It’s not too late to increase your class enrollment after the dance season begins, and you can do it with the students that you already have. It generally costs about 5 times as much to acquire a new customer that it does to keep a current one. Why not upsell to the customers that are already your fans?
Twice per year I have a little event at my studio that I like to call Crazy Class Week. It is a full week of regularly scheduled classes during which I encourage currently enrolled students to try classes other than the ones they are already enrolled in. I allow them to try any class that is within their age range. I even let them try the next level that they will eventually progress to so they can get excited for what’s to come. It is the easiest promotion. It’s free with the exception of small prizes and one larger prize. It always gets some additional enrollments. Most of all, my studio families love it. They are so grateful for a freebie, and they love to see their dancers get excited about something new. In addition to a boost in enrollment, it is a great way to say thank you to your current customers.
I highly recommend giving a Crazy Class Week a try at your studio. Here’s how…
Put It on the Calendar
I hold Crazy Class Week twice each year, once per semester. I strategically schedule it to fall right after we have revealed the theme of the recital, the costumes that each class will be wearing, and the song they will be dancing to, and right before the cutoff date to get enrolled in classes that will be performing. Costume selections are organized into a costume preview book. It’s a big deal. Dancers start asking when the costume preview book will be available for their perusal about 5 minutes after each semester starts. Being excited about the costume can be a big motivator for dancers to join additional classes, and the enrollment deadline means that their parents will have to take action.
Let Your People Know
Make sure that your studio families are informed ahead of time and understand what Crazy Class Week is, why it’s awesome and how it works. Here is a template you are welcome to use. Include information about Crazy Class Week in your monthly newsletter, list it on your “important dates” in your handbook and online calendar, create a Facebook event and social media posts, and send a couple of emails to your studio families about it leading up to the big week.
Give Prizes
Sweeten the deal and make it even more fun by letting students know that they will receive a small prize for every class they try during Crazy Class Week and that they will be entered to win a larger prize. The small prize is usually a sucker or some stickers. For the drawing, I give away one free month in a class that the dancer is not currently enrolled in. That costs me nothing and they usually end up staying in the new class and paying for it for the rest of the year.
Get Your Whole Team Involved
During the 2 weeks leading up to Crazy Class Week tell your teaching faculty to be talking to their students about it and encouraging them to pick some different classes to try. Get your office staff ready to help families select trial classes. Have plenty of schedules printed so that they can highlight the suggested trial classes, and have plenty of Crazy Class Week forms to hand out. These will be turned in for the prize drawing at the end of the week.
Make Classes Fun
Classes during Crazy Class Week should show off the most fun and exciting aspects of each class. Students that are trying the class should be welcomed warmly. They need to know that the instructors are ecstatic to have them join in.
Note: even if classes are full, Crazy Class Week can help strengthen enrollments in the next season as students will be looking forward to jumping into new classes at the first opportunity.