How far ahead should nurseries be planning their marketing?

If you're marketing your nursery based on how full (or empty) you feel right now, you're not alone - but you're also making life harder than it needs to be.

Many nurseries only think about marketing when occupancy dips, enquiries slow, or panic sets in. The trouble is, by the time you feel the gap, parents are already making decisions - and you're playing catch-up.

So, how far ahead should nurseries be planning their marketing...?

The short answer: further than you think.

Parents don't usually wake up one more and register their child in a nursery by lunchtime. They research, ask around, scroll social media, visit websites, talk to friends and sit on decisions for weeks (sometimes months).

That means the marketing you do today is often filling spaces later.

As a rule of thumb:

• 3-6 months ahead is ideal for occupancy planning

• 6-9 months ahead if you're think about September starts

• Always on for visibility and trust-building

This doesn't mean running constant ads or posting every day. It means having a gentle, consistent presence so when parents are ready, you're already familiar.

Last-minute marketing is reactive, it tends to:

• feel rushed and stressful

• lead to discounting or quick fixes

• take up evenings and weekends

• create pressure on already busy teams

Planning marketing, on the other hand, feels calmer. You can batch content, reuse ideas, and focus on showing what life at your nursery is really life - not scrambling to "fill places now".

Final thought:

The best time to plan your marketing was months ago.

The second best time? Now.