Marketing

businessplan
Every Successful Business Has a Business Plan.

That being said, I have to admit that when I began my home piano studio, I did not write out a formal business plan or even a startup plan! I did, however, create professional documents such as a studio policy, studio brochure, business cards, tuition statements, and many other documents necessary for running my studio. I also had a lot of goals for my business but they were mostly in my head. In spite of not writing out a business plan, my business has flourished and I am now in my ninth years with a full studio and a waiting list. As I become more and more educated on the business end of things, I realize the need for a business plan. It’s never too late to write one. In fact, to insure that my business continues to be successful, it is absolutely essential.

Why Write a Business Plan?

Putting everything on paper is powerful. Similar to writing weekly assignments for our students and asking them to document their practice for the week, writing a business plan aids in solidifying goals and recognizing both strengths and weaknesses. The United States Small Business Administration stresses the importance of writing a business plan for the following reasons: to obtain outside funding and credit from suppliers, to manage operation and finances, to promote and market your business, and to achieve goals and objectives. A standard template for a business plan usually includes:

Having been a piano teacher for nine years now, I have learned how very important it is to maintain contact with my clients.  I believe that keeping the lines of communication open with my customers results in a better lesson experience for all involved, and I’ve also learned that it helps my students and their families to feel as though they are important and not becoming “lost in the shuffle”.  Regular contact with stucommunicatedents makes them feel that I am accessible and they, in turn, are very open to coming to me with questions, concerns, and positive feedback.  Below are a few simple ideas to encourage interaction between you and your studio’s customers:

E-mail

The Internet has made communicating simple and effective.  When I think of how my own piano teacher growing up had to make phone calls whenever there was a schedule change or send letters home with students about upcoming events (and rely on us actually giving them to our parents…), I realize how lucky I am to be running a studio in the age of the Internet.  I use e-mail to communicate nearly everything that happens in my studio–upcoming recitals, workshops, lesson reminders, etc.  Not only does this simple and efficent way of communicating make life easier for me, but busy parents appreciate the quick, non-intrusive updates.  I also use e-mail to tell students about events in the community.  For example, if there is an upcoming symphony performance or a great sale at our local piano store, I will send a brief e-mail to my piano families to let them know.

Newsletters

I have found newsletters to be a great way to not only get studio information into my clients hands, but also to provide motivational and educational tips and articles to my families.  This has also been a wonderful tool to promote the benefits of music education. 

Studio Social Media PolicySocial media has been a key component in the growth of my studio. In fact, I’ve never actually done any “traditional” marketing such as print ads, fliers, and so on. I jumped on the Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn bandwagon long before it was almost a necessity, and it has most definitely paid off.

But there are some things to consider when using social media to promote your studio. Here are three key questions to ask, along with my thoughts on each.

NetworkingAbout a year ago, my family relocated from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Bozeman, Montana, and I was faced with “relaunching” my piano studio in a new town.  When I opened my studio in Wisconsin the only marketing I did was to place an ad on craigslist — a dozen students soon followed.  After a few unsuccessful attempts at pulling in students in Bozeman via craigslist, I was forced to come up with better marketing strategies that would successfully reach out to my new community.

Bozeman — being an educated, college town and far from a big city — is big on networking.  It didn’t take me long to figure out that I was going to need to find new ways to “plug into” the community of Bozeman in order to create interest in my studio.

Networking with other professionals

One of the first things I did after my craigslist flop was contact the president of my local music teachers association.  Not only was she able to help me understand better how to attract students and brainstorm ideas for my studio, but she also provided me with my first three students.  Since she was no longer accepting new piano students, she gave the families who contacted her for lessons my information, and I was able to begin teaching again just a few short weeks after my initial meeting with her.  When I met other members of the group at monthly meetings, similar referrals soon followed.

booksI find that often times I’ll pick up business books from the store looking for inspiration and they just end up sitting on the shelf collecting dust. Sound familiar? Sometimes it’s because I get excited about a new topic, ie. Social Media which warranted me purchasing not one but five social media marketing books! Needless to say I barely got through one and skimmed a couple others. I realized that as with any other task I hope to achieve associated with my business (Brooklyn Music Factory) I need to actually set aside the time to accomplish them. Books somehow felt different, but of course, they are not. They require time during my workday if they are in fact a priority. So, that is what has changed as of late. I now set aside some reading time a couple times during the week and, low and behold, I am starting to pull new books off that dusty shelf! This entry marks the first of a series on business books that I have discovered to be chock full of useful info. And how I see that info affecting my business operation.