Marketing

Last spring as I made the decision to double the size of my studio, I displayed our phone number prominently on our website’s header and throughout the site. It worked wonders, because all of the sudden I was flooded with calls from prospective students and parents.

However, I continued to receive a generous amount of emails from prospective students and parents as well. And most often, those who contacted my studio via email actually followed through with registering for the waiting list and joining the studio.

Once the studio was at maximum capacity with a waiting list in the double digits, those phone calls started to become overwhelming. The emails were easy; I could simply personalize my standard email for prospective students and include a link to register for the waiting list. But with each phone call I received, I had the same conversation over and over again.

While talking with a friend this weekend, I was asked to give my job description.  Hmmm… where to start?

We as teachers and business owners not only manage, promote, and create our studios… we fulfill a job description so extensive, anyone would be amazed.

Are you a planner?  Then you are the events, lesson, & class schedule coordinator.
Are you a teacher?  Then you are probably the one instructing – the main face of your studio.
Are you skilled in math?  Well, even if you aren’t, you are probably the billing department.
Are you good with computers?  Then you are likely the reason your website is kept up-to-date & people are always impressed with your professional documents.
Are you personable, friendly, and quick to respond to your customer’s and student’s concerns and questions?  Then you are the human resources (HR) department.
Are you a person your students can trust, talk with, and relate to while in the studio?  Then you are a mentor, a counselor, a friend.
Have you taken years and years of lessons in your field & do you continue to learn every feasible opportunity?  Then you are a professional.

The list could continue, but you get the idea.  Never underestimate the immense shoes you fill.

money45121yI think the fall is probably an expensive time for most studio owners across the board as we prepare to head into another year of teaching…

Here’s what my business records show for this month:

Membership renewal in my national, state, and local teachers’ associations: $135

Ad in the local paper: $45

Ad in local parenting magazine: $100

New teaching materials for lessons: $50

Business license renewal: $25

                                                                                           You get the idea.

Keep Studio Traffic Flowing

One of the biggest challenges that any studio faces is keeping a steady flow of traffic coming through the door from week to week. Sure, on paper the schedule is full; but when you factor in illness, vacations, and extracurricular activities, often that schedule ends up with gaping holes in it.

I’ve been dealing with this issue in my studio since it first opened…up until a few months ago, when I implemented an easy fix. It’s such a simple solution that I’m almost embarrassed I didn’t think of it sooner.