five years time. For example, this could include:

• an expanded service which caters for a greater number of families in the local community
• a commitment to providing services of the highest quality
• the development of a highly skilled and qualified workforce.

A shared vision gives all members of the team a better understanding of the part that they play in the overall success of the organisation. It also clearly defines the challenges that will have to be met in making the vision a reality.

Agreeing and stating a set of values defines the philosophy which underpins the way the organisation works and gives clear messages about what it considers important. These might include:

• a commitment to equal opportunities for all families
• a respect for cultural diversity
• a recognition of the importance of an environment in which adults and children learn together.

Having come to an agreement about what the common shared values are, these then need to be translated into practice. This requires leadership, teamwork, cooperation, flexibility, open-mindedness and a willingness to learn from experience.

Identifying what you do
The services a setting provides, and the customers it serves, may at first seem very obvious. Although parents, and of course children, represent the majority of its customers it is worth thinking about the full range of services which are provided, and all the different consumer groups catered for. This gives a more rounded view of what the setting does and will help to create an image which fully reflects its role and purpose.

For example, an early years setting may provide many of the following services:

• l Childcare for children aged three months to five years.
• Early education for three- and four-year-olds.
• Before and after school and holiday provision for five- to eight-year-olds.
• Parents information service – health and child welfare services, training and employment opportunities, parenting support.
• Childminder network drop-in centre.
• Toy and resources library.
• NVQ training base.
• Quality assurance mentor.

Each of these services will have different customers with different needs and expectations, all of whom need to be taken into account when thinking about how the organisation’s image is portrayed.

Creating an image
Having reviewed and defined the vision and values and the range of services provided a setting will be in a position to define the image it wants to convey. For example, this could be an image which demonstrates that the setting is professional, well organised, inclusive, friendly and committed to high quality.

Management structures and systems can then be put in place to achieve this aim.
At this stage it is important to stand back and take a good look at how the setting is perceived by its customers.

• What image do they currently have of the setting?
• What do they think it stands for?
• What do they say about it?

Useful pointers can come from taking an honest look at how any setting presents itself to the outside world, but the only real way to find out is to ask the customers, children and adults – through surveys, questionnaires, discussion groups and informal conversations. This will show which aspects of the current image work well, and which don’t. Remember that it is the customer’s perception which is important. If the message is not coming across successfully perhaps it is necessary to look at how communication takes place at all levels.

Living up to an image

• The image customers have of a setting covers all aspects of what it does and how it presents itself to the world.
• Is the reception area tidy and welcoming and are parents given time – to talk and to listen?
• How evident is the value placed on a high-quality environment for children?
• Is the logo used consistently and does it give a clear visual message about what the organisation stands for?
• Is information freely available and user-friendly?
• Is the telephone answered in a consistent manner, and are messages passed on effectively?
• Do the staff have access to all the information they need and do they feel fully involved and valued?
• How quickly and effectively are complaints dealt with?
• Is comment and feedback valued and used to improve the service provided?
• How involved is the setting in the ‘local community’?

Living up to an image is perhaps the hardest and most relentless task of all – it requires self awareness, persistence and attention to detail. But as it is at the core of the providing a quality service, is a great motivator and a good focus for teamwork and cooperation.

Read the other articles in this series:

Part 2: Knowing your customers
Part 3: Promoting your setting
Part 4: Promotional material
Part 5: Running a marketing campaign

This article first appeared in Early Years Update - June 2007