"Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t." Seth Godin
Studio owners can get sidetracked by spending time and money to capture new customers, forgetting they have loyal, excited people wanting more of what their favorite studio offers.
I don't think many of us have extra time and money to spend casting a wide net, hoping to grab a few new customers. With prices going up everywhere, this is the time to grow your business for and WITH your customers.
Best of all? Those customers will bring friends.
I'm diving into the marketing necessities for taking on 2025 and WINNING. Let's get right to it with your studio's foundation: the website.
Marketing to your customers in 2025: your studio’s website
It's your studio's homebase, promoting your business 'round the clock. Available to answer questions, inform, sell, excite and inspire. It rings up sales 24/7. And it doesn't require staffing. It's a powerhouse that works all on its own.
To maximize the power of your site, it must be user-friendly. You know what you want the customer experience to be like in your studio - welcoming, organized and straight-forward - so think along those same lines with your website.
What's the foundation of your site? The homepage. Include at the very top:
-Logo (and it's a hyperlink to your homepage)
-Address
-Hours (walk-ins welcome/appointment info)
-Phone number
-Email address
-Links to all social media platforms
On the homepage:
-How it works: a quick overview of your offerings
-What’s coming up: classes, events (with links to sign-ups)
-Photos: what you offer, new inventory, seasonal info
-Email sign-up (popup)
-Hyperlinks everywhere (ie: if you feature a class, in addition to a link to the class, make the image of the project a link to the sign-up, too)
-Link to Google reviews
At the bottom/footer:
-Repeat of the top
-Stationary email sign up box
Your regular customers will use your site to:
-Buy a gift card
-Book a party
-Get your hours
-Sign up for an event or class
-See your upcoming class and event schedule
Can they do all of that on their phone? Quickly and easily?
Even good customers will be frustrated if your site is clunky and if they can't find what they're looking for.
Think about how often you use your phone to look up information. And how quickly the stress sets in when you're not finding what you need.
Maintain a website with your customers in mind:
-Keep your home page updated: photos, events, links and info featured should be for the current and upcoming seasons.
-Refresh your popup email sign-up quarterly. An incentive ($5 off $30) is nice to offer in exchange for a new email address, but not necessary. Need help with setting up an auto-reply for an offer? Email me and we’ll get it going asap.
-Whenever you make updates, always check the layout and links on your phone. Your customers are on their phone buying, planning and booking activities, just like you. Your site must be mobile friendly.
-Let's get real: can your customers find your website? Is it listed on all of your social media platforms? Is your Google Business Profile updated? Is a link to your site included in all of your emails?
A personal note for studio websites
I am a Wix Partner Creator: I’ve designed and published over 20 sites for studios. Wix is 100% my preferred platform. The ease of creating and managing top-notch websites, plus their backend systems (SEO and reporting), makes a Wix site everything needed for today's online success.
Email: a Wix site collects email addresses and creates newsletters; it also easily creates auto-responders and sales funnels.
A Wix site can sell tickets, book events, sell gift cards and more. They’re the total package.
Would you like a website review? Email me (Hillary@TheCreativeRetailer.com) and include a link to your website. Don't make an amazing customer call your studio because they can’t find what they’re looking for. Your loyal customers want to be a part of your business. A well-functioning website is their connection to you when they're not in your studio.
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Thank you Bettina, owner of Bee Crafty, in Niles, Michigan, for sharing your site! (And it's a TCR-designed site, too!)
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