For camp software to be at its best, it needs to appeal not only to camp directors and stuff, but it must also be parent-friendly. This doesn’t just mean that it should just look nice but that its functions go beyond satisfying the basics of parent expectations.
Parents are the customers your camp business must appeal to first. Which is why parent-friendly camp software is a big deal. So, what is parent-friendly summer camp software? It’s software with easy-to-use features that parents want to engage with—and if your current summer camp software lacks them—it may be time to consider other options. Here’s an idea on what to look for when it comes to parent-friendly summer camp software.
1: A Clean Parent Dashboard
You want enrollment that makes it easier for parents, year-after-year. To ensure that, the display of the Parent Dashboard should be simple-to-use and pleasant to look at. This way, parents can get to their financial pages, print out receipts and add in their payment information without additional help from your staff.
Remember that ease of use doesn’t just benefit your camper parents. It benefits your staff too. The time that your staff saves by not having to help guide a parent can now go toward anything pending on the camp agenda. With parent-friendly summer camp software, you are continuously satisfying both parties.
“The ease of which you can re-enroll, log onto the parent dashboard, fill out all their forms in one location. And frankly parents have said, this is the most efficient and easiest way for them to go about doing what they need to do.”-Brian Cohen Associate Director, Iroquois Spring
2: Advanced Email Tracking
How a software communicates is everything. Understanding the success of these communication lines is a big part of that everything. But, how do you measure successful email communication without the ability to sufficiently track it? You deserve to know what happens to the emails sent out to your camper parents. Parent-friendly camp software, like CampSite, takes care of that with Email Tracking.
Was the email opened? How many views did it get? Email Analytics tools take care of that. They allow your staff to ensure that no stone is left unturned. In Campsite’s summer camp software, camp staff can track the success of any email campaign by analyzing ‘click-through rates’ from your families.
“With the different features at CampSite we can specialize all kinds of marketing tools for our families, it’s really helped us move our enrollment earlier and faster and grow our business.”-Michele Rowcliffe Executive Director, YMCA Camp Cory
3: An Interactive Photo & Video Blog
A private blog is a wonderful resource to share photos and videos with your camper parents. Let’s say you have one integrated with your software. Two weeks of summer camp have gone. Your blog is now full of photos of your campers. Nearly hundreds of them. Do you want these parents to sift through them all to find their child? No. They want something that can direct them to the photos they want to see—in a snap. They want parent-friendly camp software with an interactive blog that includes Facial Recognition. If your software doesn’t have this function, it could be time for a change.
So, what is Facial Recognition? It’s a feature that connects both parents and campers in a highly convenient manner. Intuitive summer camp software, like CampSite, will run Facial Recognition for added parent and staff ease-of-use and it works like this. It cuts down on the laborious process of looking through every single picture and instantly brings the photos of camper children directly to a parent. It’s the simple power of convenience that well defines a parent-friendly camp software.
4: A Texting Feature Between Parents & Your Camp
Of course, there’s more to keeping in touch with parents than through a blog. A photo and video blog – while awesome for camp parents – cannot effectively communicate in an individual and private manner. For instance, what if a camper fell and scraped their elbow at day camp? Or if a camper cried on their first night at sleepaway camp? These situations aren’t meant for a blog post that all camper parents can see. A private messaging system is much more suitable.
When you think about it, a private text messaging module that integrates with your camp software is parent-friendly by concept alone – it is an instant source of contact between camper parents and your camp staff. If you are using a text messaging system with your software, it should satisfy these functions.
- Send one text or a hundred as simple as sending an email.
- Archived correspondence for easy access through family accounts
- All correspondence collected in one place, making sure you don’t miss any new replies.
- A personalized phone number in your local area code – making it easy for parents and staff to get in touch!
Parent-friendly camp management software, like CampSite, can be your solution to running your summer camp just the way parents want it. With it, staying in touch with your camper parents becomes less tedious and more seamless towards nurturing a better parent-to-camp relationship. CampSite has a friendly easy-to-learn layout with happy, helpful staff to guide you along the way.
For more of CampSites favorite new tech features, check out this 4-min read.
