For the Children

With two little kids at home, my wife and I are always looking for fun activities and classes that expose our girls to new things. We've done sports classes, "little learners" classes and now gymnastics - all through our local community center. So when the seasonal catalog of workshops arrives, we immediately look through it to plan our next couple months of parent-kid activities.

I was happy and sort of surprised when my wife pointed out a couple gardening classes in the latest edition. Some were for adults and some were for kids/parents. But it got us thinking. Why are our local garden centers not hosting these workshops instead of the community center? Seems like an opportunity not captured by local independent businesses hungry for new customers?

Maybe they do hold classes like this. It's unfair to scold local IGCs when I am not aware of their activities. But maybe that's the point. I just don't know what kinds of cool things they have available for my family. Our daycare provider always knows about local activities - probably through the local network of in-home daycare providers. Our rec center reaches out to us because we're their target demographic. Heck, we get constant communication from companies like Pampers who see us as a goldmine...

But as my wife said, we would be all over classes for our girls at the local garden center, so I have to believe other young parents feel the same way. And judging by the sold-out classes at the community center, we're not the only parents looking for semi-structured activities in the evenings and on weekends.

If you are trying to attract young customers/families to your store- try reaching out to parents by promoting activities for kids. A great place to start is within your own team. You probably have a young parent on your staff. Ask them where they find out about fun and educational things to do with the kids. Reach out to your local daycare providers to get into their communication vehicles. Send information to churches with big youth education departments. Hopefully some of these ideas give you the push you need to go out and bring in your next generation of loyal customers.