Libsyn Directory

How to Amaze Your Customers with Shep Hyken | Episode 13

Release Date: 04/04/2019

How To Increase Sales And Improve Retention In Just 10 Minutes | EP 226

Music Lessons and Marketing

Discover effective strategies to boost sales and enhance student retention in your music school. In this episode, Dave unveils two proven methods to keep students engaged and coming back for more. Say goodbye to churn and hello to growth with these actionable insights! Jonah Berger’s onto something: keeping your music school on people’s lips is key. Word of mouth’s a game-changer, and staying memorable doesn’t have to eat up your time. Two main strategies got your back—one for your current kids and another for those who’ve hit pause. Generosity’s your secret weapon. Drop a...

How to Create a Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategy | EP 225

Music Lessons and Marketing

Ready to unlock the secrets of a powerful word-of-mouth marketing strategy? Dive into this eye-opening episode with Dave. Despite its undeniable effectiveness, too many music schools are missing out on the potential of word-of-mouth marketing. Discover why it's crucial to shift your focus from offering discounts to showing genuine gratitude, a tactic proven to build trust and reputation. Explore how simple, personalized gestures can work wonders in nurturing strong relationships and staying on the radar of both current and former students. Dave will guide you through the art of subtle...

What Your Families Think of Your Pricing | Ep 224

Music Lessons and Marketing

In this episode, Dave shares insights into the psychology behind pricing and customer perception, particularly in the context of music lessons. People often have a vague idea about the cost of music lessons, influenced by factors like convenience, reputation, and social validation. Music school owners sometimes mistakenly set prices based on their own financial perspective rather than their customers' ability to pay. Dave emphasizes the importance of understanding that clients may value music lessons differently, seeing them either as a commodity or as a transformative experience for their...

How I Went from 140 to 700 Students in 3 Years | Ep 223

Music Lessons and Marketing

In this episode, Dave speaks with two members of Jonny Wilson’s Build a Music School program and how it helped them grow their music school.

How to Create a Music Summer Camp Part II | Ep 222

Music Lessons and Marketing

Learn how to create a music summer camp experience that keeps kids returning year after year.

How to Improve Summer Student Retention | EP 221

Music Lessons and Marketing

In this episode, Dave explores different ways to avoid the summer slump and make summer your most profitable season.

How to Create a Successful Summer Camp Part 1 With Andy Brown | Ep 220

Music Lessons and Marketing

Camps can be a great way to offset student drops during the summer. In this episode, I speak with the King of Camp, Andy Brown, on how to structure a camp program parents and kids love.

8 Business Lessons I Learned During COVID | EP 219

Music Lessons and Marketing

In this episode, Dave shares 8 lessons he learned about leadership, business, and marketing during COVID.

Teaching Without a Method Book With Tim Topham | Ep 218

Music Lessons and Marketing

Internationally renowned music educator Tim Topham shares how to improve student engagement and retention in his new book, “No Book Beginners.”

10 Ways to Market Summer Camp | Ep 217

Music Lessons and Marketing

In this episode, I share a 10-step summer camp marketing strategy that stretches from January to August.

More Episodes

Congratulations! You made the sale. You're one more student closer to your monthly sales goal. Mission accomplished!

Right? Wrong!

The mission has just begun. The mission is to amaze your new customer. To go beyond the expectation. To make them feel valued, important and celebrated. This is the new battlefield of business.

This is where you and your competition will go head to head. We all teach the same notes, scales and chords. The experience you create beyond the lesson is where real growth happens. The studio that creates the most magical experience is the studio that will capture the minds and hearts of their community.

Pricing Music Lessons

The battlefield in the past has been pricing. The one with the cheapest prices becomes the leader. This can work when your product has little value in the eyes of the market. This can work when there’s nothing clearly special about your product other than price. For those who read or listen to Seth Godin-you’ve heard this idea that when lowering prices is your unique selling point that it’s a race to the bottom. The good news for music schools is we’re selling something that is of high value. Youth enrichment. Parents don’t care about music lessons. They care about the enrichment music will bring to their child's life. You are selling something parents value.

Coke is It

The battlefield can sometimes be quality but look at the Cola wars. We know who the king of Cola is. Coke! We know who Coke’s arch rival is. Pepsi. Coke clearly tastes better than Pepsi, right? Pepsi is notorious for always beating Coke in taste test. From the perspective of taste and quality Pepsi is the winner. But the Coca Cola brand better captures our hearts and minds and remains the leader in the soft drink industry. Something else is at play here.

Extreme Moments of Awesomeness

Let’s look at customer experience. Youth enrichment business, music, dance, gymnastics, martial arts, are perfectly placed to go big with customer experience. Music studios have these built in mind blowing, life changing peak experiences. The recital, the concert-these are extreme moments of awesomeness, of self-realization for a child. It’s at moments like this that kids realize or discover what they’re capable of. How much value do you think parents place on that?

A Little Magic

But what about everything in between these stand out moments? The weekly routine lessons. The mundane has the potential to be magical. You just have to create these moments for kids.

Hot Buttered Popcorn

Danny Thompson creates memorable moments by serving hot buttered popcorn every day in a vintage looking carnival popcorn maker. Take a moment and think back to when you were 8 years old. Imagine what impact the sights, the smells and the taste this popcorn would have on you. I was a guest on Danny’s podcast, Music Lessons Business Academy, and we talked about the old restaurant The Ground Round. No one went there for the food. The food was ok. Everyone went there because they served a bottomless basket of peanuts to every table. You were encouraged by the wait staff to throw the peanut shells on the floor. Kids were allowed to make a mess. It was the best.

Do you think Danny Thompson feels the $50 expense for the popcorn maker was worth it? It’s added to the culture and customer experience (not to mention customer retention) This is not about music lessons. Something else is at play here.

Status

Mike Grande creates magical moments by celebrating his students on social media. What’s so magical about it? The magic is in the feeling of pride he creates for these kids. The magic is in the feeling of pride and relief the kids parents feel when they see their child connecting with music and having a great sense of individuality. The magic is in the new status Mike provides for these kids. This kid on Instagram playing guitar is no longer just a regular kid. He or she is now a musician. Musicians are considered to be special people. Gifted people. All parents want their child to be special, unique and gifted.