Panny lane School

Link to Penny Lane photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B8uXem1nU5NyamJSVlJGeElOb2M?usp=sharing

Executive Summary: everyone -- overview of all other parts, written last

Brief Overview: Kelli

Penny Lane Schools provide preschool, kindergarten, and childcare to children ages six weeks to thirteen years old. Penny Lane has three locations: Chicago Ridge, Illinois (10255 S. Ridgeland), Oak Lawn, Illinois (4527 Southwest Highway), and a second smaller Oak Lawn, Illinois location (10701 Kilpatrick) that works under Community High School District 218. The students attending the District 218 location are primarily the children of District 218 teachers, but Penny Lane is currently trying to fill enrollment at that location. The District 218 location is closed during the summer months, so students enrolled here during the academic year overflow into Penny Lane’s other two locations. Penny Lane’s Chicago Ridge location is open from 6am until midnight daily, which allows parents to make sure that their children are cared for despite their work schedule. The other two locations are open from 6am until 6pm daily. Penny Lane also has an open door policy, which allows parents to come and visit their children if they have time during their work day. Penny Lane hosts monthly events that are open to all children in the community for $10 per family per hour, even if the students are not affiliated with the school in any way. This is a low-cost way for parents to have a babysitter for their children, while assuring that they are fed and provided with a fun activity. Penny Lane is having trouble marketing their services to neighborhood families. It is also very important that Penny Lane is seen as an accredited school rather than simply a day care center.

Competitive Analysis: Rob

Schools in the area:

Bobbie Noonan’s

· Frankfort

· Homer Glen

· Joliet

· Lockport

· Alsip/Worth

· Palos Hills

· Tinley Park (2 locations - one daycare and preschool, one preschool only)

· Noonan Elementary Academy in Mokena

High Hopes learning center

· Chicago Ridge

Kindercare

· Palos Hills

· Oak Forest

Little Footsteps Academy

· Crestwood

· one flyer Melissa gave us says “Little Footsteps Academy has partnered with Penny Lane Schools in Oak Lawn and Chicago Ridge to offer families of Little Footsteps Academy FREE REGISTRATION till May 31, 2017. Must present coupon at time of registration. Not valid with any other offers. Must show proof of enrollment in Little Footsteps Academy to redeem coupon”

Industry Analysis

· Industry Rivalry

· There is very high competition in the childcare business

· The degree of competition could lead to reduced enrollment and reduced profits

· Although Penny Lane Schools offer preschool and kindergarten classrooms in addition to childcare services, it is difficult for them to differentiate themselves and their services from other schools and/or daycare centers in the area

· Public schools are likely lower-cost alternatives to having to pay monthly for preschool and/or kindergarten at Penny Lane Schools

· Threat of Substitutes

· There are currently many substitutes for Penny Lane Schools

· Babysitters who will pick up and drop off children to and from school and care for them at their own homes

· Public schools virtually offer free education for all students, despite the fact that preschool is not mandated in the state of Illinois

· Other competitors

· Price is a very common reason for consumers to substitute a service

· If there is a service that consumers view as being of equal value for a lesser price, then it is common practice for them to substitute or skip out on utilizing said service

· Bargaining Power of Buyers

· Parents who use childcare services for their children have some control of the market, as schools or childcare centers who price gouge are not likely to have as high of enrollment as competitors/substitutes who are willing to charge less for a similar service

· Price can be changed to match the demand of enrollment; however, Penny Lane Schools do not have full enrollment at any of their three locations and thus are subjected to offering discounts on registration and/or tuition to garner more interest in their services

· Barriers to Entry

· There is a threat of new entrants into the childcare/school market, however it is low; it is not easy to open a childcare center or new school so new entrants will seldom be a menace to Penny Lane Schools

External Environment

· Customers (Parents/Students)

· Ensuring that parents are satisfied with the education and childcare being provided to their children is of the utmost importance

· Asking satisfied parents to write reviews on Yelp or Facebook will greatly impact the reputation of Penny Lane Schools for the better

· The continuation of spreading the word about the fact that Penny Lane offers preschool and kindergarten in addition to childcare will get rid of any questions or apprehension that prospective clients may have

· Providing parents and children with an experience that they cannot find anywhere else in the southwest suburbs is a significant draw

· Government

· Staying up-to-date with state and federal regulations pertaining to education and childcare is crucial in making sure that parents and children continue to use Penny Lane’s services

· Public Opinion

· Public opinion is a large part of Penny Lane Schools’ struggle

· It is important that they are seen as a highly regarded and reputable school and childcare center; this will cause parents to want to send their children there, and thus will increase enrollment

· Ensuring that Penny Lane Schools are viewed positively in the southwest suburbs is crucial to having return enrollment

Environmental Scan: Maram

An environmental scan includes an industry analysis where you will discuss the external environmental factors that have, or could have, an impact on business operations.

· Who are your leading competitors?

· What are their products or services and how do they compare to your product?

· What market segment do they target?

· How easy is it for new competition to enter this market?

· What are your competitors' strengths and weaknesses – and how this can help you distinguish your company?

· What can you learn from watching your competition?

Market Position

· Point of Difference

· Are they the only child care center open until midnight?

· Do competitors offer preschool + kindergarten?

· Specific Customer Base

· Penny Lane Schools’ target customers are the parents of children ages six weeks to thirteen years

· Clientele tend to live in Chicago Ridge, Oak Lawn, and the surrounding area

· Ways to Market

· Social media proves to be the best and most cost effective method of marketing for Penny Lane Schools

· Specific platforms and how to use them effectively

· Ripl

1. This will be one of the most useful tools for Penny Lane Schools’ social media marketing efforts

1. Penny Lane can announce events and promotions quickly and easily on social media platforms

2. Twitter (5 followers)

2. Not an ideal tool for Penny Lane Schools to utilize in an effort to gain a following or entice potential customers

2. Should be utilized to communicate with parents of currently enrolled students

2. Can provide a platform for customer service, answers to small questions, or small announcements

. Facebook (private facebook account; 308 likes on “page”)

3. Good for target audience (parents of children)

3. Easy for Facebook users to share Penny Lane Schools’ posts

3. Facebook Live can be used to show events or activities; video can be saved for 24 hours

. Instagram

4. Would be useful to highlight day-to-day happenings

4. Can act as a portfolio or virtual tour of Penny Lane

2. Fact of the day

. YouTube

5. A YouTube channel would be beneficial to Penny Lane Schools because it would give prospective clientele a deeper look into the school, its operations, and what it stands for

5. YouTube also functions as a popular search engine, so it would be beneficial for the schools’ marketing purposes

5. YouTube videos can also be shared on any social media platform

SWOT Analysis: Kelli

· Strengths

· Penny Lane Schools offer both preschool and kindergarten in addition to childcare

· Penny Lane’s age of enrollment is 6 weeks to 12 years

· Penny Lane’s Chicago Ridge location is open from 6am-midnight daily; both of the Oak Lawn locations are open from 6am-6pm

· Penny Lane Schools are only closed 6 days annually

· Between the three Penny Lane Schools locations, there is a maximum enrollment of 567 children

· 307 maximum enrollment at the Chicago Ridge location

· 201 maximum enrollment at the Oak Lawn location

· 59 maximum enrollment at the District 218 (also in Oak Lawn) location

· Penny Lane Schools also offer summer camps at the Chicago Ridge and Oak Lawn locations, which are open to children who are not enrolled during the academic year

· Penny Lane Schools’ Chicago Ridge location has a full chef’s kitchen to feed the children meals

· Penny Lane Schools offer before and after school bus routes to 30+ schools in the southwest suburbs

· Weaknesses

· Penny Lane is misunderstood in the fact that most people do not realize that it is an accredited school in addition to childcare

· Penny Lane wants the general public to know that its employees are not just babysitters, but licensed teachers

· Enrollment is low; there are currently 481 children enrolled between the three Penny Lane Schools

· There are 263 students enrolled at the Chicago Ridge location

· There are 168 students enrolled at the Oak Lawn location

· There are 50 students enrolled at the District 218 (also in Oak Lawn) location

· This means that Penny Lane Schools only have approximately 85% enrollment across the board

· Additionally, Penny Lane’s District 218 location closes during the summer as it is targeted towards the children of District 218 teachers

· This causes the enrollment from this location to overflow into the Chicago Ridge and Oak Lawn locations

· Penny Lane does not have a logo that is used throughout all of their marketing and promotional materials

· Opportunities

· Penny Lane Schools offer “Kids’ Night Out” monthly from 6pm-midnight

· Attendees complete an age-specific activity that coincides with the night’s theme (ex: an apple a day)

· Pizza is provided for dinner and the kids will also watch a movie

· This is open to all children in the neighborhood, even if they are not enrolled at any of the Penny Lane Schools

· The cost is only $10/hour per family, so this is a low-cost alternative to having to call a babysitter

· Threats

· There are a plethora of other schools and daycare centers in the southwest suburbs of Chicago

·

Goals + Strategies: everyone

· Can penny lane sign up for care.com? For events

· Marketing plan

. Logo

. Square space or site builder for website markup

· Demonstrate how to use Ripl for marketing

· Social media presence

· Track enrollment + promotions

· Digital promotional materials → Newsletter?

· Frequency of updating the website

· Marketing materials are too wordy → condense and be more concise

· Yelp reviews → how to control penny lane’s voice and/or respond to conflict

· “Daycare chicago ridge / oak lawn” search… where do they come up?

*we also have to come up with the marketing plan itself → examples of social media posts, ideas for events, promotions, what to do with existing marketing materials