SO YOU WANT TO BE A DANCE STUDIO OWNER: 5

MARKETING
You have found your dream location, come up with a great timetable of classes and have all the legal requirements in place. Now you just need those students to walk through the door. But how do you attract customers to your business?
There are several forms of advertising you can undertake to draw students to your studio. Past experience has told me that you should employ a variety of advertising. These need not be expensive but should encompass several types of media. You may like to consider the following:

PRINT MEDIA
Local newspapers – sometimes these run featured advertising features for dance schools and you may get a good deal if you enquire.
Specialised child/parent magazines – such as Sydney’s Child etc
Yellow Pages – can be expensive but is a good resource for any parent looking for a local dance studio.
FLYERS/BROCHURES
Flyers – these can be distributed through schools, pre-schools, at carnivals/festivals (with permission, of course)
Business cards – hand these out to as many people as possible
Community noticeboards – put one of your brochures on a board
INTERNET
Online directories – Yahoo! Local and other business directories
Social networking – MySpace, Facebook, Twitter
Studio website – if you have one designed by a professional, this can be expensive. However, there are free website alternatives that you build yourself from provided templates.
WORD OF MOUTH
This is the best and cheapest form of advertising. You can provide incentives for existing students that bring in new business. Everyone likes a recommendation about a new product or service and recommendation about dance studios are no exception. Mothers talk!
PRESS RELEASES
Learn how to write a press release and include a good picture. If they accept jpeg files, find out how many pixels they need to be.
TV/RADIO ADVERTISING
These are very effective but very expensive. You may want to consider these only when you are well established or have plenty of spare cash.

You will, at some stage, need to develop a logo for your studio and carry this through on all your advertising, letterhead and anywhere you have your name. Other types of advertising are magnetic car signs (these are great because these can be removed and are not too expensive), community involvement – have your students perform at local events and outdoor advertising (a sign on your front fence or other prominent place is a form of free advertising). Whatever type of advertising you decide on just make sure you keep your name out there. Remember, if the public don’t know about you they will not come.

Good luck!

TDT