The Preschool Marketing Scorecard: A 10-Minute Weekly Check (Free Template)
Short answer: A preschool marketing scorecard is a one-page weekly check of about ten numbers: inquiries, response time, tours booked, tours held, applications, enrollments, tours with a known source, ad spend against budget, tracking status and new reviews. Fill it in the same ten minutes each week, compare to last week, and pick at most one thing to fix.
Owners don't need another dashboard. You need a short list of numbers you check at the same time each week, so problems show up in days instead of months. This scorecard fits on one page and takes about ten minutes once your tracking is in place.
What should a preschool marketing scorecard include?
Keep it to numbers you can act on. Each line below answers a question you'd otherwise only notice when enrollment dips.
The free template
| # | Number | Where to find it | This week | Last week | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New inquiries | Forms, calls, messages (all channels) | Sudden drop | ||
| 2 | Inquiries answered within target | Inbox / CRM | Any unanswered | ||
| 3 | Tours booked | Booking tool or CRM | Drop vs. last 4 weeks | ||
| 4 | Tours held | Tour calendar | Rising no-shows | ||
| 5 | Applications | Enrollment system | Tours without applications | ||
| 6 | Enrollments | Enrollment system | Trend over a month | ||
| 7 | Tours with a known source (%) | Tour list with source column | Falling share | ||
| 8 | Ad spend vs. budget | Google Ads, Meta Ads | Over pace | ||
| 9 | Conversion tracking status | Google Ads Goals; Meta Events Manager | Inactive or zero | ||
| 10 | New reviews (and replied?) | Google Business Profile | Unanswered reviews |
How do you fill in the scorecard in 10 minutes?
- Same time every week. Monday morning works for most owners.
- Pull the tour numbers first (lines 3 to 6). These are the outcomes.
- Check sources (line 7). If you haven't set them up, start with How to Track Which Marketing Brings In Preschool Tours.
- Check spend and tracking (lines 8 and 9). If ads report zero while tours are steady, use the tracking checklist.
- Check response and reviews (lines 2 and 10). Google lets verified businesses reply to reviews from Search or Maps and asks that replies be polite and professional (Google Business Profile Help, "Manage customer reviews" (accessed Nov. 5, 2026)).
- Write one sentence: what changed and why you think so.
- Pick at most one fix for the week.
Weekly, monthly or daily: what should you check when?
| Rhythm | What to check | Decisions it supports |
|---|---|---|
| Daily (2 minutes) | Unanswered inquiries, tours today, spend running over | Reply now; confirm tours; stop a runaway budget |
| Weekly (10 minutes) | The full scorecard above | One fix per week |
| Monthly (30 minutes) | Tours and enrollments by source, cost per tour, lost reasons | Budget shifts, follow-up changes, program focus |
Don't move ad budgets on one week of data. Small schools have small numbers, and a single week swings a lot. Make budget calls monthly.
What makes a scorecard number trustworthy?
A number is only useful if it means the same thing every week. Write a one-line definition next to each line and keep it fixed. For example, "tours booked" might mean tours scheduled during the week, not tours happening during the week; either works, but switching between them makes trends meaningless. Pull each number from the same place every time, and note any week when something unusual happened, like a holiday closure, an open house or a new ad campaign. Those notes save you from overreacting later. Finally, keep ad-platform numbers and your own tour list side by side. Ad platforms report what their tags saw; your calendar reports what actually happened. When the two drift apart, believe your calendar and check the tags.
What should you do when a number slips?
Match the slip to the stage. Fewer inquiries points to ads, listings or season. Inquiries steady but fewer tours points to speed and replies: see Speed to Lead for Childcare: How Fast to Answer Inquiries. Tours steady but fewer applications points to follow-up: see Preschool Tour Follow-Up: Turning Tours Into Enrollments. A falling known-source share almost always means tracking broke.
From the founder's own two-campus preschool, where Max was built first: the share of tours with a known source went from 3% to 34% in about 3 weeks after setup, partly because two hidden tracking breaks were found and fixed. Results from one school; your numbers will differ.
Key takeaways
- Ten numbers, one page, the same ten minutes each week.
- Outcomes first: tours booked, held, applications, enrollments.
- Known-source share is your tracking health check.
- Pick at most one fix a week; move budgets monthly.
- Match the slipping number to the stage before acting.
Frequently asked questions
What KPIs should a preschool track for marketing?
Inquiries, response time, tours booked, tours held, applications, enrollments, the share of tours with a known source, ad spend against budget, tracking status and reviews.
How often should I review preschool marketing numbers?
Glance daily at unanswered inquiries and spend, fill in the scorecard weekly, and make budget decisions monthly when there's enough data.
What is a good tour show rate?
There is no reliable public benchmark for childcare. Track your own show rate over time and act when it falls, with confirmations and reminders.
Do I need special software for a marketing scorecard?
No. A spreadsheet with the ten lines works. Software can fill it in automatically, but the numbers matter more than the tool.
Should I track cost per tour?
Yes, monthly. Divide ad spend by tours from ads. It only means something once most tours have a known source.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help, "Manage customer reviews" (accessed Nov. 5, 2026)