How to run a successful dance studio

Use These Tips for a Successful Dance Studio

Running a dance studio is a dream come true for you, but that doesn’t make it the easiest thing in the world to achieve. There are lots of things that will need your constant time and attention to ensure your success. What are they? Read on for everything you need to know to have the best dance studio in town.

Bring in Extra Income

Don’t get tied into only holding dance classes at your studio. How about ballet-themed birthday parties or fun corporate events where new hires get to know each other through dance? Get creative and your income will go up dramatically.

Get Your Name Out There

Your community might not know you exist if you never advertise. Get your name out there using flyers or offering one free class to people who sign up for a month. These little things won’t cost you a lot of money, but they can bring in huge amounts of revenue. Word of mouth is another great advertising tool, so ask your clients to share your name with their friends and family. At the same time, consider helping with a fundraiser to broadcast your name or donate classes to a silent auction to make your name known.

Have a Goal

When you have a goal, whether it’s how much profit you want to bring in each month or how many students you want to sign up for your classes, it gives you something to work for. Reaching a goal is incredibly satisfying and can really motivate you to turn your studio into the best one there is.

Hire the Right People

Even if you love your studio, you aren’t going to be there all the time. You will need days off, vacations or sick days. That means you are going to have to hire trustworthy people to work for you that are nearly as invested in the operation of your studio as you are. Your staff can make or break your entire studio, so take lots of time to research your prospective hires and be sure you choose the best person for the job.

Don’t Forget to Network

You can certainly spend all your working hours in the studio building your business, but you can also get out there and network. Join groups of other dance studio owners and meet up to discuss things and commiserate. You can get some really good ideas for your studio this way and can get back into the office recharged and ready to grow your business. This is also a great way to have some people on speed dial to call when you need tips or advice.

Running your own dance studio won’t be easy, but it will be totally fulfilling. Keeping everything straight will be a challenge, so you’ll need a good studio manager software program like The Studio Director to keep all of your important data in one easy place. That includes client names, your mailing list, and the results of your events and advertising campaigns. That way, you can see what works and what doesn’t so that the office end of things runs smoothly and efficiently, leaving you plenty of time for the other things that matter – like dancing.

11 tips for running a successful dance program

Just For Kix Founder and Executive Director Cindy Clough has a vast network of more than 200 youth dance programs across numerous states under her watchful eye. Since 1981, she’s been teaching or coaching dance, and even before that she was instructing baton twirling! It seems she truly can do anything she puts her hand to.

With time and experience on her side, she knows how to run a dance program and a dance studio not just well, but with excellence. She shared the following tips on how to run a thriving dance program and/or studio.

#1. Get people to buy into you.

“I feel like your personality and the way you treat people are the two most important features,” Clough says. Clients have to enjoy you – they should want to be with you, believe that you make it fun and find you inspiring. Also, would you be someone who people want their child to be around? Are you a role model? If not, you will not see a lot of growth.

#2.Always under-promise but over-deliver.

Seek to always over-deliver to clients (dance students and parents), which equates to providing exceptional customer service. For tips on this, Clough recommends the book Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results by Jack Mitchell.

#3. Remember that what goes around comes around.

That pesky kid hanging out in your lobby while his sibling finishes jazz class could eventually become a dad who will be shopping for dance studios in your area for his daughter. So always treat people of all ages with kindness and sincerity. “I’m to the point where I’ve taught the next generation of kids,” Clough explains. “I’ve had the child go all the way through my program, and now I have their child! So you really have to think long-term that the way you treat people really comes back to you.”

#4. Pick successful people’s brains.

Find directors and studio owners whom you admire, and then absorb whatever advice and wisdom they have to offer. Going at it alone is not just prideful but unnecessary. Clough comments, “It’s interesting, at dance conventions, I find people mostly want to talk about themselves instead of listening, and it’s really smart to be a sponge and to absorb as much as you can from other people because that’s how you’re going to grow and learn.”

Yes, networking is important, but that doesn’t mean you do all the talking. Clough adds, “Learn as much as you possibly can, and it will better help you handle your business and whatever comes your way.”

#5. Join a community of people in the same boat as you so that you can ask questions.

Cindy Clough with her husband Steve. Photo courtesy of Clough.

Clough started a closed Facebook group (you can request to join) called Dance Coaches & Teachers Unite. Now more than 6,200 members can post their questions when they need guidance. Recent questions include “What program do you use to edit videos?”, “Is there an easier way to do signups for summer classes?” and “What kind of things does everyone make sure to include in their ballet intensives/ballet classes?”

Other conversation topics include songs (“Looking for candy-themed songs for a ballet dance”), costumes (“Looking to purchase MSHSL compliant jazz uniforms”), travel (“What ways do you ship/transport props to nationals far away?”), dance attire vendors (“Want to order new logo wear for the coming season, would love some recommendations for affordable vendors”), recital themes (“I am stuck and can’t figure one out yet. We have done under the sea, candyland, circus, movies”) and competitions (“We are attending Starpower Nationals for the first time. Any advice?”) Join a group or organization that can help you when you are stuck or need some fresh ideas.

#6. “Spend time developing you.”

Studio owners, directors and coaches can forget that they need to take care of themselves when their schedule is hectic. And self-care is vital. But past alone time and rest, they often overlook their own personal development. When was the last time you read a book with industry advice, attended a seminar, signed up for a conference or got a mentor? These are important, too. As Clough describes, “You are the product people see. You’re the one who’ll determines if your year or your studio is a box office hit or a box office flop.” So invest in yourself!

#7. As a studio owner, make sure your lobby/front desk administrator is friendly, professional and engaging.

“The first person the people see is important because that’s the person who’s going to be the face of what you do,” Clough says. “They need to be a salesperson and outgoing because if a dancer comes in to take hip hop, you’re hoping they are told about tap, ballet and all the other options. You don’t want them to just do one thing. You want that student doing as much as possible.”

#8. Think about what the image of your studio/space is telling new clients.

When was the last time you walked into your studio/space and really saw it with new eyes? Clough says, “Sometimes I think it’s important to walk into your lobby and to look at it like an outsider would. Often studio owners look past all that stuff, because we see it every day. Look at what’s on the wall, what’s on the counter. Is it clean? Would somebody new want to come in here? And what are you trying to sell? You go into some studios and it’s trophies, trophies, trophies everywhere. So obviously when a newcomer walks in, they get the idea that you’re all about competition.” Make sure your values and vision is reflected in your lobby and other spaces.

#9. Don’t be afraid to offer 8- or 12-week sessions.

Since some kids and teens don’t always like to sign-up for a whole year, it can be beneficial to add the option of 8- or 12-week sessions. These dancers can be added into your other classes. “Sometimes I’ll add kids into my classes throughout the year,” Clough says. “Yes, you have to watch the risk of making the consistent, long-term people in the classes angry. But I still do add in new students. Just in my rep classes, though, not my advanced classes. This is a great way to grow.”

#10. Focus advertisements on little kids.

Instead of putting your most advanced dancer on the poster, put little children. “Most people by the time they’re 10 already know where they’re going for their dance studio,” Clough points out. “Preschoolers are what you’re trying to attract. So a lot of your ads should be focused on that.”

#11. Treat your time like it’s money, because it is.

Don’t waste time on tasks and dramas that aren’t worth it. “You can get so caught up on things that don’t really matter that you’re wasting time and not getting done what you really need to do,” Clough says. “Time is valuable. So do what’s smart, and be intentional.”

By Chelsea Thomas of Dance Informa.

Related Items:advice for studio owners, Cindy Clough, dance studio owner, dance studio owner advice, Jack Mitchell, Just For Kix, Steve Clough, studio owner advice

Promotion of a dance school: how to advertise and promote services of a dance studio

Promotion of a dance school requires a non-standard approach in marketing due to the specifics of the business area. Dancing is fun, energy and drive, so advertising for a dance studio should evoke the same emotions. The times when new customers could be attracted by distributing leaflets near the subway are long gone. The modern audience wants everything at once. It is necessary to introduce her not only to the services, but also to the people who provide them. In this article, we will tell you what to do before starting to promote a dance studio and how to attract new customers using different types of advertising.

What to do before you start promoting a dance studio

1. How to determine your target audience

As in any other area of marketing, advertising and promotion of a dance school is based on the study of your target audience. At the same time, you need to understand that dance studios have direct and indirect competitors. Fitness clubs, wellness centers, martial arts schools also offer sports and development services. Therefore, the task of your marketing campaign is to convince people that dancing is the most suitable way of leisure.

Vogue dance with Verona Models

You can analyze the target audience using:

• questionnaires or surveys;
• interview;
• focus groups;
• thematic blogs and forums;
• social networks.

The last method is good because with a minimum of money and time spent, you will find out the nature, habits and needs of your target audience. Also in social networks, you can see how and for what audience competitors are promoting their services.

2. How to create a client portrait

After analyzing the target audience, you need to break it into segments and create a portrait or avatar for each. Here is a list of parameters to consider:

• gender;
• age;
• area of residence;
• income level;
• marital status;
• interests;
• problems and pains.

By “running” clients through this list, you will get their psychological profile. It will help you work out the benefits consumers will receive from your service and identify triggers to influence them.

3. How to create a sales funnel

Think about the customer's journey from the moment he sees the ad to the moment he buys the service. If you're promoting with free lessons, your sales funnel might look like this:

• interest in dancing;
• search for a suitable school;
• contact with advertising;
• sign up for a free lesson;
• free lesson;
• receiving an offer.

4. How to form an offer

The offer is formed based on the problems of the audience with the help of its main triggers. This is your promotional offer. “Learn to dance hip-hop in 3 months”, “Sign up for a free trial lesson”, “Become a member of a friendly community of dancers” - these are examples of offers for a dance studio.

5. How to create a landing page structure

The purpose of a landing page or landing page is to motivate the client and involve them in the sales funnel. It is important to remember that several advertising banners can be located on such a page at once. The structure of the landing page is based on the pains of customers. For example:

Banner 1: main offer.
Banner 2: Headmaster's video message.
Banner 3: photos of students and teachers.
Banner 4: school facts or regalia.
Banner 5: a unique offer, such as discounted private lessons.
Banner 6: subscription offer.
Banner 7: School FAQ and contacts.

With this approach, advertising and promotion of the dance school is much more likely to resonate with potential customers. After all, you interact immediately with all segments of your target audience and work out objections.

How to promote a dance studio through contextual advertising

The advantage of contextual advertising is that it starts working immediately after launch. In a short time, you can collect a large number of applications and reimburse the costs of promotion. But it will take time to figure out the settings of the advertising account.

There are 3 contextual advertising mechanisms:

Search algorithms. By analyzing the most popular queries for keywords, the system brings you to those who right now are driving into Google or Yandex “dance school record online”. When interacting with such a client, it is important to convince him to conclude a deal as soon as possible, otherwise he will go to competitors.
GMS (display network) Google and YAN (Yandex advertising network). They show ads on affiliate sites for people who are interested in dancing. This method gives a good conversion for a relatively low price, however, the audience received from such an advertisement will be cold.
Retargeting or remarketing. It allows you to make a special offer for those who came to your site, but for some reason did not leave a request.

How to promote through targeted advertising

Targeted advertising is the most suitable option for small dance schools. An advertising account on Facebook and Instagram is much simpler than on Google and Yandex, and the cost of an application is lower. But contextual advertising has a higher conversion rate, as the target leads to a cold audience that your sales team needs to “finish”.

To make targeted advertising more successful, collect enough leads, upload the data to your Facebook ad account, and create a Lookalike Audience. She may be the most responsive.

How to promote a dance school with SEO

Before you start SEO promotion, carefully analyze your competitors. This will help you optimize your strategy and understand what services are in demand. For advertising to be effective, combine related keywords into groups (clusters) and prioritize queries. Then search algorithms will display the site in the TOP results due to natural traffic. You also need to make sure that there are no technical errors on your site.

Advertising with bloggers to promote the dance school

If you want to agree on a barter, use the following algorithm:

• through blogger search services, find those who live in your city and who are interested in the services of a dance studio;
• offer a blogger a free lesson in exchange for advertising;
• agree on cooperation. Be sure to specify how many advertising posts the blogger will publish in his account.

If the blogger does not agree to barter, consider how necessary this type of promotion is.

Other Ways to Attract Customers

To get maximum exposure, try additional promotion methods:

1. Free Lessons

Dancing is one of the most spectacular art forms. If you organize a public performance of teachers and students of the school, the audience will see the result live and receive additional motivation.

2. Promotions and discounts

To interest potential customers, arrange an open day. Workshops, consultations and discounts on subscriptions - showcase all the features of the school to interest visitors.

Modern dance school in Kyiv

3. Participation in competitions

First place in dance competitions is a sure way to increase customer confidence. To increase the conversion, try adding the phrase to the offer: “Do you want to learn dancing with the winners of the international competition?”.

4. Partner programs with neighbors

The main advantage of such programs is a double budget for promotion, which allows you to organize a large-scale advertising campaign. Anyone can be a partner: a fitness club, a yoga studio or a children's music school. It is important to correctly present information and find common ground with the audience.

5. Offline advertising

Whether this method is needed depends only on the habits of your target audience. If, during its analysis, you found that most potential customers are subscribed to the account of a trendy restaurant, try to negotiate with the administration of the institution to promote your services. It can be both advertising on flyers and street banners.

Conclusion

For a successful advertising campaign that pays off the investment, it is not enough to use one or two promotion methods. Complex marketing is needed with constant analysis and adjustment of the strategy. By combining various tools and platforms, you will be able to provide the school with a stable flow of students, and business with income and profit.

Optimize the business processes of your dance school together with 1C: Fitness Club to increase the effectiveness of your marketing! Leave a request and our managers will contact you for free consultation.

GET ADVICE

When connecting for a year cloud tariff

30% discount

Join the community on VK

How to attract new dance studio clients? — Personal experience on vc.ru

1751 views

A successful dance studio is not only a beautiful name, logo, spacious premises. It is not enough to recruit competent and experienced coaches or rent spacious gyms with high-quality coverage. The main components of attracting customers are: clear positioning, high-level trainers who love their job, an attractive discount system and successful marketing.

How to achieve a balance between these components, create a unique and multi-directional brand studio or dance school and do not forget about the loyalty system, comfort for customers and employees? For answers to questions, we turned to experts in their field, owners of successful dance schools and studios in different cities of Russia. In the material we will present you basic principles and secrets attracting new clients to the dance studio.

We try to bring together professionals and amateurs, children and students, youth and adults in the studios. But we perfectly understand that each of them comes to dancing for something of their own. Basically, this is not a desire to achieve outstanding sports success, but a desire to get acquainted with the world of movements, find friends, get the opportunity to spend time comfortably and profitably. Therefore, we have a very strong, so-called social base. Among the directions, we are open to all classical and modern types: salsa, bachata, solo hip-hop, jazz funk, various types of plastics, acrobatics and much more. With such a variety, we try to reveal each type of dance from all sides.

Anna, manager of Dance Studio 25.5

High season dancing

When to open the studio, start a new set? Which hall is better to rent for dancing, in which part of the city to choose a room? And, most importantly, what is a good indicator of attracting new customers? These are just the basic tasks for starting a successful dance school.

Some mistakenly think that people go to dances when they have free time - on vacation or on vacation. School managers and owners dispelled this myth .

Unconditionally, the high season starts in September. Moreover, we see a huge influx not only in children's groups, but also in all areas. Until December, people actively go to classes, and then two months of calm.

Angelica, representative of the Modern Dance School.

Only in February, at the end of January, the revival begins again, you can start recruiting new groups and activate advertising campaigns. Until about the end of May, clients actively attend classes and a lot of applications are received.

In the summer there is an opportunity to develop new programs, send coaches to improve their skills or competitions, make repairs or other updates to the studio.

If we talk about the premises, it is best to start with two or three halls of different sizes. There will always be those who want to study individually, some unpopular areas, even during the season, do not recruit many students, so the hall of 30-40 square meters is perfect for these tasks.

But for such areas as salsa, bachata or other popular ones, halls of about 60-80 square meters are needed.

opinion of interviewed experts.

Who is new

The most exciting question for any studio owner is how many new clients can be attracted per month? There is no single answer.

It all depends on the studio and its location. If the school is located in the center, then we meet more than 50 new dancers, sometimes the figure exceeds a hundred. But in the sleeping areas, the figures are slightly less.

Anna, Dance Studio 25.5.

Her colleagues in the dance workshop also noticed that strongly depends on the seasonality and focus of studios.

There is another approach to finding and retaining customers.

It is extremely important for us to create not just a dance group, but a family of friends and like-minded people. On certain dates, we open a set for a new direction, collect a group and the influx of new customers stops. The backbone of the team has been preserved for years. The guys travel together for performances, events, many begin to communicate more closely. It is so comfortable to work not only for the students, but also for us!

Marina, representative of S-TANCIA studio.

The age of also strongly influences the average number of new customers. If the studio is aimed at students and office workers, then the number will be slightly higher. The school should be located in the center, close to offices and universities.

But in the sleeping areas go mostly couples and children. Here the directions, and the coach, and the occupancy will be different. In the afternoon go the smallest children from two years old and the elderly, in the evening - couples and older children.

The success formula is simple - the more destinations your trainers can cover - the more potential clients will come in the new month. It can be young people, and middle-aged people, and very little ones, already from 2-3 years old you can start dancing classes.

It seems that the most important information is over - no! Next, we will analyze with experts the main secrets and principles of search these same 10, 20 or even 50 lucky ones, for whom the school and trainers will become guides to the world of dance art.

Business card of studio

And here the fun begins, you have several spacious halls with high-quality coverage and a good studio location, excellent trainers with a high level of communication and a desire to teach. But what to do next?

Dance industry experts have no doubt that everyone should have clear positioning , understanding of one's place and meaning of in the world of dance.

There are several options here. Versatility, where there are dozens of directions and programs: salsa, hip-hop, bachata, tango, solo numbers, children's groups and even individual lessons for staging a wedding or congratulatory dance.

We try to cover everything from children's programs to passionate Argentinean tango to the latest dance styles.

Anna, Dance Studio 25.5.

But even with this , each studio retains its flavor. Someone is famous throughout the city for salsa and bachata trainers, others for their classes with the elderly, and still others attract a strong children's direction with the opportunity to participate in events and events of the city.

We are open to everyone: amateurs and professionals. It doesn't matter gender, height, weight, or age.

Anzhelika, Modern dance school "Dance Formation"

The second way long-term work with a painstakingly assembled team under certain programs .

We not only recruit a group for directions and trainers, but also create a program for clients' requests.

one of the directors of dance schools

The main advantage of this way in lack of seasonality . After recruiting a group, it exists for several seasons.

Whatever path you choose - for the success of the studio you need a logo, website and social networks. A studio without social networks in the modern world is like a person without a name and a phone. It can exist, but it is difficult to communicate, communicate and develop.

Banners and leaflets against target and direct

As they say, all means are good in war. If you want to succeed, act on all marketing fronts and advertising channels. Thinking about which platform to choose - Vkontakte, Instagram * or the recently fashionable Telegram channel, is better to try all . Yes, this approach takes more time, but returns are many times greater than . The specialists of dance studios were convinced of this from their own experience.

It is important to embrace the immensity. We are everywhere: Vkontakte and Instagram *, Telegram, Yandex Zen, all maps, we maintain our website and YouTube channel. Do not forget about outdoor advertising, which by the way gives good results.

Anna, manager of Dance Studio 25.5.

Flyers, banners, signs, billboards, like books and newspapers will exist forever . They give a good result immediately after the opening of the studio and already at the stage of a large influx of customers.

We actively use banners, flyers. And clients often come to us with these leaflets. The bearer receives a gift or a discount on the subscription, and we understand that the channel is working.

Oksana, representative of the Virazh dance studio.

But not all studios resort to outdoor advertising.

Very rarely we order banners or leaflets. The most effective interaction is eye contact. The specificity of the dance involves the nature of the video format. This is great for social networks. That is why the staff of the studio must have a professional videographer and editor.

Angelina, Dance Academy "Space".

And so it will do or a big team

Big State question is tricky. Especially when it comes to targetologists, operators and smm-specialists, and the studio has recently started working. After all, most of the functions can be taken over by other employees.

Social networks are often managed by studio administrators. It is easiest for them to collect content, shoot relevant videos, photos and promptly notify the audience about changes in the schedule and class plan.

We already have a large network of dance studios, so now a whole team of professionals is working on social platforms. There is a videographer who deals with video content for YouTube, makes videos for VK. Administrators maintain the feed and stories, targetologists work with the purchase of advertising, there are SEO specialists and programmers, and others.

Anna, Dance Studio 25. 5.

In some cases, a trainer or administrator can take over the entire function of a targetologist, operator or content maker. Then advertising budget will be several times less than and the staff will be reduced.

Here is the optimal formula: go from the request and the people in the team . It is better to start advertising campaigns with modest amounts in order to understand its effectiveness and adjust the emphasis on each of the sites.

Experts note that the audience and the client need to learn to see and to feel . At some point, show him a beautiful visual, and sometime hold an open lesson with bright coaches or even go out for morning or evening exercises.

This is how some of our clients come to us. During the summer, some of our activities are held in the parks. Passers-by come up, ask, and sometimes immediately join the process.

Marina, representative of S-TANTIA studio.

Eternal sundress

Our experts note that in the current situation it is difficult to name the most effective advertising. Where Google and Instagram* used to be active and efficient, now there is a noticeable failure.

Still not stable, looking at the statistics. But the "sarafan" works best at all times.

opinion of interviewed experts.

work format can be any , people just talk about their hobbies, activities, successes and, their friends come to the lesson.

Sometimes young people deliberately invite their friends to dance, or several people come to us at once who want to join the group. For them, we have a discount on the “Invite a friend” promotion.

Oksana, employee of the Virazh dance studio.

Another word of mouth format - participation of coaches and studio 9 teams0201 in the life of the city . Performances at venues, in universities and schools, parks and at the opening of holidays allows new customers to get acquainted with the result of the school's work and even "fall in love" with it.

Word of mouth options

Loyalty programs and discount systems work well with a one-time purchase of subscriptions or subscription to social networks. "Subscription on the day of classes", "Repost on VK and Instagram *", "Video feedback with a group mark", various contests and open lessons are all great tools to attract new customers.

And in order to keep those who have already come, the majority actively use calls and e-mails.

We try to select a convenient communication channel for each client. First of all, we call him if he is uncomfortable communicating in this format, we write on social networks or WhatApp.

Anna, from Dance Studio 25.5.

The final, but no less important component of success is convenient registration for class . This is what the client faces all the time. It should be convenient for him to cancel, reschedule the lesson or choose another coach.

We use all channels of communication. You can sign up by phone through the administrator, in direct on social networks, in WhatApp or come in person.

Marina, representative of S-TANTIA studio.

Efficiency, the possibility of reminders and access to the schedule - that's what is important for the client every day .

We are thinking about developing a school application, but have not yet approved its format and functionality.

Anna, manager of Dance Studio 25.5.

The application can become one of the powerful tools and a good "highlight" in working with clients. A utility with the most important information, schedule, activity notification function and the ability to record. All this is already possible in the mobile application from AppEvent , developed specifically by for your dance studio . In addition to the fact that the application is made in the corporate colors of the company and with its logo, which is already becoming an additional is a "trigger" for the attention of customers, it contains information about the studio, its coaches, schedule, active subscriptions, and also provides the opportunity to rent out halls for less downtime. The purchase of services takes place 24/7 in one click is as simple and comfortable as possible, and the client himself always has the opportunity to cancel the lesson on his own without additional communication with the studio administrator.

Now we know for sure that is the success of studio dances consist of systematic and well-coordinated work of the entire team. The key to 's success is simple: promotion of the studio in different venues, clear positioning, enthusiastic coaching staff and "zest".

It is important to understand that the effectiveness of sales and attracting new customers depends on understanding the market and knowing your competitors .