HOW TO DANCE YOUR WAY INTO MY MARKETING HEART
Resolution time. Early January and I\’m in the kitchen cooking with my husband. We\’re talking about our goals for the year and having some fun. On a professional level, I run a Los Angeles public relations boutique.
On a personal level, I want to dance with my husband. I took dancing classes all last year without him but for 2017, I want him to be part of it.
He\’s excited to do this too but he wants to take ballroom, while I want to take salsa. So, we marriage compromise and decide to do both!
I immediately start searching online – it\’s January 2nd and there\’s no time like the present – so I\’m happy to break off from cooking dinner.
But after Googling local dance studios and classes for ten minutes I almost immediately switch from wanting to book dance lessons to wanting to reorganize everyone\’s marketing. I need dance lessons but it seems a lot of people need some basic marketing lessons!
I\’m infuriated and frustrated as a publicist, a marketer, and a future dancer/wife, and here\’s why:
I\’m in the market to buy, so I want clearly marked schedules, prices and a way to pay. I want to visualize my future success and go back into the kitchen and say to my husband “we can dance every other Saturday at 3pm on Ventura and Vine – how’s that?” and seal the deal.
But one hour of searching later I find beautiful websites, ugly websites, websites that tell me I need to install Flash, websites for businesses nearby, websites for others that are a 90 minutes drive away and lots of beautiful Hollywood people in their beautiful Hollywood outfits. But no future schedules, no prices, no times- nothing to buy.
Many of studios have their December schedules up but not January, February or March. I despair.
In desperation, I search for Arthur Murray, one of classic names in dance. I feel like I\’m going into old ladyville but dammit I want to close this job down.
There\’s no schedule posted on their website which tells me \’We have classes every day Monday through Friday until 5.30pm\’. Not even on the weekends!
I\’m pulling my marketing and PR hair out. Not one dance studio can help me complete my purchase.
WHAT THIS TELLS ME?
Businesses are not thinking enough about their future marketing or how their future customer buys.
I bet you most people looking for dance classes are women and a good percentage of them will work and have families.
Everyone is (over) scheduled now. They need basic information. You must make it easy for them to sign up with you.
Also, most of these studios are not thinking of how their future customer buys – many people go looking thinking “I have free time on Thursday night or Saturday afternoon – what can I find at that time?” Could you imagine a hotel marketing their rooms but only showing you sold out rooms? Or trying to make a hotel room reservation but with no exact dates attached?
Eventually (more than an hour and big glass of wine later) – and with a huge sigh of relief – I find SexySalsaBallroom.com and my heart sings.
Run by professional dancer Marisa Hamamoto, it has everything I need.
She\’s posted January and February schedules, showed me her three hour boot camp plus reviews of the bootcamps, and videos of people enjoying it which she tells me are $35, or $40 on the door. I can see easily how to pay for my classes. And – it’s connected to a payment system to take my credit card and reservation right there.
Hallelujah! I. AM. IN.
And that one dance teacher (out of the 20 others I looked at) can dance her way to the bank with my money for the next year (Hopefully! Hear that husband!?)
This is how you too can get your client dollars dancing:
Market to your new customers and your current customers.
Think ahead; post schedules far in advance so people can plan accordingly. They may not want to buy from you immediately but give them a chance to see how you can fit into their future.
Clearly show the potential customer how much everything costs. No surprises.
Show third party proof that this is a great product, let them get a clear idea of what they are buying and what benefits they will get.
Then make it easy for them to buy.
Make it easy for them to pay.
Give them a benefit for completing the sale right now.
Vioia! You have a new customer.
I\’m now excited to be dancing with my husband at SexySalsaBallroom.com this year.
Without taking one step Marisa has already made my marketing heart dance like Gene Kelly!
