Dance studio automation refers to the use of software to streamline administrative tasks involved in running a dance studio. By replacing manual processes with efficient workflows, you can allocate more time to labor-intensive areas that require a human touch.
Dance studio automation introduces several benefits for your studio, including:
Automation is the key to scalability. By helping you save time, improve financial health, keep current customers satisfied, and make informed business decisions, automation empowers sustainable growth over time.
As a dance studio owner, you’re constantly communicating with parents, students, and staff. Automation can streamline routine email, text, and chat communications so you can focus your energy on more personalized messages that require human intervention. For instance, you may use automation tools to send:
With the right dance studio software, you can set up these types of messages to trigger based on certain actions. For example, you may automatically have your system send payment confirmations within five minutes of parents completing a transaction. Additionally, you may create a template for emergency closures and manually trigger the system to send an email to all dance families and staff members when you need to close the studio.
Expanding your reach can take a lot of time. By introducing dance studio automation into your marketing efforts, you can engage more potential customers with less effort. Potential ways to automate your marketing strategy include:
While turning strangers into leads can be a daunting task, automation helps engage prospects from the beginning, adding them to your pipeline.
Once you’ve gotten leads in your pipeline, you must constantly follow up with them to encourage them to register for your studio. Yet again, nurturing these relationships takes consistent time and energy that automation can streamline. The right dance studio software will help you automatically nurture leads via:
You may also use integrations between your dance studio software and other solutions to automate communications with leads. For example, you can set up an integration between Studio Pro and Mailchimp to automatically add leads in Studio Pro as email subscribers to keep them updated on your studio’s current happenings.
Integrating your dance studio software with your external communication platforms and calendar apps allows you to streamline scheduling by automatically:
Additionally, you can automate the registration process by:
Incorporating automation into scheduling and registration provides a smoother, more cohesive experience for parents, students, and staff.
How many times have you chased down parents to pay tuition or open balances? In addition to automating communications about these payments, you can also use Auto-Pay to reliably collect payments and help parents pay on time. Your payment processing solution should also automatically generate invoices for parents and reattempt failed transactions, further streamlining the process.
Digitize attendance tracking to centralize this data. If you have attendance rules, set up your system to automatically notify parents, students, and teachers when students have hit their absence limits.
For example, let’s say you allow competition team members to have three absences per semester. In this case, you may have your attendance tracking system automatically send the student and their parents an email that looks something like this:
Dear [Family Name],
We’re writing to notify you that [Student Name] has had two unexcused absences this semester. Since we only allow three absences per semester, this is a warning that you have one absence left.
Please contact the studio if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
[Studio Owner Name]
Your dance studio software houses a ton of data. Configure your system to make sense of this information, automatically generating reports on the following areas:
With this information at your fingertips, you can make stronger, data-driven decisions on behalf of your studio. For example, if you run a waitlist report and find that your Wednesday Ballet 3 class has ten people on the waitlist, you may open up a Monday Ballet 3 class to enroll even more students.
Cloud-based systems automatically save your most important business data to the “cloud,” a secure, remote online environment. Instead of storing your data in physical forms, spreadsheets, or non-cloud-based systems, the cloud prevents you from losing your data due to:
With a cloud-based platform, you don’t have to prompt for software backups. It’ll automatically save your progress and data so you can easily access it wherever, whenever.
Start by determining your most pressing pain points that you could use automation to alleviate. Ask your staff the following question: “What tasks waste the most time on a weekly or monthly basis?” Compile their answers into a comprehensive list, which might look something like this:
Once you understand the problems you’re looking to solve, you can find solutions that equip you to resolve these issues.
Transform your list of time-consuming tasks into a “must-have” features list. For instance, a studio with the task list shown above may seek a solution with the following features:
Then, look for software that encompasses the features you need. If you only have one specific use case, like social media post scheduling, you might adopt a specialized tool for that purpose. On the other hand, if you have many different areas you’d like to automate, your best bet is a comprehensive dance studio software solution that integrates with your other platforms.
When you’ve chosen the right software for your team, you’ll need to fully integrate it into your operations. This process may include:
As you work with your solution more, develop a usage guide for your team. They may even help you discover new automation use cases you can implement using your new software.
Successful automation requires continuously iterating on your approach. Gather feedback from your team on where they’ve found automation helpful and where you still need to improve your approach so you can make it more effective.
For instance, you may measure how much time you spent on lead management before and after implementing automated lead management tools. If you were hoping to save ten hours a week and have only saved five, you might reconfigure your settings or work with the solution’s support team to understand how you can get the most out of your system.
Determine how ready your studio is to incorporate automation into its operations by completing the quiz below.
Dance studio automation can help you simplify business processes, saving you time that you can dedicate to building relationships and growing your studio. If you’re looking for a comprehensive dance studio solution that can help you automate various studio management tasks, look no further than Studio Pro.
From automating recital reminders to collecting payments via Auto-Pay, Studio Pro has the dance studio automation features you need to reduce time spent on manual tasks and run your studio more efficiently. Check out how you can automate your studio operations today by signing up for our free 30-day trial.
If you’d like to learn more about incorporating automation into your operations, explore these additional resources:
Laura Cole, CEO and Business Leader of Studio Pro
Laura Cole is the CEO and Business Leader of Studio Pro, a leading studio management software platform serving over 6,000 studios across all 50 U.S. states and more than 35 countries. Laura brings deep expertise in SaaS operations, strategic planning, and project management, with a passion for helping dance, cheer, gymnastics, and performing arts businesses grow and thrive.
Since taking the helm in 2020, she’s been dedicated to building tools that streamline studio operations and empower small business owners to succeed. When she’s not leading Studio Pro or partnering with studio owners, Laura enjoys running, yoga, and hosting friends at home with her husband and two young boys.