People can’t help but make snap judgements. It’s human nature… which is why it’s important to remember that potential students are making judgements on you and your piano teaching business before they even meet you! So how can you control what kind of first impression you create if you haven’t even met face to face?
There are three things that “greet” your potential clients before they ever meet you face-to-face. Spending some time ensuring that they make a good first impression is well worth the time-spent. Here’s what you should be checking on…
Leave a lasting impression on new piano students… (a good one!)
Check out the following list of small, yet very important factors that combine to create a great first impression on potential piano students. Have you thought about these three things lately?
Your Answering Machine…
Do you use your business name on the machine or does your client feel as though they have accidentally called your family number? Do you sound friendly? Rushed? Desperate? Aim for a message that uses your studio name (not your family members’ names), that lets potential clients know you are not able to answer the phone because you are teaching (“Look how in demand I am!”), and clearly tells callers that you check messages every evening and will call them back that same day. People who are shopping around for lessons may not leave a message if they get the impression that you’ll call them back “whenever”… and if they don’t leave a message you’ve often lost them.
Your Advertising…
We’ve talked a lot about making sure your advertising is professional, eye-catching and branded to your piano teaching studio. But have you thought about where and how you post your advertising? Posters hung in “cheap” looking places tend to give the impression that your business belongs amongst the tractors for sale and the “Free to a good home pit bulls”. Choose your posting areas wisely. If you have advertising on your car does your car make a good first impression? Is it tidy and clean? Do you appear as though you are a starving artist? Here’s 4-steps to tidying up your marketing materials if you need to.
Your Website…
Today, people make snap judgements online immediately and will click off of your site to look for greener pastures if it appears to be the slightest bit outdated. Outdated websites make your business seem behind the times and as though you have not invested in your piano teaching business. You can easily update your website (for free!) and therefore there’s no reason to not have your site up to snuff. If your website has any of the following, it needs an update! …
1. moving smiley faces 😆
2. more than 3 different fonts, 3 different colours of fonts, or the use of “comic sans”
3. out-dated clipart images and/or poor quality photographs
4. lack of an “interaction factor” (Facebook or Twitter button links or a regularly updated blog)
By paying close attention to what your potential clients see before they see you, you’ll achieve greater success in attracting new piano students. The added benefit is these new piano students will come into the musical relationship viewing you as a professional… and will therefore be more likely to treat you as such (reducing future headaches!)
Did you know that the teaching materials you use also can affect how people view your business? Toss out the old-fashioned and replace them with modern, professionally-designed materials from PianoBookClub.com that let clients know you’re using the most up-to-date materials available!
Mary Engleman says
July 2, 2012 at 5:28 amThank you for the this wonderful article. This is great advice. I will make sure to pay attention to my answering phone message and website which I have not started but will. I really enjoyed reading this. Kudos to you!
Ryan Record says
July 2, 2012 at 11:07 amEarly in my teaching career I utilized posters, but I found it fairly unsuccessful. I suppose the area is important, but I still have my doubts. Has anyone else had success using posters?
Andrea says
July 2, 2012 at 2:06 pmHi Ryan,
Generic “Piano Lessons All Ages” type posters really don’t work. However, if you have an eye-catching poster that appeals to a niche group then you can attact clients this way. We always have the most success going after a well-defined group and putting our advertising where their “eyes” are most likely to be.
Lorraine says
July 3, 2012 at 5:05 amI love that you mention the perils of using Comic Sans. It is absolutely the worst font ever and looks so unprofessional. However, so many educational establishments choose to use this terrible font.
Emily says
July 5, 2012 at 2:30 amIt’s been mentioned that Comic Sans looks unprofessional and out-dated, which I whole-heartedly agree with, though does still its uses in the educational field.
It’s obviously not suited to high-quality websites, posters and other advertising for your business, but in terms of lesson resources (or anything you specifically want your students to read and understand) some students with lower literacy skill levels find it to be one of the most accessible fonts for them to read and understand. I am by no means advocating its use in all lesson resources, but merely suggesting that the font still has its uses for a particular group of students who need a bit more help accessing the information you’re providing them.
Do keep it away from your advertising though!
Andrea says
July 5, 2012 at 8:01 amHi Emily! Yes, we just mean to stay away from it on your website.. and on your print advertising too. It does have it’s place 🙂 In fact, one of my friends in University found that it is one of the best fonts for taking up space when you have a minimum page requirement on an assignment! 🙂 LOL