Fractured Communication & Support

Entering a crowded app market requires a unique strategy. How do you differentiate yourself from your competition when there are so many of them? The dance studio industry is particularly saturated with apps that solve very specific problems. On the administrative side, studio owners have to schedule teachers, manage payroll, pay rent or organizational dues, and pay utilities. On the business side, studio owners need to create class schedules, communicate with parents and students, record payments, accept electronic payments, and order students’ costumes. While one app might take care of scheduling for students and teachers, a studio owner might need three more apps to handle payments, communication, and payroll.

From the parents’ perspective, there are additional issues. Parents juggling class schedules with their own work schedules need impeccable communication to keep track of performances, new classes, class cancellations, payments, and upcoming events. Despite trying to attend every recital, conflicting work schedules often prevent parents from catching every show.

To add to the complexity, the pandemic became a problem that exacerbated current issues. How can teachers safely and effectively teach students during a community health situation? Studio owners need to maximize their class size, but also need to comply with their local health department guidelines. Online classes, once infrequent and rare, became more popular with students. And teachers realized they could reach more students if they could teach virtually to anyone with an internet connection.

Over 55,000 dance studios currently operate in the U.S., and the industry is expected to grow 3.8% year over year. Tens of thousands of studio owners use half a dozen apps to run their businesses. The surprising popularity of online classes has also opened up another revenue stream for studio owners who are prepared to embrace change. It’s clear that the industry is ripe for transformation.