When it comes to the ideas and expertise behind your recital, we know you’ve got that covered! But when it comes to the business end of things, The Studio Guide is here to help. Not only do we have some strategies for increasing recital-related revenue, but we also give you the tools to make it happen.
Stop Feeling Guilty About Making a Profit from Your Recitals
You and your dance studio staff put a lot of time and energy into your holiday recital. But, of course, so do your dancers! Even though recitals and other performances represent a joint effort, they still give your dance studio an opportunity for additional revenue. Think of sporting events: even though parents are already paying for their children’s uniforms and participation, at various levels, they also end up having to pay for admission to competitions. What makes sense in the sports arena also carries over into the arts.
Your dance studio not only needs to offset costs associated with the recital but also needs to continue to turn a profit in order to continue to succeed as a business. You’re also a purveyor of artistic passion, of course – but you won’t be able to continue to inspire future dancers if your business doesn’t succeed. Making a profit isn’t a self-serving aim; it’s part of the equation that will allow you to continue to serve dancers, for many years to come.
Increase Online Sales by Bundling Tickets and Merchandise
Online ticket sales can mean more than streamlining the ticket-purchasing process for both your staff and your dance families; it can also allow for additional streams of income in the form of merchandise. Any of the items you would otherwise have available for purchase on the night of the recital can be part of this pre-sale, helping you make sure that you order enough for the demand and get the money up front. From DVDs and flowers to T-shirts and dance bags, you might be surprised at how much sales increase when you group various items into money-saving bundles and pair them with tickets. Parents (and grandparents!) are far more likely to purchase more when they can make a one-time credit card payment. Allowing for online ordering helps encourage additional spending without the hassle of dealing with lines and all the chaos that comes with recital-night sales.
Of course, you don’t want to force people to buy products they don’t really want or can’t afford; but at the same time, good business means making it easy for them to say “yes.” In addition to allowing for merchandise purchases alongside ticket sales, you also want to allow for return purchases. Maybe a family can’t swing a new sweatshirt this month, in addition to buying the recital tickets, but during their daughter’s birthday month, they remember that cute hoodie they saw. When you keep your website store current, you encourage return purchases.
Do you want to make a greater profit from your next dance recital? We looked at the first two steps toward that goal above. Now we’ll look at two more tips we have for dance studios just like yours – and suggestions for tools that can make them easy to implement, as well.
Treat Seats as Inventory by Offering Reserved Seating
When you think of inventory, you probably think of physical products that you sell through your online store. Well, seats at your recital can become part of your inventory as well. Like any physical products that you sell, there are a limited number of them, and they can be represented by various price points. By allowing for reserved seating, not only are you increasing your revenue possibilities, but you’re also offering a better buying experience for recital attendees. Increasingly, parents and grandparents are used to doing business online, including their personal business; just like offering online enrollment, allowing this kind of convenience for recitals will be increasingly expected.
You’re already offering greater convenience with online ticketing by allowing people to order recital tickets and merchandise ahead of time at their convenience, instead of having to wait in line in your dance studio lobby on a day that may or may not work with their schedules. You can increase the service level by transitioning from the open-seating concept to reserved seating; each seat ends up having a greater perceived value, and ticket buyers no longer have to come early to get the seats they desire. Of course, reserved seating can lead to greater revenue for your dance studio as well; the typical change from general admission to reserved seating leads to a 30% increase in profits – and it doesn’t cost you a cent!
As part of your reserved seating promotion, online ticketing software allows you to help make ticket buyers feel special. With it, you can offer early access to loyal families, easily keep track of ticket sales, receive payment in advance of the recital, and restrain those with outstanding balances from being able to purchase tickets until their accounts are current.
Gain Valuable Exposure to Prospective New Dance Families
The old-school, in-person method of ticket sales may have worked fine for current dance families, but it really wasn’t conducive to including prospective new dancers. After all, seeing the fruits of your labors for the session might just be the best advertising for your dance studio! Sure, you would have sold them tickets if they came in, but how would they even find out about the option?
One way to use online ticket sales to help give your dance studio increased revenue is to maximize the customizable space on the printable tickets, including ads for local businesses or coupons for new students. From a discount on a first class to waiving the enrollment fee, current dancers will undoubtedly be eager to share the coupons with their friends!
Among the many ways you can increase the profit margins of your future dance recitals, online ticket sales is a huge part of the equation, and it can easily complement your other advertising and sales efforts. When it comes to offering online ticket sales, we here at The Studio Guide highly recommend TutuTix. This well-designed online ticketing software allows your dance studio to easily track orders while virtually eliminating the margin for error. Using TutuTix is a breeze to use for your studio staff, and your ticket buyers will find its convenience well worth the negligible fee.
Getting Started with TutuTix: Creating Seating
The online Seat Selection page within TutuTix utilizes the seating chart associated with your performance venue, along with seatPOWER, to allow your customers to select seats and purchase tickets for your dance recital. Before the page goes live, though, you’ll be provided with a proof for approval. At the bottom of the “Seat View” page, you’ll see the ticket type displayed; examples include Comp, Discount, Adult, Child, and Senior. TutuTix allows you to choose from 3 types of seating: General Admission, Reserved, or a mixture. It also offers you the potential for using discount codes or offering complimentary seating for individuals or groups, according to your preference.
Customizing Ticketing: Leveraging Purchases
TutuTix makes it easy for you to increase your profits from a recital as well as streamline the in-person purchase of tickets at the recital. Before a purchase is complete, this software allows you to create a pop-up ad with recommended merchandise, making it easy for ticket purchasers to add to their orders. The “Door Ticket Kit” allows you to easily sell remaining tickets, too. These kits are sent out the week prior to your scheduled recital date and will include professionally printed pink and gold tickets, saving you the hassle of printing your own tickets in house.
Your Door Kit tickets won’t include seat information; instead, you’ll be able to mark the tickets according to whatever seats remain, using the included pink Sharpie markers that come with the kit; not only does this save time in sorting tickets, but it also allows you to continue to sell tickets online after the Door Ticket Kit has been shipped.
Offering Added Convenience: Using the TutuTix App
Tutu Tix has a built-in Point of Purchase App that offers a simple and professional platform for selling more than tickets; it can also be used for selling all kinds of merchandise, flowers, and even concessions! Your recital guests will be glad to no longer need to make sure they have cash on hand when they come to the show, since the app allows you to accept all major credit cards at the venue. This iPhone app conveniently allows you to connect with your dance studio’s TutuTix account, allowing you to easily run reports that include sales from both the website and the app.
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