Did you know that it costs you 7 times more to acquire a new student than it does to keep an existing one? Your job as a marketer does not stop once someone signs-up. That’s why I added the “Keep” to the A.S.K.™ (Attract.Signup.Keep) marketing for Growing your Profit. When a Student leaves, you will not only lose revenue, but it will cost you much more to replace that Student. Thus, having retention strategies is very-very important. So, I put together an actionable Process to ensure your Students stay with you for years, become raving fans for your Studio and refer many more Students to you. In Part 1 and Part 2 covered how to Attract and Sign-up your Students. In this 3-Part blog series, I show you how the entire A.S.K.™ marketing works. Mastering it will make you a marketing machine, double your Students, and allow you to charge the price you deserve. Everything we are talking about is for both in-person and virtual classes. Classes refer to any activity in your Studio. Now let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. Pillar 3 - Keep your Students There are 4 things you need to do: #1: 6 weeks Onboarding
The best strategy is to have weekly e-mail or call with every new Student or Parent. Week 1: Welcome e-mail with general information You can include schedule, general Q&A, payment information, access to your online portal or studio app, an invitation to your private Facebook group, important dates, and an introduction (video is the best) about yourself and the teacher, what to expect in the class and their Student development. Attach your Student handbook and rules and regulations. Week 2: Ensure they are not alone When they start your classes, they go through a lot of emotions. They don’t know the other people, might get lost in techniques or feel out of place. Keep in mind, it is not just kids, adults are very self-conscious too. Address concerns or questions before they even think of them: give them examples, so if they feel that way, they know it is normal, 95% of Students go through that too, so they don’t feel like they are not a good fit. Put their mind at easy. Week 3: Tell them your Story Go a little deeper. You welcomed them and they come into your life. It is normal they want to know more about you. Especially if you have teachers and they do not see you much. Tell them why you started, what keeps you going, and your experience that led to opening you Studio. Maybe you had an Art Teacher who made you love art so much that you build a business around it. Send them an e-mail with a video link you and teacher welcoming them personally. Week 4: Highlight their progress Students and their Parents love to see or hear about how they are progressing in class. Check-in with them with an email or call to let them know of 3 things that they have developed or improved in their time so far. Send them pictures, screenshots or videos of their progress. Week 5: Checking-in call This is simply a quick call to check-in on your new Student and give the Parents another chance to ask any specific questions that have come up since they joined. Have their information on hand to have the opportunity to address anything that needs to be done on their end (for example, join the Facebook group or pay an outstanding bill.) Week: 6 Build anticipation for the next 6 weeks Tell them what is coming and what they should look forward to in their class or in your Studio. You want them to be excited about what is coming next.
#2: Communicate
#3: Call Students every 3 months
#4: Surprise them Surprise the Parents with coffee, or Kids with deserts once in a while. Or mail them a thank you card, an Article or Book that can be of interest to them. Have a tea party or a happy hour. Celebrate a Parent birthday. The goal is to put a smile on their face and show that you appreciate them. The rule is that it has to be sporadic. Otherwise it becomes routine and the delight factor goes away.
You can start with these action steps:
Read Part 1 (Attract) and Part 2 (Sign-up) of our A.S.K.™ (Attract.Signup.Keep) marketing series here to double your Art Studio profit. We are here to help you grow your Art Studio with less effort by giving Actionable Business Tips and Strategies you can implement right away. |
Hi, I am JuliaI help Independent Art Teachers with actionable Marketing steps to continuously grow their Business.
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