why dance studios should outsource their marketing
As a dance studio owner, your main passion will almost certainly be dance or teaching dance. Despite this, you will undoubtedly know the importance of having a robust marking strategy in place and will probably be spending almost as much time producing a constant stream of marketing content as you do teaching dance. Here we look at five clear benefits of outsourcing your marketing and why the cost of it will actually save or indeed make you money in the long run.
1. Your competitive edge will increase with marketing expertize
Dance studio owners know they need a strong, robust marketing strategy, they may also realize that this should be well thought out, planned well in advance, be consistent and constant. However, knowing the best way to reach the right customers, how to build and maintain a clear brand and intertwine all aspects of the marketing mix take years of time and experience which is often a step (or a chasse) too far when you also have a dance studio to manage and classes to teach. Let’s face it, you’re already an expert in the field of dance and it is just as important to provide a high quality service to retain new students as it is to attract them in the first place
When you outsource your marketing, you’re putting the job in the hands of marketers who have made it their career to work with companies just like yours and have the know-how and resources to make it happen. Marketing agencies will often work as an extension of your team, taking your ideas and turning them into reality. They can do everything from creating a brand identity and rebuilding your website to devising a content marketing plan, producing and posting content. If your local competition do not have the benefit of this expertize and if you can secure an agency that also specializes in dance the benefits are doubled
2. free up time and resources
Outsourcing your marketing activities doesn’t mean giving up on your ideas; rather, it makes use of professionals who can assist in making those concepts a reality. As a dance studio owner, you’ll likely be an extremely creative person with not only strong ideas of how you like things to look (who else spends so much time thinking about motifs, spacing and timings) and have your own marketing plans in mind, but then frequently lack the time and money needed to carry them out. Even the best marketing plan won’t be successful if it’s not prioritized or consistently carried out
Outsourcing part, if not all, of your marketing work is the perfect remedy to accelerate the growth of your studio. An agency is able to take on the design and development of your website, as well as managing the day-to-day content either on a monthly retainer or ad hoc basis. With someone else taking on your vision and doing all of the work to turn those ideas into a reality, it frees up your time to focus on what you do best, growing and developing a successful dance studio
3. the return on investment (roi) is alway positive
One of the biggest concerns for dance studio owners when considering whether to outsource their marketing is always the cost, which is totally understandable, especially if the studio is small or not making a profit
However the most successful dance studio owners see marketing activity as an investment in their success rather than a cost. There is no denying that there is a cost in using an external organization for marketing purposes but an agency has the skills and experience to produce more effectively and are usually far more up to speed with the latest marketing trends, technology and tools.
But by far the greatest return on investment is achieved by freeing up your time to be able to focus on what you do best. Whether that be develop your teachers, enhance your timetable or optimize your budgets and processes. Not to mention that the more strategic and professional your marketing the more successful it will be at growing your enrollment numbers
4. improve your business focus
Whichever agency you engage with, they will need to ask you lots of questions to understand your business, you mission and values and priorities for your studio. They’ll do this in depth at the beginning and use this information to produce a strategic marketing plan and then check in regularly for any updates and changes. Ideally studio owners will have all of the information to hand but in reality, running a dance studio is all encompassing so regular conversations with your marketing agency are likely to provide you with more clarity and focus on all aspects of dance studio management. This is particularly true if your agency is also experienced in the field of dance.
Things you'll have more of a handle on by working with marketing agency:
- Student numbers including total enrolled, new starters and leavers
- Class numbers and occupancy rates
- Income per student or student value
- Ideal student/ target audience
- Brand personality, mission and values
- Customer drivetime and dempgraphic
- Sales and retention
- Calendar and event planning
5. customize and scale the service
Depending on the time of year, whether you have a recital, event or new class launch or for any other reason, you can scale your efforts up or down. To scale up or down with an internal team, you must acquire and train new employees or fire existing ones. Having a connection with a marketing business, you can simply call your account manager. This helps you save money and guarantees that your marketing budget is put to good use.
