The Joy of Music hired me to help them develop new marketing materials. Traditionally, they would print thousands of booklets and distribute them to libraries and other public places where people tended to gather information about community events.

Rather than stride down that path, I suggested we start by surveying their stakeholders to determine how they heard about the program, what their experience was like, and the impact that Joy of Music had on the life of their child, with the thought that we could use the answers to direct and shape our marketing efforts.

We left surveys in the lobby (where parents waited while their child took their lesson) and sent a series of emails, with a link to an online survey. Forty people completed a paper survey; 42 completed the survey online.

Out of 82 people, SIXTY FOUR (78%) heard of Joy of Music through word-of-mouth; in fact, many respondents could cite the person who recommended the program! Eighteen (22%) found Joy of Music through research efforts. Only 2 people reported having found the program through the brochure.

Rather than waste money creating new marketing materials – or printing the old ones – we decided to launch a Friends & Family campaign. As enrollment neared, we sent out an email sequence, encouraging the families of current students to talk up the program to friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. We coordinated a social media campaign on Facebook to accompany the email sequence we sent out. We also added a “how did you hear about Joy of Music?” question to the enrollment form so we could track the impact of these efforts.

We updated/upgraded the website and invested in SEO to ensure that Joy of Music would be in the top 5 search results. Enrollment increased by 12% and more than 80% of people who enrolled said they’d heard about the program through a friend or family member. When you invest in the right marketing strategy, you get results! (And, you don’t waste money!)