Pivoting to Virtual Class Offerings and Attracting New Customers
While the client has a strong brand, the business has struggled to maintain and grow their customer base. As a business that teaches music education to toddlers and young children, the client hopes to expand to a virtual platform in order to grow their business and adapt to COVID-19. .
Situation:
Although the business has been fairly successful and well received thus far, the client was hoping to gain more customers for their virtual classes. This is to preemptively make up for any profit losses that may happen during the winter months, due to the location of the businesses, the classes are less likely to be taught outside in cold weather.
Due to COVID-19, the client has had to make significant adjustments in where they were getting their revenue. They were no longer able to rely on main revenue drivers like larger outdoor classes and partnerships with schools and afterschool programs. Instead, the client had to pivot to virtual or smaller in-person classes.
Challenge:
The client tasked Rem and Company with providing suggestions for a marketing campaign to attract new customers to their new offerings, using insight into their target customer base.
Smaller in-person classes during the pandemic were challenging as the children could not interact as freely with each other or the instructor, and the focus moved from engaging in music to policing social distance guidelines so all customers were safe. The virtual classes also had their own challenges as caregivers suffered from zoom exhaustion from working from home and then had to improvise with household props.
Approach:
The team took the client’s requests and decided to focus on two major aspects; Marketing and User Experience. In order to provide any marketing suggestions, the team conducted a study of direct and indirect competitors. The Rem and Company team looked at what these competitors were doing and how this may help the client if they were to implement some of the same things.
Additionally, the team presented best social media posting practices; as well as, suggestions about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The team also conducted a User Experience research study to give the client more information about their customers. This study gave insight into the best way to reach customers and what the client can change about the customer experience to enhance it further.
Finally, the team conducted a pricing analysis to help the client better understand if their spending is within industry standards or not. This yielded more information about what aspects of the business the client can focus on marketing from a proforma standpoint.
Impact:
The team provided a multitude of researched based marketing options that the client aims to implement immediately. The marketing deliverables and best practices the client was presented with will be used to further connect with their customer base.
Team Breakdown
Team Lead: Spurthi Reddy
Strategist: Frankie Gagliano
Strategist: Jack Mahoney
Strategist: John Stanfield
Strategist: Kip Wyrough
Relevant Background Information
Business Type: Small Business
Industry: Children’s Music Education
Location: Washington D.C. and surrounding area
At Rem and Company, we're on a mission to keep doors open and dreams alive. Rem and Company started as a social impact initiative offering free consulting services to small businesses impacted by COVID-19. Rem and Company has become an information hub and digital community platform for small businesses in need. At Rem and Company, small businesses stay up to date on trends in their industries, learn new approaches from peers, build a network, and develop the capacity to adapt as the world around them changes. Our consulting teams provide small businesses with the opportunity to identify and prioritize issues facing their business, propose innovative strategies and facilitate execution. If you are a small business owner and want to learn more about how we can help, request a free consultation.