Starfish ELC — April - June 2026 Growth Plan
Six coordinated workstreams to drive enrolment, improve family experience, and push occupancy to 65–70% by end of June.
Targets
What Success Looks Like
These measurable goals define performance across the quarter. Every workstream is designed to move these numbers.
10–15%
Lead-to-Enrolment
Up from ~5% of inbound CRM leads
≤$103
Blended CPL
Maintain current CRM lead cost while scaling volume
+30%
Monthly Lead Volume
20–30% increase through April ad spend uplift
70%
Occupancy Target
65–70% across all centres by end of June
Six Workstreams
The Plan at a Glance
Each workstream addresses a specific gap in the lead-to-enrolment funnel — from acquisition through to paperwork.
WS1 — Paid Advertising
Scale on March's 78% CPL improvement. Invest aggressively now.
WS2 — Mystery Shopper
Audit the centre experience objectively. Find and fix conversion leaks.
WS3 — Email Sequences
Redesign nurture flows. Warm, on-brand, timed to the parent journey.
WS4 — Document Redesign
Transform Word docs into branded handbooks and enrolment packs.
WS5 — Appointment Setting
Speed-to-lead and tour conversion. First response within 5 minutes.
WS6 — Director Accountability
Weekly pipeline reviews. Directors own tour quality and follow-up.
WS1
Paid Advertising: Scale and Sustain
March delivered a breakthrough: CPL dropped to ~$35–37 at campaign level, an 78% improvement from January.
CPL Targets
≤ $60 AUD
Google Ads CPL
≤ $103 AUD
Blended CRM qualified leads
Recommended Actions
  • Increase monthly ad spend for April
  • Maintain March SEM, SEO & PPC configurations
  • Lead with the Three-Day Guarantee as a primary ad angle for new PMAX & Branded Search
  • Introduce retargeting for website visitors and video viewers
  • Record and transcribe calls from Ads — direct to Marina or mainline
Current Situation
Performance Snapshot YTD 2026
An overview of our performance from January to date, highlighting key metrics that inform our Q2 strategy and pinpoint areas requiring immediate attention.
137
Total Enquiries
7
Enrolled YTD
47
Tours in Pipeline
5.1%
Overall Conversion
Centre-by-Centre Breakdown
A detailed look at each centre's performance reveals significant variances. Essendon requires urgent attention; its high enquiry volume but zero enrolments suggest a critical conversion issue at the centre level, not a lead generation problem. This will be the primary focus of the mystery shopper audit.

Essendon requires urgent attention — 31 enquiries, 0 enrolments. This is a centre-level conversion failure, not a lead generation problem, and will be the primary focus of the mystery shopper audit.

47 tours remain in the pipeline. At a conservative 35% post-tour conversion rate, approximately 17 enrolments are already in motion — these can be accelerated through improved follow-up alone.

Note: Blackburn South leads are recent — a conversion lag is expected, and its performance should not be compared directly to the other centres at this stage.
WS2
Mystery Shopper: Centre Experience Audit
Lead generation is only half the equation. If the experience doesn't match the advertising promise, conversion stays low — regardless of CPL.
Phone Enquiry
Speed, tone, information quality, and call-to-action offered assessed against a structured rubric.
Centre Tour
Educator engagement, safety, cleanliness, and key message delivery evaluated in real time.
Post-Tour Follow-Up
Timing, personalisation, and clarity of next steps — the moments most centres get wrong.
Digital Touchpoints
Website post-CRO, booking confirmation, and pre-tour communication reviewed for consistency.

Hills Connect will coordinate the audit using a structured scoring rubric. Essendon centre plus up to 2 local competitors for benchmarking. Findings delivered as a prioritised recommendations report.
WS3
Email Sequences: Redesign Nurture and Follow-Up
Current emails are instant — but not a focus for conversions. The parent decision journey involves 10+ touchpoints before enrolment. Every email must earn the next one.
We will study competitor's emails & build email workflows that are better and on-brand.
Sequence Goals
  • Immediate response: confirms receipt, sets expectation, books tour
  • Pre-tour nurture: builds confidence, showcases educators (Tonii safety + educator videos)
  • Post-tour follow-up: reinforces key messages, delivers enrolment CTA
  • Reactivation: LeadCentre workflow for leads stale 14+ days
Design Standards
  • On-brand Starfish ELC colours, photography, and tone
  • Mobile-optimised (most parents read on phone)
  • Single clear CTA per email (book, call, or enrol)
  • Plain-text fallback for deliverability
WS4
Document Redesign: Handbook and Enrolment Pack
The family handbook and enrolment paperwork are currently Word documents. These are a family's last impression before committing — and first impression once enrolled.
Family Handbook
Redesigned as a branded, well-structured document. Covers welcome, philosophy, daily schedule, fees, CCS information, policies, and staff introductions.
Enrolment Pack
Digital and Print Versions
PDF suitable for email delivery alongside editable originals. Print-ready versions for centre directors.
Hills Connect designs in Canva using Starfish ELC brand guidelines. Internal comms coordinator reviews content accuracy before sign-off. Starfish ELC will have full editable version in their Canva environment.
WS5
Appointment Setting: Speed-to-Lead
The single biggest conversion lever beyond advertising is speed and quality of follow-up. Industry data is clear: 10+ touchpoints to convert a lead to an enrolled family.
Internal Coordinator Responsibilities
01
Monitor inbound CRM leads in real time
Prioritise first verbal response with every new enquiry. Filter leads & allocate leads. Redial non-answered leads.
02
Qualify via phone or SMS
Confirm intent, answer questions, offer a specific tour time.
03
Book and confirm tours directly
Remove every point of friction from the process. Book for directors. Keep directors calendars inline with planned leave etc.
04
Manage CRM pipeline stages
Progress every lead or mark stale for reactivation
Director Accountability
  • Each director receives a received emails for, leads in and tours booked.
  • Directors own tour delivery quality and same-day follow-up post-tour
  • Tours will be added to the directors LeadCentre Calendar.
WS6
Director Accountability: Pipeline Review Cadence
The ~5% conversion gap is partly an operational problem. Directors need pipeline visibility and clear follow-up expectations.
1
Weekly
Hills Connect sends automated performance report to internal coordinator. # of new Leads, tours booked, & pipeline health.
2
Fortnightly
Internal coordinator reviews tour conversion data with Hills Connect. Identify blockers and adjust tactics.
3
May & June
Full funnel review with Starfish ELC leadership — leads, tours, enrolments, occupancy, and CPL across all centres.
The Funnel, End to End
From the first ad impression to signed enrolment documents — this plan closes every gap in between.