Grow your Studio, part 2 — In Touch with Students

Keep in touch with your students.  You could call them your customers, since managing a studio is running a business.  But whether you call them customers, or simply your students, there is one important way to make sure you keep in touch with their needs:  Always keep in mind that behind that email address, that phone number, that invoice, that payment, is a real person.

Now, this may seem obvious, but there are many times when other concerns get in the way.  And those are often exactly the times when you need to remember how to treat your students well.

It is important to be efficient with your time, but don’t sacrifice your students for the sake of “efficiency.”  For example, those mass emails you can do in Studio Helper – it might be tempting to toss out the same message to everybody, but should you?  Think through what you are saying, and to whom you are saying it.  Make an email template that allows you to personalize the message by including each recipient’s name, and then think carefully.  Do you really want to send that note about payments to students who have already paid?  Do you want to ask for more signups for the recital and include those who have already signed up?

It’s worth a little extra time to think about such communications with students.  Above all, it’s important to be consistent in your treatment of them.  Using Studio Helper is a big step because it allows transparency, showing student payments and charges.  Make sure you keep up with these amounts, so that students can rely on the numbers.  It doesn’t take more than a mistake or two to throw people off and make them question the system.  If you do screw up somewhere, take the time to email or call and explain how it happened and what you’re doing the make sure it won’t happen again.  They will very much appreciate it, and earning each student’s loyalty, one at a time, is the best way to build your studio.  After all, it’s all about the students.

Think how you’d like to be treated.  Give students a means of expressing themselves – perhaps through a suggestion box, or occasional surveys (not too many or it can be annoying!), and make sure you respond to all suggestions in a positive way or in a way that explains your policies clearly.

Post your policies on your website and tell new students, and occasionally remind ongoing students, about them.  Make clear in advance what your policies are about payments, cancellations, and any other expectations your studio or your students may have.

If it’s practical for you, a newsletter is a great way to keep students posted about good news for the studio, policy changes, a calendar of events, announcements such as a new teacher, an open house, a party or recital where you want to encourage participation.  You might include a newsletter feature that is interactive, such as notes from students, announcements about their activities, Q&A, or even a puzzle.  If you email the newsletter, you could link to an interactive blog.

Throw a party (holiday, New Year’s, new term open house, Valentine’s Day…any excuse will do!).  Host music sessions.  Host other events as you can, such as house concerts or demonstrations.  Give your regular students a break in admission (or free tickets; they’ll bring family or friends).  Meet with the students personally; you’re sure to learn more about them and enjoy them as people.

One mistake I’ve seen some managers do is to provide the paid-for services and as little as possible beyond that.  It might be true that nobody’s making such managers go the extra mile, but students truly appreciate it, and it makes your studio a friendlier place, one they’re more likely to stick with and recommend to others.

Sometimes it’s hard to go the extra mile, especially when you’ve just taken a hard look at your spreadsheets, or paid your bills (or not paid all the bills).  But that’s just when you need to do more for your customers.  You build your reputation with each student, and it spreads out from there.

Take a moment and leave a response below.  I’ve mentioned some ideas above, but we’d love to hear some ways you’ve found to reach out to your students.