After hearing me share how I built my studio to 45 students in less than two years, a colleague recently sent me a message on Facebook inquiring about one of the specific tactics I mentioned,, which was marketing to music teachers in the schools.
I thought her questions were ones that many of you might enjoy hearing my answers to but first here was her inquiry:
I’ve heard you mention before that you had good luck meeting with school music teachers, letting them know about your services and asking them to refer students to you.
How did you find out which teachers to contact?
Did you call or email?
Did you meet with them in person?
What did you say to make them more likely to agree to the meeting, and what things did you bring up during the meeting?
One of the many marketing tactics I took in the first two years I was open for business included contacting and meeting all the school teachers in the county and surrounding counties in person.
Psst…there’s a freebie at the end to help you organize your new marketing strategy, so stick with me!
Why This is So Important
Who is it that parents go to when they look for lessons? They ask the kid’s music teacher. You should know who they are and what they look like, so if you see them around town, especially in a small town, you can at least put a face with a name.
Building rapport with school music teachers is building your referral network.
Since I keep detailed records of every inquiry, conversation, and contact I have with potential students, I can announce for a fact that 6% of my total inquiries thus far have come from the school music teachers. This includes those who only inquired as well as those who ultimately registered. Even better, 8.7% of my total registrations have come from this marketing effort – nearly one in eleven.
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I have been on the lookout for a while for a book of hymns in their original state (not arranged) that were slightly simplified. The homophonic texture of most hymns is quite complicated for most students to play. The Piano Student’s Hymnal is exactly what I was looking for. I have one adult student using it who loves it – it’s the perfect level of difficulty. I would love to see Alfred publish one that’s even just a tad easier.
