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 Emails
and Websites
By Marsha
Proser Cohen
The handouts of the future
Not long
ago “backing up” meant putting the car in reverse and
“hardware” referred to screws and nails. But today those terms
are more often used in reference to the computers that are as
commonplace in dance studios as mirrors and barres. Studio
owners have their choice of business- management software
packages; schools have websites; parents and students
communicate via email as often as through conversation.
Technology has changed how studio managers handle day-to-day
operations, communicate with students, and market their
programs.
According
to a recent Goldrush survey of dance studios across the
United States and Canada, as many as 80 percent of U.S. studio
owners have school websites and use email to communicate with
students and parents. And the population that does is not
limited to those who grew up with computers; it also includes
studio owners who have been teaching for 20-plus years.
Many dance
school websites look professionally designed, and they include
schedules, photos, awards, or special promotions. Because they
can make information available at the push of a button or two,
websites are ideal places for time-sensitive announcements
such as cancellations due to weather or changes in schedule.
Teachers simply have to make sure that students know to check
the website regularly—just like they check radio and TV for
school closings.
The
Goldrush survey found that many of the studio owners who
do not use technology cited their own lack of training or
inability to use computers as the reason; others said it was
the inability of parents and students. Owners with 40 or more
years in business reported using the Internet as often as
those who have been in business for only 5 years, which
suggests that computing isn’t only for the young.
Of the
survey participants, 90 percent have email and approximately
40 percent use it for mass mailings. Studio owners who use
email for business purposes say that it:
• ensures
that the message gets to the right person;
• gets a
faster response than handouts or mail (and eliminates having
to wait a week until the students’ next class to give it to
them);
• is less
expensive than mailing;
• is easy
to use;
• creates a
trail of messages and responses;
• permits
delivery confirmation.
Parents
also use email to contact dance studios. Approximately 81
percent of school owners say that parents and students email
them, adding that it often improves communication. Email
allows both parents and teachers to pose questions and pass
along information without playing “phone tag.”
School
owners who don’t use email for mass mailings say that problems
with technology are the chief roadblock—email is too much
trouble, they say, or nobody reads it. Some owners prefer
handouts because they can answer questions immediately as they
place the paper in the student’s or parent’s hand; because
face-to-face communication seems more effective; or because
parents say they don’t read emails. In general, these school
owners say, handouts ensure that students and parents get the
message.
Nearly 90
percent of the studios surveyed have websites, and more than
half use the sites for everything from online registration to
posting newsletters, rehearsal information, and upcoming
important dates. One studio owner said she also posts
nonstudio-related news about dancers and students, such as
births, awards, and plays or other activities in which they
will appear.
How
effective are websites as a business tool? Of those studios
with their own sites, 90 percent report as many as 150
inquiries per site from prospective clients in the past six
months, and up to 35 percent of those schools’ new students
say they learned about the schools through their websites. One
owner in Kansas said her site has helped enrollment and is one
of her most valuable marketing tools.
Apparently
this technology is here to stay. According to a December 2005
Pew Internet and American Life Project study, more than 75
percent of American adults ages 18 to 64 are online, along
with roughly 33 percent of adults ages 65 and older. Internet
use is even higher among pre-teens and teens, with 87 percent
of 12- to 17-year-olds going online. Another 2005 Pew study
found that 71 percent of Internet users ages 18 to 29 and 81
percent of users ages 30 to 64 say they are likely to research
products or services online. With that in mind, it seems safe
to say that studios that don’t use Internet technology are
missing out on a significant amount of publicity and potential
business, not just down the road, but now.
The numbers
must be convincing— even reluctant converts to technology seem
to be catching on. Among survey participants who do not use
email or have websites, most indicate that one or both are
high on their list of things to do this year. If so, they’ll
gain a virtual presence that can translate into real-life
benefits for their businesses.
COMPUTERS & COSTUMES
When it comes to planning a recital, oftentimes it feels like
there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Between the day to
day business of running the studio and family obligations, you
also have to find time to choreograph new dances, edit your
music, design your program, pick out your costumes, and on top
of it all, place your costume order. Who has time for all
that?
Well,
making time might be a little easier now that many costume
companies are jumping on the technology bandwagon and offering
the ability to order from their catalogs online. Now you can
go to a company’s website, browse through their catalog, and
with your credit card and a click of a button, order your
costumes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Some companies even
offer a way to sort or search through costumes by color, size,
fabric, and genre, or to click on a link within a virtual
catalog that will take you to the ordering screen for that
item.
Ordering
online also allows for faster and more accurate order
processing, which leads to quicker shipping and fewer
mistakes. When you order online, your information is sent
instantly to the company, exactly as you entered it. You don’t
have to worry about how long the post office will take to get
your order to the company, or if it will get there at all. Nor
do you have to worry about someone entering your data wrong –
transposing a number or keying in the wrong size – and you
winding up with completely different costumes than the ones
you thought you ordered.
There is
also the opportunity to save money by ordering online. In
addition to saving you the postage it costs to mail your
order, some companies offer discounted or free shipping for
online orders. Others offer special online deals or sales on
in-stock or seasonal/ clearance items.
So the next
time you’ve got a recital coming up and you’re strapped for
time, consider picking up your laptop.
—Theresa
Grenier
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