When creating different programs and classes for your studio one of the best places to start to look is through the eyes of your current customers. We are constantly searching for ways to better satisfy what the customer wants. Find a want or need and then create the way to satisfy that want or need. With this in mind the best way to tap into the minds of your customers is to ask them. We are big proponents of surveys. For the most part your best customers will gladly fill them out. We have also found that they will also tell you very truthfully what they like and what they do not like. Then it is as simple as creating more of what they like and doing away with the things they do not. Sounds easy enough but most business owners dont bother to do it. Get to know your customers and they will help you build your business. Knowledge is the key, if you know what makes them tick then you will be able to keep them happy forever. The key word that we want to work with is to satisfy.
Lets take a look at how we can work to use this to our benefit. Your product or services (dance lessons) should provide a solution to an unfulfilled need in the market place. Discover what products or services they want and need. Find out what the customer wants. Find a need, create a want. Now we cannot be everything to everyone so you must be true to yourself. The key is to be a bit flexible so you can tailor your programs to fit the needs of your clients.
Now we all offer dance lessons and we presumably teach children of all ages through adult. If that is all we can show, then all studios are the same and your advertising will be similar. If you can, however, find out what other benefits your customers derive from your classes then you can begin to find a hidden want or need that you are satisfying that you may not have even known about! Here are some things that we have found out over the years and have used to differentiate us from our competition.
Teaching Life Skills. Time after time we have been told how taking dance lessons has enhanced the behavior of a child. We have all seen how children, once quiet and unsure, become well rounded and out going individuals because of dance training. Find out how you have changed the lives of your students and position it in a way that will make any parents willing to do whatever they have to do to have their child take classes with you. The one line caption that we use below our logo in all advertising that we do is Fostering success in the arts, at school and in life! We have countless testimonies to back up this claim.
Dance Teachers Are Not All The Same. We have had many a student that has transferred to our studio from another one. Some who have been studying for years discover that they have spent years learning very little and their parents realize that they spent years paying for an inferior product. Show the results that you have created. If you have not been in business long make note of the students that you have really helped in a short period of time either in dance or life skills. Show all of your credentials in your literature and in the lobby area. If you have a long list of students who have accomplished good things do not be bashful about demonstrating it and letting your parents know that you were instrumental in their success. The key here is, not to only show what you know but how much you care. Again, its all about satisfying a need. The need here is that all parents want the best for their child. If your school is one of the best in your area, then let them know about it. If you dont, you can rest assured that your competition wont tell them!
The best way for you to find out what angle you can take for your program is to create a survey or questionnaire for your clients. Here are some questions you can ask. What benefit other than to learn to dance did your child get out of the experience at our studio? What did you find that your child really enjoyed while taking classes here? What is it that you would like to see more of or what we are not doing that you would like us to do? How would you describe your experience at our studio? Profile your customers into categories. Then you can find out what your best customers really like about you and your studio and create an ad for your newspapers that will focus on the wants and needs that will attract more of the same.
