Enrollment Stragglers! Bring ‘Em in Now!
You know who they are. The busy families who neglected to enroll for classes and you still have room for them. How do you get their attention and round out your fall enrollment?
The situation exists because families everywhere face an annual fall blitz of media barking about activities and classes for their children. You're probably paying your own advertisement bills as we speak. Your back to dance school campaign brought in the current roster. Now it's time get a bit more personal with your approach.
The size of your community and the amount of hours you have to devote to additional marketing will affect the length of your outreach at this critical time. By October 15th you'll be occupied with holiday shows and spring recital plans! Set aside a specific time period to devote to this secondary effort. Set a deadline, but keep enrollment open until the end of the month to accommodate the really, really slow ones!
COUPONS:
Coupons work because they are a tang-ible reminder to someone of something they want to purchase. Some people's shopping "list" consists of coupons in a paper clip rather than written down on a sheet of paper. Consumers also like to feel like they are getting a bargain price by using a coupon.
GREAT MOVE! Print your coupons on business cards. Buy the perforated business card blanks at any office supply. Print your contact information on one side and the coupon details on the back. This tip saves time, money, and space. There's always room in your purse, wallet, car, and bulletin board for a business card.
FREE CLASS FOR A FRIEND COUPON: Offer this coupon to existing students who bring a friend to class on a specific date.
FREE CLASS FOR YOU COUPON: Attach this coupon to the one above and if the friend enrolls and pays for classes, the first student will get their next month's tuition reduced by the cost of one class.
FREE DEMO CLASS FOR A GROUP COUPON: Give this to students, parents and community groups. Offer to speak about dance as a form of fitness and give a brief stretching demo in exchange for handing out your brochures and coupons.
VOLUNTEERING:
Don't groan! Volunteering is exactly the kind of personal attention you need to sacrifice to get those extra students into class. These ideas always work because giving is the best way to receive! Of course you can always send students and staff members in your place.
GREAT MOVE! Blow your own horn with dignity and let people know when and how you serve as a volunteer. Keep a running list posted in the studio about individual volunteer efforts of you and your staff. A simple typed sheet of paper on the bulletin board will tell others how much you value volunteering, and when it comes time for you to recruit volunteers for a project they will be there.
STORYTIME AT THE LIBRARY: Offer to read at the library's story time for children. Read dance books if you can and do a movement activity to reinforce the concepts of the book. Give out coupons and brochures.
READ ALOUD IN THE SCHOOLS: Some schools require special training to participate in community read aloud programs, but you can probably find a teacher who would love to have you as a guest reader and give a demonstration lesson to students.
RADIO/TV SHOWS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY: Talk show personalities on radio and television could have last minute openings for a guest. Bring along dancers from your classes to perform if it's on TV.
PERFORM AT POLITICAL RALLIES: You may or may not want to associate with one political party or the other, so offer a performance for both sides of the ticket. Choose the candidates by their stand on funding for the arts!
CONNECTING WITH
FORMER STUDENTS:
Surely you still have the contact inform-ation for past students. There are several who would love to return to classes if you just invite them.
GREAT MOVE! Put a poster up in the studio inviting former students back to class. Give current students incentive to bring them back by offering a free class coupon for every former student they bring in that re-enrolls.
TELEPHONE TREES: Nothing goes together like telephones, teenagers, and pizza. Enlist trusted teens from your young adult classes and give them phone time at the studio while they call on former students and invite them back to class. Prepare a typewritten script for them to read from. Have teens keep a list of names and phone numbers of people interested in returning to class. This is the list of people you will call personally. Afterwards, take everyone out for pizza or give them pizza coupons.
POSTCARDS/COUPONS IN THE MAIL: This is a tried and true practice and it's sometimes all the incentive a former dancer needs to get back into class. "The Studio Misses You!" says it all and opens the way for previous students to return.
ANOTHER OPEN HOUSE: Entertain current students and their guests at a special Open House. Print a schedule with the announcement and give studio tours and a free demonstration class for everyone together. Explain that you will be registering new students to start classes the following week and include prices on the invitation. Refreshments are easily handled by existing students who bring treats to share. You provide the drinks, cups, and napkins.
WEEK OF FREE CLASSES: Designate one week of free classes for new students. Inexpensive ways to spread the word include flyers and small printed yard signs available at most sign shops.
GREAT MOVE! Recycle these ideas year-round for enrollment boosters any time you need them. Customers love consistency and repeat offers. Choose a specific booster technique and repeat it at the same time every year to keep your studio name in front of consumers on a regular basis.
Joy Held is the author of Writer Wellness, A Writer's Path to Health and Creativity (2003) from New Leaf Books. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher-500 and teaches for Marietta College and in her private studio. Her family has owned and operated dance schools in West Virginia for over 50 years. She can be contacted at www.writerwellness.com or greatmoves@hotmail.com.