Let’s dive back in! In part 1 of Planning For Your Studio’s Growth, we looked at the importance of having a marketing plan for your dance studio, and started off by determining your marketing goals and objectives.
We’ll continue now by creating a mini-marketing plan for your dance studio with these two activities:
Activity #2 – Designing a Promotional Plan:
Think about your customers and prospects and how to reach them most effectively. In which neighborhoods do your current students reside? How far might students/parents be willing to drive? Is there a weekly fruit and vegetable market in the neighborhood at which your students may pass out fliers? Is your studio located in a strip mall along with other small businesses (opportunity for cross- promotion)?
The possibilities are near endless when it comes to promoting your studio. For example:
- Advertising — from neighborhood fliers and community newspapers to ads displayed in the shopping carts of the grocery stores nearest you
- Publicity — from community festivals to nursing home performances
- Internet marketing — from optimizing your studio website to linking with other local business sites
ACTION: Take a moment now to consider your customers and how best to reach them. Write down a promotional activity for each of your marketing goals, an activity that would move you closer to those goals.
Sometimes, one activity can provide a multitude of benefits. For example, a car wash can be an excellent fund raiser while simultaneously advertising your studio.
Activity #3 – Formulating an Action Plan:
Lastly, for each of the promotional activities you’ve written down, lay out the details, such as when they should be accomplished and who will do them. Break each activity down into smaller “to do” chunks, and assign each one a completion deadline.
Example: The activity is to mail out 500 promotional postcards
- Call local printers for quotes — by Wednesday evening — assigned to Claire, the studio office manager
- Call Bob, who does our graphic design, for a quote — by Thursday evening — assigned to me
- Drop my sketch, materials, and ideas off at Bob’s — by the weekend — assigned to me
- etc.
ACTION: Take just one of the activities in your Promotional Plan above, and break it down into easier to manage tasks. Assign a person to the task and a completion deadline for the job. If the breakdown goes quickly, do the same for one or more of your other promotional activities. Your promotional activities will seem much less daunting once they’re broken down into smaller tasks.
Wrapping It Up:
By accomplishing the above actions, you’ve created a “mini-marketing plan”, designed to give you a fresh look at your studio and goals. Depending on your dance studio’s type, stage of growth, and marketing objectives, you will probably also want to include: information about your studio and its current competition, the costs of your planned marketing activities, and the measurements used to determine success.
If you’re finding such exercises beneficial and want to take it up a notch, visit the wonderful resources on the CoSchedule website. There you’ll find marketing plan samples and templates to help you craft your studio’s marketing strategy. We have no affiliation with CoSchedule.
Do you need to write or revise your marketing plan? There’s a good chance that you’re due for an update, and before the new season begins is an ideal time for most of us to plan for the year to come. It’s best if a marketing plan is reviewed and updated at least annually, but if you do nothing other than take an hour or two to write out a mini-marketing plan, you’ll discover a refreshed sense of focus and purpose.
Certainly people will find out or hear about your dance studio and give it a try, without you actively promoting it. But hundreds of other potential customers may never learn of your business if you don’t develop an adequate marketing plan. Think of the new students you might gain if you have one!
In need of a new website for your dance studio? Take a look at our dance web design portfolio, and see whether we’re a good fit!