Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Opening 1st Math Tutoring Office- Need Students!

Posted by dhurn on 10/1/2011 at 2:06 PM ET 250 Points
I've been an Academic Coach from home for 3yr. Now I'm expanding to my first small office downtown with 10 teachers I've trained , I have:
Four current students, a database of 100 past clients/prospects and lots of PR . My office and I are 45min from the city but I've gotten a lot of press from. I'm the Academic Coaching Expert contact for a morning show and I've been featured in the local college newspapers. I'm the ONLY center that does 1:1 student teacher ratios, has a teacher advantage program and that has a rewards system to keep students motivated. I don't mind being the face of my program, my students and parents LOVE me. My center is my passion BUT I also need to pay the bills and need students FAST! Please help. Check out my tv interviews at gpamakeover dot com. click on about us tab. You can also watch tons of video testimonials by clicking success stories tab at the bottom of my site.

We open in a few weeks!....I dont have the budget to pay for marketing , I need more LOCAL press/ ideas to reach parent, educators and other decision makers or those that influence them.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by jeepzia on 10/1/2011 at 3:14 PM Accepted
    How about a free group session where you teach kids a quick, very effective lesson from your program? (Hopefully the lesson will be helpful or impressive to parents too).

    Tonight only: The Top 5 Things You Need to Do Better in School (What even the best teachers don't tell you).

    For PR = You could set up a day when you and your teachers volunteer to help students in X area - a church, youth program, women's shelter (that takes kids), an alternative school, disadvantaged neighborhood. Team up with a business. Have a help table at the grocery store. Store helps promote too. Shows they are "community" and pro-education...

    Survey teachers - ask THEM where they think kids need help: Top Five things Teachers Say You Need to Know. (Could be a good newspaper/ blog item)

    But here is my issue - Also, though I may think my kid is lazy or disorganized, I'm not sure I'd want to admit it to a stranger. (Here's my disorganized kid with no self esteem. Please fix him!). And If I'm a kid, I want to know how can you improve my self-esteem when you already think I suck?

    I'd focus on building on strengths versus fixing faults.
  • Posted on 10/1/2011 at 4:13 PM Moderator
    I don't understand. Didn't you know you'd have to pay rent when you signed the lease? How is it possible you have money to pay the rent and no money for marketing? Did you think this would be a situation where "If you build it they will come?"

    If you're serious about this business approach, you need to find the money to implement a serious marketing plan. Marketing isn't free, no matter how much publicity and awareness you have from past months/years. How will new prospects even learn you exist? How did you get new students in the past?

    Trying to do this on the cheap is a great way to go broke quickly. Can you get out of the lease now, before it drags you under?
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/1/2011 at 6:45 PM Member
    In addition to your local coaching, consider online coaching as well (skype, etc.). That'll provide a larger pool of students.

    If you haven't already, pay-per-click may be a good quick option (both for local & on-line coaching).

    If you're 45min from the city, what children are you near? With every-busy families/schedules, getting parents to drive their kids 45min+ weekly (or more frequently) will be hard. Are their private schools? Homeschool groups?

    Longer term, can you create a video series of lessons (like Khan Academy) to showcase your teaching style, and give people a taste of your skills/offerings?
  • Posted by dhurn on 10/1/2011 at 7:04 PM Author
    To the moderator:
    While I understand your frustration with business owners that are unprepared that is certainly not the case. I have completed a five year business plan with an experienced mentor who has a very success learning program in Canada making well over six figures. I also have an Actuarial and Financial Analyst background so when we under took this expansion I knew we could handle it. However, coming to this site for assistance I was looking for more of a bootstrap marketing strategy which is why I mentioned that I have no marketing budget....Next week the local paper is doing both a press release and I have an ad that will run twice a week ( this is how I grew in the past).... if this information helps you to offer more relevant advice please do so, but walking away is not an option. Do you have any more questions or concerns, I would love to hear them.

    @Jay Hamilton-Roth
    My center is across from Starbucks and in the middle of a large residential area, we are also across from the largest high school in the city. When I said my office and I are 45 min away, I was talking about the city where I get a lot of PR not the city where I live and do business. Hope this helps.
  • Posted by dhurn on 10/1/2011 at 7:19 PM Author
    @Jay Hamilton-Roth

    I already have a free video series online that I offer and I have well over 45 positive comments from parents and students that love it. How can I maximize this?

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/1/2011 at 7:43 PM Member
    Want more PR/attention, create a Peanut's version of Lucy's "Psychiatric Help 5¢ / The Doctor is IN" booth across from the school. That'll attract both parents, kids, and the local press.
  • Posted by dhurn on 10/1/2011 at 8:15 PM Author
    @ Jay Hamilton-Roth LOL are you serious??? Ill have to google that and see how that might be a good idea...I like how you think "out of the box".
  • Posted by dhurn on 10/1/2011 at 8:28 PM Author
    @Jay Hamilton-Roth I'm not sure if this will be positive press and good for my brand. Lucy is a young girl with no experience as a doctor and she is offering advice, this is not what I represent....Am I reading into this too much?...Although I want PR I would like for it to continue to be good press. Can you elaborate on this idea a little?
  • Posted by Gail@PUBLISIDE on 10/2/2011 at 3:05 AM Member
    As a publicist, I can tell you understand PR is a great way to generate attention for a business. You seem to have done this well so far -- although I also question anyone going into a new enterprise without a marketing budget and cohesive plan.

    That said, another way to generate clientele is to go directly to your target audience. Seek support and referrals from schools in your area. Make friends and establish relationships with school teachers and administrators. If you're credible, communicative and well-respected, they will send students your way. If parents and teachers are pleased with the results, they will support you via referrals.
  • Posted by dhurn on 10/2/2011 at 3:56 AM Author
    @Gail@Publiside I appreciate your advice...Yes my marketing budget is small, its mainly because of my plan to go off of my PR and do local ads I have experience with. Next week my ads and press releases roll out so I will definitely know the success or failures in my bootstrap marketing plan...My husband and I just had our third child, so I had to stop teaching and go on a leave, the pregnancy brought joy but was unplanned. In a perfect world I would have had a much larger budget and worked out things a bit different, but sometimes you just have to take a small calculated risk....I will keep you all posted I promise:)....I'm going to wait on a few more answers before I close my question.

    Cheers,
    DHurn
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/2/2011 at 9:57 AM Accepted
    Yes Deanna, I was serious. You want to be visible and attract attention. If you're real estate is that trafficked by your target audience, why not use it? As for the Lucy imagery - it's well known, cute, and "transparent" - it's just you and a fancy lemonade stand. If you have lots of time (and no money), then you have to "spend" your time to get money - and this is simply one idea to get you noticed. Contrast this with handing out leaflets, papering windshields, etc.

    Oh, and in my opinion, Lucy did have some great insights, such as: In all of mankind's history, there has never been more damage done than by people who "thought they were doing the right thing."....
  • Posted by mvaede on 10/2/2011 at 11:34 AM Member
    Two suggestions to go together with all these great comments.

    Asking for referrals from previous student, maybe with finders fee of a B&N gift card or whatever local store highly appreciated by your students.

    Start a blog, writing about your new adventure, telling about your idea, your concept, your teaching, your method and - goes without saying - your offer and how to sign up. This is not a promotional spitz just a way of sharing more thoughts to those interested.

    You sound as someone very active and involved in your local community - like the idea of going out to specific schools or communities. Maybe you could select a local non-profit and help promote them and they to promote you by donating some of your fees. Good PR for the press and local community.

    Mikael
    B2B Marketing
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