Running a dance studio can often feel like an uphill battle. Between planning class schedules, marketing your studio, and staying on top of finances, the day-to-day tasks can quickly get overwhelming.
As a dance studio manager or owner, you know these duties are critical for the success of your business, but you also probably desire more time to connect with your students and help them grow as dancers and as people. At the end of the day, that’s why you got into this business — to share your passion for dance with others. Luckily, we have a few tips and tricks to help win your time back!
Here at DanceStudio-Pro, we’ve helped thousands of dance studio managers and owners implement more efficient management practices by using our dance studio management software. We’ve compiled eight best practices to run your dance studio more effectively:
These tips simplify essential tasks and automate others, leaving you with a streamlined core strategy that allows you to make the best use of your time. Let’s dive in!
Powerful dance studio software is one of your greatest assets for running a more successful dance studio. The best dance studio software simplifies management processes and helps you run a better dance studio with less time and effort.
Treat your studio software as a personal assistant by delegating essential tasks to be automated within the system. Processes that previously took hours or even days to complete, like tracking down missing tuition payments or organizing ticket sales for live events, can be handled entirely by your studio management software. Plus, you’ll save some trees in the process, ditching old-fashioned paper filing systems or sign-up sheets for a streamlined digital system.
As this image demonstrates, dance studio software can take care of a range of functions for you to lighten your load. Your studio management software can:
Running a dance studio in 2021 requires a full embrace of the technology available within the industry. Using quality dance studio software sets your studio apart from competitors in the market — you’ll not only become a more effective manager but also provide a streamlined customer experience. Your students or their parents can use your system to easily make tuition payments or sign up for classes, reducing hassle and stress on their end.
Investigate your options for dance studio management software to determine the right choice for your business.
One of the most challenging aspects of running a dance studio is making business strategy decisions. It can be hard to know the right path to take when positioning your dance studio within the local market to attract new students and retain your current students. You may see other dance studio owners offering new classes or expanding their physical facilities, and wonder if you should do the same to keep up.
The right dance studio software can help with this, too. Accurate reporting and analytics reduce the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding your business decisions. With a tool like DanceStudio-Pro’s Dashboards feature, you can collect and analyze data regarding your studio’s:
Use these comprehensive metrics to assess your studio’s growth over time and determine the best course of action based on past experience. You’ll have more assurance and confidence in your business decisions because you’ve completed a thorough analysis and come to a data-driven conclusion.
Some aspects of your dance studio require your undivided attention, such as customer service emergencies or building relationships with students. But a few elements within your studio management processes don’t require this level of micromanagement. Use your studio software system to streamline and automate tasks like:
The moral of the story? Don’t put everything on your plate. By automating and delegating certain tasks, you’ll reduce stress and run your studio more efficiently.
You likely spend a good amount of your overall budget on marketing efforts. Whether you send out flyers, social media ads, local TV or radio spots, billboards, or direct mail appeals, you know how expensive it is to effectively advertise your studio.
Marketing is critical for attracting new students, but it’s also important to focus on retaining the students you already have. Overall, it’s much more cost-effective to hold onto current students rather than having to continuously solicit new customers due to high student-turnover rates. Student retention drives a steady cash flow to your business, so focus on engagement efforts that inspire loyalty in current customers.
Once a dancer signs up for their first class, implement special incentives or perks that keep them coming back time and time again. Offer students:
Focusing on amplifying student retention will increase your studio’s revenue over the long term, save money on marketing efforts, and foster a thriving, close-knit studio community.
On a similar note, be sure to focus your marketing efforts on those who are most likely to actually register for a class. Prospect management allows you to keep track of new student leads and be more deliberate with your advertising appeals. Use DanceStudio-Pro’s leads and prospect management system to:
Prospect management empowers you to not only acquire insights about leads but immediately act on the information to gain new students. For instance, if you discover through your research that many new clients hear about your business through targeted ads on their social media pages, you can put more marketing dollars into that channel.
Also, if you discover that certain demographics are more likely to convert to students, such as girls between the ages of 9-15, you can focus your marketing efforts on connecting with parents of these prospective students.
By tracking and following up with leads through prospect management, you ensure you’re acquiring new students who are more likely to stick around long term.
As previously mentioned, communication is a major aspect of running a dance studio that your management software can simplify. Through a system like DanceStudio-Pro’s robo-texting platform, you can immediately connect students and parents with the information they need. You can also segment out communications to certain groups, such as students in different dance levels or specific classes, so everyone only receives relevant information.
Additionally, simplify scheduling by allowing students and parents to sign up for classes online with an easy-to-use platform. Post your student registration links across your social media platforms to quickly get the word out.
DanceStudio-Pro’s system also gives parents real-time class and tuition information before they sign up so they know exactly what they’re getting into. Transparency in your communications about tuition and fees is key to earning customer loyalty.
These communication strategies streamline the registration process for students and parents, ensuring customers don’t have to set aside hours to sign their students up for classes or investigate the total cost of their tuition and fees.
Take your studio communications up a notch by creating a custom app built specifically for your dance studio’s needs. Students and parents appreciate having all virtual interactions in one place on an easy-to-use mobile app.
DanceStudio-Pro’s MyApp-Pro makes it simple to create a comprehensive app for your studio with no coding necessary. From your mobile app, you can complete these activities and more:
By giving students and parents access to your dance studio app, you offer them something they won’t find at many other studios and provide a chance to engage more deeply with your studio community. That generates a greater sense of camaraderie and loyalty within your studio.
Our final tip for running a dance studio more effectively is to broaden your class offerings. By offering unique classes or classes that appeal to niche groups, you differentiate your studio from competitors and attract a wider audience of new students. For example, consider offering:
The more you respond to consumer demand and expand your services, the greater success you’ll have going forward. There are likely plenty of other dance classes in your area, so it’s crucial that you offer special features students won’t find anywhere else to draw in a larger customer base.
We know running a dance studio isn’t easy, and if you’ve struggled along the way, you’re not alone. Plenty of dance studio managers and owners have been where you are and experienced the same challenges. We’ve seen how these tips have improved their management practices and empowered them to run their studios more effectively.
Ultimately, dance studio software is one of the most important components of a successful studio strategy, and investing in the right provider can make or break your business. Be sure to thoroughly review your options for dance studio software to choose a system that aligns with your business goals and strategy.
If you still have lingering questions or concerns about running a dance studio or investing in studio management software, here are a few additional resources to explore:
Laura Cole, CEO of DanceStudio-Pro