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Building Word Of Mouth

Type:

Studio Owner Article

Category:

How to Increase Revenue and Energize Enrollment

Look who's talking! At this time of year customer referrals are critical to the building of your studio. The key is how to get your customers raving about you! Referrals are the life blood of every dance studio. To build your studio you will not only need to find new customers but to hold onto the ones you already have. Keep selling to and connecting with your current students and it will not only bring them back for more but they will happily tell all of their friends about your studio.

Tips for building word of mouth

1. To build word of mouth you need to find ways to differentiate yourself from the rest. This sounds easy but it needs to be looked at not only from your point of view but from your customers. The best way to find out is by doing a survey or by sitting down and talking to your best customers!

2. Go that extra mile in customer service. A little will make a BIG difference. Everyone talks about how much they love their customers but talk is cheap. It is much better for the growth of your business if you can give your customers something to talk about.

3. Find out what your customers like and give them more! Seems easy enough but if you have very some popular classes why not offer more of those and lose the duds? Sometimes it is better to give your customers what they want not what you want!

Tips For Building A Strong Following:

1. Give them something to talk about: Create WOW moments. This one is easy. Just find ways to surprise your customers and they will be happy to tell their friends!

2. Build a referral network: More than just a thank you! Do you offer a monetary offer for your customers? If not, it is a great way to help motivate your fans. Giving cash back when a current customer brings in a friend who registers for your program is easy to implement and administrate.

3. Get out of your studio: This is the key to building strong community ties. You may be the best kept secret in town. Join local clubs and local business groups.

4. Be the "go to" person: Make your studio the one everyone wants at their event. Do you have a performance group? Get your name out there as the top dance studio in your community to come to when someone is looking to incorporate dance into their event. The only way to do this is to connect with other businesses. Hand out cards and tell everyone that your studio is available for private events and that you have a pre-professional group that is available to perform at local events

5. Use ideas from other businesses and tweak them to fit your business model:. There are many great referral programs that major companies offer. Do a little digging in your area. There may be a program that you can become a part of as a bonus for another business. You can offer the same for the businesses you partner with. In the end all of your customers win by receiving more value for their money!

Author

Steve Sirico

Steve Sirico

Steve is co-founder of Dance Teacher Web the number one online resource for dance teachers and studio owners worldwide.He is Co-Director of the very successful D'Valda and Sirico Dance and Music Center in Fairfield, CT for the past thirty plus years. His students have gone on to very successful careers in dance, music and theater. Originally from Norwalk, Ct, Steve excelled in track and football. He attended the University of Tennessee at Martin on a sports scholarship. Deciding to switch and make his career in the world of dance, he studied initially with Mikki Williams and then in New York with Charles Kelley and Frank Hatchett. He has appeared in a number of theatre productions such as Damn Yankees, Guys and Dolls and Mame in New York and around the country and in industrials and television shows. He was contracted to appear as the lead dancer in the Valerie Peters Special a television show filmed in Tampa, Florida. After meeting Angela DValda during the filming they formed the Adagio act of DValda & Sirico appearing in theatres, clubs and on television shows such as David Letterman, Star Search and the Jerry Lewis Telethon. In 1982 they were contracted to Europe and appeared in a variety of shows in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Italy before going to London, England where they appeared as Guest Artists for Wayne Sleep (formerly of the Royal Ballet) in his show Dash at the Dominium Theatre. Author of his Jazz Dance syllabus and co-author of a Partner syllabus both of which are used for teacher training by Dance Educators of America, He has also co-authored two books one for dance teachers and one for studio owners in the "It's Your Turn" Book series. He is available for master classes, private business consulting and teacher training development

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