Companies pay a lot of money for a Customer Relationship Management database but if you are managing your customers in a tutoring database is a Tutoring CRM really Necessary?
You’ve developed your strategic business plan for your tutoring business. You know what direction to you’re heading. You’ve identified the steps to get you there. So, what now?
Now is the time to determine the tools necessary to keep administrative time to a minimum.
First and foremost, a Tutoring Management and Scheduling system to manage the day to day operations. (Don’t have one yet, no problem, press the graphic on the left to see Oases)
Okay, you’ve selected your Management system. You are ready to manage your business, schedule your classes and handle invoicing and payroll. How do you let people know about the company and all the areas that differentiate your business from other tutoring companies?
That’s where marketing comes in and perhaps a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) database.
These products bring a good deal of automation to your fingertips allowing you to manage the sales funnel with email and call campaigns.
But small companies often find these CRM products too complicated. So, how do you simplify and still manage marketing campaigns?
To answer this question I polled a number of tutoring organizations and I have to say, I was impressed.
The most efficient companies are operating effectively without a specific CRM database. They started out in search of a scheduling system that would allow them to manage day to day operations. In addition, they made sure they bought a system that offered a flexible database (that’s tech speak for the data could be accessed how they wanted when they wanted and exported in spreadsheet format).
With that accomplished they set out to find a solution to help manage and automate campaigns. The majority were using MailChimp. Selecting the names from their Tutoring Management System, exporting those names and importing that group into MailChimp, to send out their marketing message. A note in each student/customer record indicates inclusion in a specific mailing.
That can then be followed up with a calls campaign to reinforce your message and keep your brand in their mind.
Say it again and again; messages are more effective when repeated. In fact, according to marketing experts, the rule of seven is one of the oldest concepts in marketing. Although it is old, it doesn’t mean that it is outdated.
The rule of seven simply says that the prospective buyer needs hear or see the marketing message at least seven times before they buy from you.
There are many reasons for the need for repetition. Most buyers can’t make the buying decision the first time you show your message. So, this simply means that your marketing effort should be repetitive and consistent. You cannot just run a couple of advertisements one time and expect the customers to register their students.
The lesson of the rule of seven is the continuous and repetitive effort that should be put into marketing.
The meaning behind the rule of seven is not the number, but the message itself.
But that’s the next post……
