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09 Aug

Communicating with Your Customers

in Marketing, Performance, Policies and Procedures

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 stu communicate dents 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.

03 Aug

Updates & Fixes in July 2011

by admin

in Announcements

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Our team at Studio Helper is continuing to work hard to make Studio Helper even better. Here is a list of the updates we released in July, 2011. If you have ideas for how we can improve Studio Helper, please let us know on our Feedback page, or vote for ideas that have already been submitted. Thank you and have a great day! The Lessons Taught...

24 Jul

What’s Your Studio’s Social Media Policy?

by admin

in Marketing, Policies and Procedures

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Studio Social Media Policy Social 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.

21 Jul

Budgeting 101

by admin

in Finances

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Budget Now that you are charging what you’re worth (last month’s blog), it’s time to discuss what to do with all of that money! A budget is an essential tool for any successful business. Ben Franklin said,

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

What is a Budget?

As a teaching artist and studio owner striving to learn the ropes of running a small business, I find it particularly challenging when faced with financial obligations such as creating a budget. But it is a task that must be done and the simpler I can keep it, the better! So, what is a budget? The website, investopedia.com, defines budget as “an estimation of the revenue and expenses over a specified future period of time.” A budget can be prepared weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. An important reason to have a budget is to maintain control over expenses and avoid overspending. On the other hand, a business must spend money to make money. A budget provides a tool for organizing cash flow and planning for the future. Learning what you have to grow the business and compete is another function of a budget.

In my research, I found that there two types of budgets: a static or fixed budget and a flexible budget. The static budget is simpler because it projects established levels of fixed income and expenses over a set period of time. It works best for businesses that expect income and expenses to be stable. A flexible budget is one that takes into account varying levels of income and expenses. A static budget can be used prior to the start of a budgeting period. The flexible budget helps in evaluating performance and can be adjusted as needed when income and cost fluctuate.

15 Jul