| 1. Considering your "lifetime value" of each student is vital. For example, you know that a student spends $60/month (for example) with you and stays three years on average. That means they will spend $2,160 with you over the course of time. Do your best to remove every possible barrier the parent might have to getting their child to begin lessons. We were in a similar situation in Japan, running our after-school ESL classes. By removing the initial registration fee and allowing students to try the classes for the first month, without risk, we so dominated our market that the national chains, with all their marketing dollars (or yen), gave up and left the city. We ended up growing from about 87 students to over 350. 2. Give each of your current students coupons that they can give to their friends. The coupon entitles the new student to attend for their first month at half price. If a student brings in a friend and the friend stays, then give the student a handsome reward such as 50% or 100% off their next month's fees. Remember that you are gaining $2,160 for every new student you get, so be generous on the front end, knowing that you will capitalize over time. |