When it comes to studio marketing, piano parents are your greatest ally. There is simply no better way to grow your studio than to have parents sing your praises to everyone they know. So, it just seems natural to tease out a few glowing referrals with some sort of incentive program; you know the“one free lesson per referral” kind?…
But if you’re like me, asking for referrals or offering some sort of incentive probably makes you feel a little…. awkward, which leaves you with three options:
- Abandon referral marketing (bad choice)
- Grin and bear it (… wish I could)
- The Ninja Referral Marketing System (… sound interesting? Read on!)
The Ninja Piano Warrior
In feudal Japan, ninjas were stealth warriors; accomplishing their tasks while leaving nary a trace. I’m going to show you how to be a ninja… a piano marketing ninja… a stealth marketer who gains referrals, without resorting to awkward and pitchy hype.
Before we get into those ideas, you may be wondering, “What’s wrong with pitchy sales?” While “pounding the pavement” tactics works for some, for piano teachers often the best advertising strategy is one that has parents come to you, rather than having you chase parents. Parents are more apt to sign their children up for an extracurricular activity if they feel fortunate to be able to do so. Studios that have a waiting list and a reputation for being “tough to get in” are more likely to get inquiries than a piano studio that advertises, “Half price lessons to the first 20 who sign up!”. And while that is obviously an exaggerated example, there is a truth to this.
The best studio-filling strategies are ones that place you in a position of not appearing to advertise… and yet you’re actually advertising like crazy. Here’s how it works.
Piano Ninja Strategy 1: My First Gigs
Several times throughout the year, enlist a local coffee shop as your venue and throw a mini-recital for 7-12 students. Encourage each student to bring two family members and one friend. It’s as simple as that! Your students rock the recital, their friends witness your piano studio awesomeness, their friends’ parents are naturally intrigued about what just went on… Bam! New students coming your way!
Piano Ninja Strategy 2: Friends Help Friends
Enlist the help of friends when encouraging piano practice. Instead of sending your piano students home with a boring old practice sheet… try sending them home with a practice task that requires the help of a friend. The possibilities for this are endless, but you may want to do a “friendship” variation of the following printable from our practice resource.
Your students will return the following week all practiced up and you will have gained some pretty unique exposure for your studio.
Piano Ninja Strategy 3: Throw a Piano Party
Kids are social little creatures who love to hang with their friends. If you have the energy to “hang” with some pre-teens for an hour or so, consider having a piano party for several of your students and their friends. Search our blog and brainstorm a bunch of musical-themed games that don’t require piano skills (but do teach basic concepts), whip up some snacks, throw in a craft or two, and just have blast!
Piano Ninja Strategy 4: Performer of the Month
Harness the power of viral videos and showcase a piano student performer of the month on your studio YouTube channel. Parents will be chomping at the bit to share a video of their son or daughter performing a perfected piano piece. Before you know it, uncles, aunts, grandmas, grandpas, friends, dentists, teachers, and hairdressers will all be raving about your piano studio.
Piano Ninja Strategy 5: Bring-A-Buddy Day
Bring-A-Buddy day is a great opportunity to spread the word about your piano studio. There are a couple of ways you can approach this task: 1) have your piano students “teach” a lesson to their buddy OR 2) have your piano students and their buddies play some fun little duets. Use our free “Bring A Buddy Day” package to help make this an easy task.
And Finally… Let Your Studio Speak For Itself!
All of the marketing in the world will not help a dull and lifeless studio. Focus on building something that is unique… something that is creative… something that is a ton of fun! You shouldn’t have to sell your studio, it should sell itself. And if it does sell itself, then it’s just a matter of using your super-ninja powers to showcase it to the world.
The ultimate Piano Ninja Strategy? Having piano families who LOVE your lessons and sing your praises to all they meet! The way to accomplish this? With motivating music. We can help! Check out Andrea and Trevor Dow’s Very Useful Piano Library for word-of-mouth-worthy piano lesson materials for your primer and level 1 students.
Sam Marion says
I like the idea of a studio You tube channel. How does one set that up?
Thanks!
Sam
Andrea says
Hi Sam – we’ll definitely do a post about this in the future!
Betsy Ogden says
We’ve run a program most of the year called music martial arts. Each student has a laminated karate person and earns points each month. Points are given for various things, but one thing is they get points for bringing a friend to piano lessons. The final point total at the end of each month will earn them a musical martial arts belt that they can take home with them. Bringing a friend has been the best thing I’ve done so far to get new students. Parents are willing to share the lesson w a friend so their child can get points and friends get a glimpse of what super fun piano lessons are like. It’s a win win.
Barbara says
Great idea, Betsy! Thanks for sharing it.
Barbara says
I was going to ask the same thing as Sam above. Maybe TPT could do a post on doing a Youtube channel. Thanks so much for the great marketing ideas!
Kathy G says
Hey, me too (“showcase a piano student performer-of-the-month on your studio YouTube channel. “) I’ve heard about this but haven’t a clue how to do it.
Kristen Smith says
Thanks so much for your thoughts on referrals, and answering my question so quickly. I will try the bring a friend day/week. I have always had tons of referrals where I lived before so this is a new experience for me. I can’t wait for the book on duets with friends! I hope you send it out soon. 🙂
Melissa Kamm says
I love ALL these ideas! When you use the coffee shop venue, do you bring your own keyboard?
Andrea says
Yes, I have a keyboard that I bring – it’s a good investment as it allows your piano students to play almost anywhere (great advertising!)
Paula Cain says
Fabulous fresh ideas on marketing. I will take all of these into consideration in the next year – thanks so much!
Paula (your VI friend)
Andrea says
Hi Paula! 🙂 Glad to hear they are helpful. It’s nice sometimes to think “outside the typical advertising box” – refreshing for everyone!