It takes a lot to run a successful business, and the music school business is no exception. Finding students, hiring good teachers, and administrative duties are all important, and often receive the bulk of an owner’s attention. But something that is equally important, and yet somehow often overlooked, is the quandary of STUDENT RETENTION. Focusing on getting new students is only natural, but if old students are leaving as new ones come in a your business is only treading water, and will either grow at a much slower pace than it could, or, even worse, shrink. You need to focus not only on acquiring new students, but also on retaining the students you currently have in order for your business to be successful. Otherwise, it’s 2 steps forward, 2 steps back. 
As you know, the longer someone takes music lessons, the better musician they become. It is therefore not only in your best interest from a business perspective to keep them enrolled, but also in their best interests as musicians to continue taking music lessons. The longer they stay, the better they get, and the more money you earn from them. It’s truly a win-win situation. So what can you do to keep your students, and their parents, interested, engaged, and enrolled in music lessons? Here are 7 great tips:
1. BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN STOP WITHDRAWALS – THEY ARE NOT INEVITABLE! Sure, during the course of running a music school, they will happen. But a large percentage of them can be prevented. Always remember that you’re not trying to push something on people that they don’t want. You’re not selling encyclopedias, after all. Ask what the problem is, and figure out how you can find a solution. Are they too busy? Is there another day or time that would work better? What about Sundays? How about Skype lessons? If they’re unsure, let them fill out the withdrawal paperwork today, and suggest trying a new solution for their remaining lessons. If it doesn’t work out, so be it, but if your solution solves their problem, then great! You just saved a student! Remember, though – it all starts with a positive mental attitude attitude that is centered around knowing that there are solutions to the concerns of parents and students alike. You really can stop withdrawals!
2. FOLLOW UP CALLS. After every first lesson, give your new students a follow up call. Ask them how things went, then listen. Maybe they didn’t like their teacher, or they didn’t like the school, or they have an issue that needs to be addressed. Or maybe they had a great experience. Whatever the case may be, a follow up call will give you the chance to act and address any situation that may be present. You can do this by offering them a free lesson, moving them to a different teacher, or offering them a heartfelt congratulations on their progress and thank them for putting their trust in you. Reaching out to students and parents like this goes a long way toward establishing a long lasting relationship of trust.
3. BUILD SOLID, PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH CLIENTS. If the possibility of premature withdrawal comes up, try to have a conversation. Suggest some different solutions. Maybe the student is having a bad day. Parents might be temporarily fed up with parenting. It happens to the best of us. Instead of fighting the withdrawal request, initiate a discussion. Many times you can work out a solution. But remember that you can’t save students from quitting without already having a strong working relationship with the clients. Relationships are of paramount importance! Know the first name of every student and parent. Remember personal details. Did they just get back from a trip? Ask them how it was. Does your student also participate in other activities, like sports? Ask them how those are going. Take and keep notes, and consult them frequently. A strong personal relationship goes a long way toward building lasting professional relationships.
4. HOLD STAFF/TEACHER MEETINGS. During enrollment time, the importance of these meetings can not be overlooked. August and September are the biggest enrollment months of the year, so to get all the teachers excited, focused on being great teachers, and generally getting their heads in the game, do a big meeting with everyone. Do a presentation to get everyone pumped up for impending enrollment (and scheduling) increases, and stress to the teachers that they need to communicate with parents at every lesson. And what about teacher issues? Some teachers just aren’t a good fit with some students, and that may very well lead to a student wanting to quit. Always suggest trying out another teacher for the rest of their lessons. It’s important to find the right fit. Is one teacher losing more students than others? Are they burned out? Pay attention to which teachers are losing students, and make sure that the teacher him or herself isn’t the cause of your losses.
5. MYSTERY SHOP YOUR COMPETITION. What are they charging? What are they saying? Are there hidden fees, like recital fees? Do they use high pressure sales tactics? If another school is cheaper than yours, what are their hidden expenses and intangibles that account for these differences? And why are you better? You’re better because you are transparent, you have no hidden fees. Everything is stated clearly up front, including make up lesson fees. Let parents know that you hear things from students that come to you from other local schools, and why they ended up choosing you.
6. PUT OUT A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER. There are a lot of important secrets and strategies that go into a newsletter to get people to stay with a music school and increase the duration of their lessons. Highlight individual student achievements. Notify about upcoming recitals. Student profiles. Teacher profiles. There are tons of possibilities to highlight various benefits of your school. You can do both a hard copy and an e-version which goes on your website, and also gets emailed to students and parents. A monthly newsletter is a must.
7. HAVE A GOAL-SETTING & REWARDS SYSTEM IN PLACE. The importance of this educational secret simply can not be overlooked. Goal setting and rewards are paramount to success! Students need to be excited about their lessons. As in any learning environment, when students have goals and rewards, they have motivation to practice, learn, and be excited about what they are achieving. We’ve seen students who were on the verge of dropping out, but stuck with their lessons because of the unique system we have in place our own music school. Our system has been proven to dramatically increase student retention. It’s been helping hundreds of music schools around the world, and we are happy to be able to share it with you. The Musical Ladder System gets music students genuinely excited about their lessons. For music school owners (and the teachers they employ), this means keeping students longer, keeping enthusiasm levels high, making satisfied parents, and putting higher profits on your bottom line. The Musical Ladder System has proven time and time again, to music schools throughout the world, to be an invaluable tool that succeeds in keeping students interested, motivated, and enrolled in lessons for considerably longer durations of time.
The Musical Ladder is getting International attention! Click to learn more.
