Marketing Advice By Business Type
Marketing a Swimming Lesson School
At Gaebler, we've seen what great marketing can do for a small business. But if you own a swimming lesson school, exceptional marketing may well be the determining factor in your long-term survival and success.
Although innovation is important, consistency is critical when you market a swimming lesson school. In this industry, the application of fundamental marketing tactics is more valuable than promotional fads and gimmicks.
Strategic marketing tactics can help small swimming lesson schools scale their visibility with consumers. Though small organizations may not have the marketing budgets of large corporations, the consistent delivery of targeted messaging has a cumulative effect on the market's consciousness.
Loss Leaders
The majority of swimming lesson schools understand that more customers will walk through the door if a few products are priced at less than full retail value. Moreover, a loss leader marketing strategy can compensate for dead periods when customers tend to making purchases. But to be effective, loss leader marketing requires planning, especially in product selection and price points. For the majority of swimming lesson schools, the real benefits of loss leaders emerge through the careful marketing of other products, usually offered at a much higher margin. Whenever possible, piggyback a loss leader approach with the purchase of bulk merchandise that can be bought at a discount.
Public Relations Strategies
If marketing is a stock car racing full throttle toward a consumer audience, PR is a vintage Cadillac teasing consumers and inviting them to take a closer look. If you want to send unrestricted marketing messages to your audience, buy a mailing list and perform a direct mail campaign. But if your strategy calls for sophistication, media buy-in and thought leadership, hire a PR consultant. Since PR leverages media outlets, it may cost nothing to acquire media placements that feature interesting storylines about your products and brand. The trick is learning how to pitch storylines to media professionals without sounding too promotional or sales-oriented.
Generating Buzz
Good buzz is a mythical creature in marketing circles. Although it's rumored to exist, it's hard to nail down. You've heard it said before: Word of mouth is the best form of promotion for products and brands. For a swimming lesson school, buzz is a critical consideration in the marketing mix. The process begins with developing communication vehicles and mechanisms that invite discussion. With minimal effort, you can instigate conversations through social media and other communication vehicles favored by today's consumers.
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