Author Archives: Natasha Wahid

About Natasha Wahid

Natasha is a seasoned marketing leader with a curious mind and a passion for storytelling and community. A mission-driven person, Natasha has spent the majority of her career in industries that impact people, including HR and education technology. A firm believer in lifelong learning, Natasha is currently sharpening her roller skating skills and dusting off her Italian.

1. Grow your impact with a thriving arts education program in 2025

   November 27, 2024 3:05 pm Leave a Comment

   Your arts education program thrives most when it’s profitable and fully integrated into your nonprofit’s offerings. Of course, achieving profitability and integration isn’t easy, especially when your organization is under pressure from funders, partners, and community members to prove your impact. Yet, the consensus from the panel of experts at our recent webinar is that education programs can be more than profitable: They can be the key to growth and stability for your arts nonprofit in 2025. 

   Our own Brian Rahill, CEO of CourseStorm, joined with Laura Wong, partnerships manager for technology ecosystems at Fundraise Up and Samantha Bagwell, client relations lead for the US and Canada at Spektrix, to dig into the challenges and opportunities that arts nonprofits are facing in 2025. They shared their expert insights on why education programs are critical, and how they can thrive in the coming year.

   Read on for highlights from the webinar, or access the recording to hear directly from our education and fundraising experts.

   Arts organizations face challenges and opportunities in 2025

   Arts organizations face challenges and opportunities heading into 2025. The speakers on our panel talk to these types of organizations daily, and are noticing some trends: shifting audiences, fewer funding sources, and smaller donations.

   For example, one CourseStorm customer, American Stage in St. Petersburg, FL, saw an influx of young families during the pandemic. While previously their offerings were focused on retirees, there was suddenly a real community need to serve young people. This created a challenge, but also an opportunity.

   “Organizations are feeling pressure from all sides – financially (certainly), but also from their local community, patrons, and board,” shared Brian Rahill, CEO at CourseStorm.

   Under these conditions, growing and maintaining interest in the arts to increase donations and impact becomes a top priority. That’s where education programs really shine. 

   Why education programs are critical for arts organizations

   According to Samantha and the Spektrix team, 54% of all audiences were first-time ticket buyers in 2023. They anticipate the numbers will be similar as they come in for 2024. This has prompted many arts and theatre organizations to find ever more innovative ways to connect with new audiences and turn them into repeat patrons. 

   “Education programs are critical for their own sake … But in terms of revenue, they’re also a critical way to connect with new audiences and build their loyalty to your programming,” Samantha explained.

   Samantha pointed out that this opportunity makes it even more important to integrate data from your education programs with your central CRM, marketing, and ticketing platform. Teams working with CourseStorm and Spektrix can instantly invite participants along to their mainstage shows, building a multilayered relationship across their organization.

   Brian seconded Samatha’s point, saying, “A thriving education program is a unique opportunity to connect in a new way with the community.”

   This is particularly evident in the story of one Fundraise Up client, Bric Brooklyn. This cultural organization has built education programs to address the limited representation of marginalized voices in mainstream media and remove barriers to entry for aspiring artists and creators. Toward this end, they have developed workshops, courses and mentorship opportunities for different skill levels, all in collaboration with local schools, organizations and artists.

   Programs like these represent a major opportunity to increase organizational impact. It takes both vision and dedication to build them.

   How arts education programs thrive

   Most arts organizations are focused on making art and theatre more available to more people. Arts organizations can fill the gap left by a lack of arts resources in school systems and poor accessibility within communities. But they only thrive when they have the right technology to streamline administration and operations.

   Garrison Art Center in NY is a great example of an education program thriving with support from CourseStorm. With 85 classes on offer, they were using a shopping cart that was designed for physical products. Students had to fill in shipping info to register for a class, which just didn’t make sense. Staff were wrangling multiple spreadsheets for class rosters which led to mistakes and canceled classes. There were so many manual processes, it limited their growth. With CourseStorm, they saved time and effort. 

   Other examples of thriving programs include Sacramento Philharmonic in California which uses pipeline tools in Spektrix to map engagement with school districts. Wolverhampton Grand in England is building long-term relationships through community ambassador programs and creative projects. Their work pays off with larger, more diverse audiences at their events. 

   Increasing registrations and ticket sales is just one piece of the puzzle. To thrive in 2025 and beyond, your arts education program also needs to support fundraising efforts.

   Fundraising is storytelling: Craft a narrative that moves donors to action

   Fundraising is always top of mind for nonprofit organizations in the arts. Our experts offered key insights to put forward your most compelling fundraising story in 2025 and beyond.

   Laura from Fundraise Up put it succinctly: “Ultimately, people give to people.Fundraising is an emotional process.” 

   Organizations need to capture a donor in that emotional moment. Fundraise Up makes this easy, by automating the daily tasks that don’t require a human touch so you can focus on nurturing relationships with storytelling. But what does it take to emotionally compel people to make the donation? 

   “Be transparent – tell your audiences exactly what their donations fund.” – Samantha Bagwell

   Bridport Arts Centre does a fantastic job of this on their support page. At each membership level, instead of listing benefits, they list what that gift amount funds – like providing a free ticket for a carer to accompany an audience member with a disability to an event or subsidizing a full term in their Youth Theatre for a local young person. 

   One CourseStorm customer, Karamu House in Cleveland, OH offers all their classes on a sliding scale based on income so they can be sure to keep education accessible for a broad audience. This decision is an impact story generator.

   Importantly, these organizations also collect demographic information in their checkout process so they can report back to funders the impact of their donations. Highlighting those impacts and telling stories will create a powerful message that inspires donors.

   Ways to integrate your education program within your organization

   “To make education programs work for growth, nonprofits really need to tie them closely to their mission so it feels like a natural part of what they do, making the impact clearer for supporters.” – Laura Wong

   Education programs enable organizations to round out their offerings and provide a rich and complete experience for their community. None of this happens in a vacuum. 

   Our experts offered some ways to integrate your education program as a core part of your organization:

   • Collaborate with fundraising and marketing to tell stories
   • Partner with schools, business and groups to expand your reach
   • Engage the community with events and workshops 
   • Use customer engagement data to make relevant, tailored donation asks

   For an example of this integration in action, we look to Spectrix client Z-arts. This arts centre in the UK, runs a membership model that gives access to classes, school holiday activities and discounted tickets. This creates a holistic experience for the whole family, which drives revenue and attendance. 

   It’s critical to see the complete picture of any engaged community member. Spektrix, FundraiseUp, and CourseStorm are working together to integrate and share data so that organizations can use the best technology for their needs and have a single system to see a complete view of a patron’s participation.

   Key takeaways to start planning for 2025 today

   Each expert panelist had key takeaways to offer for arts organizations that want to build their most effective education programs in 2025:

   “Focus on the whole person. People want to be entertained, they want to support and they really want to connect and participate,” Brian offered. “A thriving education program helps round out the ways people can engage with your organization as a ticket holder, supporter, and participant in an arts community.” 

   Laura added, “Right now is prime time for planning holiday appeals or end-of-year fundraising campaigns. Use the success of your education programs to tell compelling stories and show donors how their contributions can make a lasting impact next year.”

   Finally, Sam summed it up with “Stay connected.” Connect your education teams with fundraisers, marketing and box office. Connect your education program participants with your mainstage productions. And, connect your registration software with your central customer relationship management tools, to keep that conversation going in real time, capture powerful stories and statistics, and build lasting links with some of your most enthusiastic patrons.

   Want more? Watch the full on-demand webinar to get all of the juicy insights and takeaways from our panel of experts.

2. How to tailor fit your arts classes to your community: 6 fun ideas

   November 20, 2024 5:34 pm Leave a Comment

   Making your courses stand out is a challenge for any education program but unusual and fun classes can help. The trick is to choose classes that appeal to people in your community and fit their unique interests.

   Classes chosen with care can show students you understand and value them. They make your course catalog more robust and set you apart from others offering classes in similar subject areas. Plus, they create great entry points for new students to get acquainted with your program and its offerings.

   How to tailor classes to fit your community

   Even if you offer classes online, the majority of your students are likely to come from your local community. That means it’s worth figuring out what people in your community value, and what they might like to know more about. These six strategies can help.

   1. Root classes in place

   Classes tied to your city, town, region or state can add unique flair to your course catalog. Consider what makes your area culturally distinct from other parts of the country. This could be art, music, dance, historically significant events, or even the homes of famous people.

   The Reeves Downtown School of Music in Elkin, North Carolina offers a class in Appalachian Folksongs and the Stories Behind Them. This course is perfectly suited to Elkin’s place near the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Yadkin River. Courses like these celebrate what is unique and beautiful about your community.

   2. Consider broader cultural trends

   Pay attention to what’s trending on social media and in your community. Cultural trends influence how your students think, interact and spend their time. So your program may benefit from riding that wave. 

   Might your students like a class in finding your style with inspiration from Taylor Swift? Maybe they’d rather figure out how AI could impact their lives. Or maybe they’re part of the growing sober-curious movement and would appreciate a Mocktails Class like the one offered by Allerton Folk School.

   3.  Explore local industry needs

   Look around at the industries that are growing in your community. Alternative energy, medicine, and computer-related jobs are all on the rise nationally. But what’s going on in your region?

   Think about how you can help train professionals of the future. These classes may be directly rooted in the industry, or designed to build more general professional skills like business communication, leadership, or emotional intelligence for the workplace.

   4. Think seasonally

   Tie courses to seasonal changes, whatever those look like in your area. For example, Augusta Adult Ed in Maine offers Introduction to Nordic Skating and Ice Safetyto help people prepare to safely enjoy the Maine outdoors in the winter. 

   Think about the weather, food, and foliage as you brainstorm ways to create seasonally inspired classes rooted in your region. In other words, what do people feel, eat and see as the seasons change in your region. Each of those presents multiple opportunities for classes.

   5. Set the stage for a long-term relationship

   Classes for kids can be the start of a lifelong learning relationship. MoCA Westport, they offer a range of summer workshops that might not sound like your traditional art museum camp experience. Customizing Sneakers taps into something kids like to foster a love of art. Ditto with their Storytelling through Graphic Novels, Comic Books and Manga Class. Classes like these help kids discover a life-long love of art.  

   You might also attract a small group of very enthusiastic adult students by offering something unique and specific like a Bob Dylan Poetry appreciation class. But ideally, you have even more to offer. 

   Think about how these offerings fit into your course catalog to keep students coming back.  For example, might these students be interested in a more general poetry writing or music appreciation class? How about a songwriting workshop? 

   6. Ask your students!

   The absolute best way to tailor fit classes to fit your students is to ask students directly. What are they interested in? What do they want to know more about? How can your program help them? Here’s how to collect and use student feedback to build better programs.

   More programs with fun classes to inspire you

   Of course, selecting courses that are rooted in place, consider cultural trends, and shift with the seasons is easier said than done. Here are three programs that are doing it well. 

   • Art Camp 504 in New Orleans has tons of cool classes, like Mardi Gras headpiece workshops. Their 2024/2025 season has the theme: Journey into Space, including holiday camps for kids with titles like Alien Horse Races and Build the Spaceship.  highlight the sense of place/local community aspect of their classes
     
   • In addition to Appalachian Folksongs and the Stories Behind Them,  Reeves Downtown School of Music offers music classes for people of all ages and experience levels. From Elkin JAM (Junior Appalacian Musicians) to Song Structure Deep Dive, they encourage musicians of all ages while maintaining strong roots in the community. 
   • The Farms: An Allerton Folk School is built on the idea that members of the community have valuable knowledge to share. They offer everything from Fall Migration Bird Hikes to Beginning Mountain Dulcimer to Chicken Freezer Meals 101. 

   What all of these programs have in common is a commitment to offering classes that uplift their community and engage local people. You can take the same approach with your classes.  For more on creating classes that drive registrations, check out How Cultural Trends Can Help You Create Popular Classes.

3. How creating standard operating procedures helps your ed program thrive

   November 6, 2024 9:08 am Leave a Comment

   Creating standard operating procedures may not sound like the most fun ever, but good SOPs can revolutionize your administrative process. While there’s plenty of room for creativity in education, creativity can only happen if you have a strong operational foundation. It’s easy to put off establishing and documenting processes when there’s so much to do, but you can save staff so much time and frustration with this simple step.

   Whether you’re depending on paid staff or volunteers, SOPs make every member of your team a little bit more independent and potentially a lot less frustrated. This simple guide to creating SOPs gives you everything you need to standardize procedures across your education program.

   What is a Standard Operating Procedure for an ed program?

   A standard operating procedure (SOP) is a document that describes a process step-by-step so everyone on your team knows how to do it. They may include screenshots, photos, or links to help any staff member follow a process. Education programs use SOPs to make sure the people on their administrative and instructor teams can figure out how to complete everyday processes like registering students, or occasional tasks like issuing a refund. 

   SOPs are often stored online or in a shared folder where all members of the team can access them. Some programs also choose to create a printed copy, but keep in mind that SOPs are living documents. They can change with technology, as needs change, and when someone discovers a more efficient way to do things.

   Why education programs need SOPs

   Every organization can benefit from SOPs, but they’re especially important if you have a small staff, or work with volunteers who may come and go. Nonprofit burnout is a real threat, and you want people to be able to take vacation without fielding dozens of phone calls or leaving the office unable to function. 

   Imagine a big storm is expected in your area and you need to reschedule all of Thursday’s classes. You shouldn’t have to call Betsy, who happens to be at her daughter’s wedding in California, to figure out the process for doing that. Instead, you can just open up your SOP document and be guided step-by-step through the process.

   Then, of course, there’s staff turnover to consider. You shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel every time someone leaves your team. And productivity is lost if new employees need to be taught step-by-step how to handle each task, or worse, are left to muddle through and hope they did it right.

   Education program procedures that need SOPs

   You can create SOPs for almost any process that happens in your office. The need for specific ones varies depending on your program and its procedures. However, there are several processes that every program should standardize.

   1. Posting classes to your course catalog
   2. Registering students over the phone
   3. Canceling a class
   4. Rescheduling a class
   5. Issuing a refund
   6. Waiting list administration
   7. Creating a new student profile
   8. Emergency response plans

   The good news is that if you already use a quality class registration software like CourseStorm, some of these procedures may already exist. Just visit our knowledge library to get step-by-step instructions for many of these processes.

   How to write a Standard Operating Procedure

   The process of creating SOPs will require some upfront effort, but you’ll save tons of time and headaches in the long run. Having a standard procedure means there’s no guesswork and tasks get done right the first time. Here’s our SOP for how to create an SOP. 

   1. Title your SOP with the name of the task
      ex. Add A Class to The Course Catalog

   2. Include the scope and purpose. In other words, what is the goal of this SOP? Are there other SOPs that might be similar? Make sure your team understands when they should use this one.
      Ex. Add a single course to the course catalog. Procedure for adding multiple courses at once can be found here.

   3. Work step-by-step through the process, noting each step as you go. Make sure you list all parts of every step and include enough detail for someone who has never done it before. Don’t assume the reader knows what library you use for stock photos or how to set kids class age restrictions. Include any images, screenshots, or links that help clarify each step.

   4. Share it with the team to make sure you’ve covered all of the essential steps. Ideally, you should get feedback from someone who does the process regularly, and from someone new to it.

   5. Include a revision date. Everytime you update the procedure, change this date. That way people know they have the most recent version.

   6. Share the SOP with your team. An SOP only works if everyone knows where to find it, so make sure each member of your team has access to the place where SOPs are stored.

   Following these steps will help you make useful SOPs that save time and improve the quality of customer service that students can expect from you.

   What to do if your procedures are too complicated

   Sometimes writing out a procedure can help you realize that the processes you have in place are just too complicated. When that happens, look for opportunities to simplify. You may be able to automate some steps: like waiting list management or introduce the right technology to simplify your process. 

   Learn how the right enrollment tool can save you time and effort.

4. Schools Want Field Trip Ideas: How Theatres Can Help

   October 23, 2024 9:45 am Leave a Comment

   Introducing young people to the arts is a core part of any theatre’s mission. That’s especially true if your theatre has an education program. Fortunately, teachers and homeschool groups are always on the lookout for fun and educational field trip ideas. If you can market theatre productions to teachers and homeschool parents, you can fill the house while you fulfill your mission. 

   Teachers and homeschool groups are always on the lookout for fun and educational field trip ideas like theatre productions.

   We’ll show you how to connect with teachers and homeschool groups, plus offer some ways theatres can make their performances and programs more enticing.  

   School Field Trips Are an Opportunity for Theatres

   School groups offer some unique opportunities for community theatres and theatre groups. They allow you to reach a large group of people all at once, if you’re considering how to promote a play or grow enrollment in your acting classes. Attracting school field trips helps you to: 

   • expose new audiences to theatre in general and prospective theatre students to your arts education program in particular; 
   • form community partnerships with K-12 educators and homeschool groups;
   • fulfill your mission of making the arts accessible to all (for some kids a field trip is their first theatre experience).

   Once students are exposed to your theatre on a field trip, many want to return for classes or camps.

   The benefits last long after the field trip is over. Once students are exposed to the theatre, many want to return again and again. Some may even choose to attend your classes or camps. And over time, the relationships you build with local teachers, schools, and homeschool groups can grow into a tradition. Imagine bringing generations of students into your theatre.

   How to Find Homeschool Groups

   It’s easy to find schools in your community. You probably already know where they are and you or your children may have attended one of them yourselves. Homeschool groups and co-ops may seem more challenging to connect with, but they’re actually easy to find if you know how to look. 

   You can find homeschool groups by using the online databases available from the Home School Legal Defense Association or at Homeschool.com. A simple Facebook or Google search may also turn up groups in your area that would be happy to hear from you. 

   Make it easy for parents in homeschool groups to find opportunities and field trip ideas with your theatre.

   Parents in homeschool groups tend to be highly motivated to find opportunities for their children, including looking for homeschool field trip ideas. Make it easy for them by reaching out and proactively sharing information about upcoming kid-friendly performances, camps, or classes.

   Tips for Attracting Field Trips

   1. Promote With a Purpose – Don’t rely on your general marketing materials to attract school groups. Teachers are busy and have curriculum goals for their students. It’s not enough that a performance is entertaining or emotionally stirring. They need to see how it will enrich their students.

   2. Connect Content and Curriculum – Look for opportunities to connect what happens on stage with what students are learning in the classroom. For example, a production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown might teach kids about friendship, community, and imagination. It could also be a starting point for a lesson on different story formats (plays, comic strips, TV shows, etc.) Websites like KidsKonnect might even offer worksheets you can share with teachers.

   3. Reach Out to Schools – Send flyers and special invitations directly to schools to let them know about your student-friendly productions. Outline any group discounts or special packages you may be offering. You might even offer to perform a scene or song during an assembly to get kids excited about the production.

   4. Offer Special Incentives – If you’re charging schools for tickets, try to build in some extra incentives. At Carroll County Arts Council productions, one adult chaperone is admitted free with every 10 paid student tickets. Another CourseStorm customer, Miami Theater Center, provides free transportation to and from performances. You can also offer tours of the theater, free snacks, or Q&As with the cast and crew.

   5. Convert Students Into Lifelong Theatergoers – Keep kids and their families coming back to the theatre by making sure each student goes home with a flyer about your upcoming season. Consider offering a special discount code students can use later to bring their families to the theatre. This is also a great time to promote any classes, camps, or after-school programs you offer. 

   Diverse Theatre Experiences Help You Reach More Students

   Students may be delighted to see a play in your theatre, but you can also offer so much more. Our friends over at Savannah Children’s Theater invite students to put on a play! Theatre staff help the students rehearse and perform a curriculum-based musical comedy while teachers watch the performance. 

   They also bring the theatre to the students, offering live theatre performances in classrooms and on school campuses. These flexible options help teachers and homeschool groups find the theatre experience that’s right for their students. 

   If your theater offers classes or camps, check out our article on how theaters can boost enrollment in performing arts classes. 

    

5. Can Generational Marketing Increase Class Registrations?

   October 9, 2024 4:28 am Leave a Comment

   Do your kids’ classes always have waiting lists, but you struggle to fill the adult rosters? Or maybe you’re offering classes to adults of all ages, but only seniors are signing up. What’s going on? 

   If your kids’ classes fill up but your senior and teen classes don’t, you may want to consider your marketing approach. Generational differences could be a factor.

   It may be that your marketing only resonates with audiences of a certain age. If you want to reach more age-diverse markets and grow your enrollments, you may want to consider generational marketing.

   Generational marketing is a marketing strategy that considers the preferences and needs of audiences based on their age. While it is possible to over focus on generational differences, this approach can help ensure that your marketing appeals across age groups. 

   Some Context for Generational Marketing

   Generational marketing relies on a handful of categories broken up by birth years: 

   • Baby Boomers: 1946-1964
   • Generation X: 1965-1980
   • Millennials: 1981-1996
   • Generation Z: 1997-2012
   • Generation Alpha: 2012-Present

   Generational marketing focuses on the age of the intended audience to make generalizations about what that audience might want. For example, a Boomer might prefer to call your administrative staff to get information, while a Millennial might prefer to go online. But keep in mind that these generalizations do not perfectly describe every member of that age group. 

   Age is a continuum but the categories have start and end dates. So a person born in 1997 may not technically be a millennial, but might have more in common with that group than with someone in their own generation who was born in 2012.  

   The dates above come from the Pew Research Center, but other groups and organizations may use different cut-offs. Generational categories are not standardized. They are loose characterizations generally agreed upon. 

   The two most important generational differences to keep in mind are consumer behavior and technology use by age group.

   With that being said, there are some generational differences that are useful to keep in mind. The two most important are consumer behavior and technology use by age group.

   Technology Use by Age Group

   People of all ages are using mobile devices more often. Nearly half of all web traffic in North America comes from mobile devices. As of 2019, about 17% of Gen Xers primarily use their smartphone to access the internet. However, the number of Boomers who have smartphones has been rising steadily since 2011. About 11% of Boomers say a smartphone is their primary internet device. These percentages have almost certainly increased in the last five years. 

   • Make sure both your website and your registration forms are mobile-friendly.

   Gen Z and Gen Alpha are shifting away from traditional search engines. Rather than directly searching for a product or service, they’re more likely to passively discover it on social media. Discovery can happen through ads, influencers, or sharing posts with friends.

   • Consistent and engaging social media posts and ads are an effective way to reach younger audiences.

   But keep in mind that Boomers tend to be much less social media-focused. Only a small minority of Boomers use social media to shop. These audiences are more likely to use search or even television ads to discover products and services. 

   • Don’t rely solely on social media for marketing. Good search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search ads can help you reach Boomer audiences.

   Younger audiences also don’t use email the same way their parents and grandparents do. They may have a school or work email, but their personal life happens through text and social media. 

   • SMS-based marketing and text reminders for classes can help keep younger audiences engaged. 

   Consumer Behavior by Age Group

   The pandemic pushed many people to embrace online shopping. Boomers in particular appreciated the simplicity and ease of shopping from home. When pandemic restrictions were lifted, that habit held on. Millennials were the first generation to fully embrace online shopping, and younger groups have followed that trend. 

   • Create a fully online class registration and payment system and streamline it so it’s easy for all ages to use.

   When it comes to disposable income, Boomers have the clear advantage. Older consumers have a higher median net worth than their younger counterparts. Many are also more willing to spend on discretionary items, like travel or enrichment classes. 

   • Big-ticket, high-value classes can attract older audiences. Payment plans can make these classes accessible to younger, more budget-conscious learners.

   Keep in mind that while all groups may enroll themselves, Millennials may be looking for classes for their children. Boomers may be registering their grandchildren and Gen Xers could be doing either or both. 

   • Group registration makes it easy for adults to enroll the whole family. And don’t forget that marketing for kids’ classes should appeal to parents as well. 

   Meet Potential Students Where They Are

   It’s possible to get too focused on generational differences and stray into the realm of stereotypes. Remember, there tend to be more differences within a group than there are between groups. Some Gen Xers love email. Plenty of Boomers are tech savvy. And Millennials may be child-free.

   The best way to use generational marketing is as a troubleshooting checklist. Does your program marketing account for the range of preferences that may affect your audience? 

   For example, at CourseStorm, we know that some audiences prefer to register for classes by phone while others prefer to complete the transaction online. Generally, this preference tends to be tied to age, but not always. To serve both groups, we encourage customers to use the full online registration system, but also provide a phone number so their in-house staff can complete a registration for someone who is uncomfortable with technology.

   Your marketing can take a similar approach by offering variations and options that appeal to different groups. 

   Dig Below the Surface to Get to Know Your Audience

   One powerful way to make sure you’re marketing to every generation is to create student personas, representations of each type of student based on what you know about them. Using student personas can help you better understand your students so you can create classes and marketing materials that resonate with them. Learn how to create student personas that can increase class registrations. 

    

6. How to Improve the Registration Process: 6 Tips to Reflect on Your Last Enrollment Season

   September 4, 2024 9:33 am Leave a Comment

   Every registration season delivers lessons for how to improve the registration process for your classes. The trick is recognizing those lessons when they come along. Education program directors may not realize that they already have a wealth of information that could help them make informed decisions about the next enrollment season. 

   We’ve compiled a 6-step checklist to help you reflect on your most recent enrollment season to learn from it and apply the lessons next season. 

   We’ve drawn on our years of experience supporting arts and nonprofit programs with class registration and payment processing to develop a seasonal registration audit checklist that brings these lessons to the surface. We’ll show you where to look for information about your most recent enrollment season and how to collect even more data so you can use it to increase enrollment.

   6 Steps to Improve Your Registration Process

   At the end of each registration season, follow these 6 steps to complete a registration process audit that will help you identify areas for improvement and get results.

   1. Check Your Metrics

   Start by comparing this season’s metrics to metrics from the same time last year. Don’t get too caught up in month-to-month fluctuations. Most programs see peaks and valleys in their registration numbers. Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples by checking this September against last September or this fall against the previous fall. 

   Even if your enrollment numbers are trending in the right direction, it’s worth completing the full registration process audit. Seasonal check-ins can help you spot small issues before they blow up into major problems. 

   Investigate: 

   • Whether enrollment levels grew, shrunk, or remained the same
   • Which classes got the most enrollments
   • Which classes got the fewest enrollments
   • How students enrolled: online, in-person, by phone
   • How people reached your website: ads, web search, email, direct link

   Use this information to understand how people are enrolling in your classes and where changes may be needed. You can segment data to help you spot specific trends. For example, you may want to look at whether specific populations are enrolling, or whether 6pm classes attract more students than 7pm classes. 

   2. Collect Student Feedback 

   Ideally, you’re asking students to complete student feedback forms at the end of each class. These can give you information about what students thought of the class experience, but probably won’t tell you much about registration. For that you may want to send out a seasonal survey that asks about the registration, customer service, website experience and payment process. 

   Asking students for feedback doesn’t just help you collect useful information. Harvard Business Review reports that it also increases customer loyalty. People feel valued when you ask for their opinion.

   We’ve written a whole article about how to collect and use student feedback, and here’s a broad overview of the kinds of questions that could help you improve your programs.

   Ask students: 

   • How easy the registration process was
   • Whether they could easily find the classes they wanted
   • Their overall level of satisfaction
   • Whether your website was easy to use
   • How you could improve the registration experience

   Use these questions to understand how students actually feel about your process and identify areas for improvement. A complex process, confusing website, or hard-to-navigate course catalog may be holding you back more than you realize. The best way to find out is to ask.

   3. Investigate for Tech Issues

   Some technical issues may be obvious — you’re not going to miss a website crash during your busiest enrollment day of the year. Others are harder to spot and may take some digging. A link that sends visitors to the wrong enrollment form might result in staff confusion, but no complaints from students. 

   Many education program directors assume that a lack of complaints means everything is fine. That may not be true. Research shows that the majority of unhappy customers don’t complain. Most just leave. And almost a third of customers will walk away from a company they love after just one bad experience.

   Our own professional experience managing websites and payment systems tells us this is especially true if your website is clunky or hard to use. If your website is confusing customers, asks them to complete a complicated process, or simply does not deliver a seamless registration and payment process, they may leave without telling you. 

   Check for: 

   • High bounce rates on class registration pages
   • Abandoned carts
   • Waitlisted students who don’t convert into registrants
   • Broken links
   • Low traffic on course catalogs or registration pages

   Proactively looking for technical issues helps you improve the user experience and enroll more of the visitors who come to your website. 

   4. Ask Staff for Their Impressions

   Instructors and staff who work directly with students may have special insight into the registration process. Ask them for their impressions and opinions. You’re not necessarily looking for hard data here. Instead, you want to hear how staff and instructors perceive the process. 

   These anecdotes can be valuable because they reveal problems you may not have noticed otherwise. A receptionist who tells you they got three phone calls a day asking how to find your course catalog lets you know there is a pattern worth addressing. 

   Sometimes staff will use their own workarounds to try to solve these problems on their own. They may have developed scripts, tracking documents or resource lists to try to help students register. These kinds of resources help staff do their jobs, but can also obscure an ongoing problem. A functional workaround may mean you never notice that there’s a major issue with your system.

   Ask staff about: 

   • The questions they most often heard from students
   • Any shortcuts or special tools they developed 
   • Student stories that stuck out to them
   • How they would improve the registration process

   When you ask for staff feedback, you don’t just get valuable insight into your registration process. You also improve relationships with staff and instructors. Multiply this effect by thanking staff for their insight and keeping them informed of how you use their feedback.

   5. Identify Areas to Improve

   With baseline metrics and insight from your students, technical team, and instructors, you should be able to build a short list of areas to improve. Prioritize the list based on which issues have the greatest impact on student experience. An issue that affects just one course is less urgent than a systemic problem with your process. 

   Try to step back and get a big-picture view of what’s going on. This can help you find efficient solutions rather than creating a patchwork of fixes for various issues. For example, if you notice that some potential students are leaving the registration process without completing payment and others seem to be struggling with finding the classes they want, you may be able to solve the problem with all-in-one class registration and payment software. 

   Find solutions by: 

   • Prioritizing your problem list
   • Looking for solutions that solve multiple issues
   • Considering budget and complexity of roll-out
   • Asking for recommendations from other course providers

   These steps help ensure that you’re choosing efficient and effective improvements for your class registration process. 

   6. Make and Test a Strategy

   Make a plan for how you’ll implement the solutions you’ve identified. Some may be simple and require little up-front planning. For example, adding a link to your cancellation policy to your universal registration form may take just a few clicks. Other solutions could benefit from a longer roll-out process. For example, before you introduce a new registration software you might need to train staff on how to use it, announce the change to students, and have technical support documents ready to go. 

   Consider: 

   • When you’ll roll out the new strategy
   • Who will be responsible for each step
   • How you will communicate changes to staff and students
   • How you will measure the strategy’s success

   A well-planned change strategy will help you make positive changes to your class registration process without the unintended side effects of confusing or frustrating the people you’re trying to help.

   Repeat Every Season to Keep Improving the Registration Process

   Complete this registration audit at the end of each enrollment cycle to help your program grow season after season. Regular check-ins will help you catch small issues before they become enrollment-impacting problems. Along the way, you’ll strengthen your relationships with both students and staff.

   If a complex registration process is keeping your enrollments low, it might be time to investigate a new enrollment tool. Learn How the Right Enrollment Tool Can Save You Time, Money, and Effort.

7. 3 Ways to Improve the Student Experience in Arts and Community Ed

   July 17, 2024 9:25 am Leave a Comment

   It’s easy to assume people are happy if you get few or no complaints. But when it comes to your class registration system, a lack of complaints isn’t always a good thing. Research shows a huge majority of people won’t complain when an experience doesn’t meet their standards—they’ll just leave.

   A great student experience separates thriving education programs from the rest. The student experience is the overall interaction between the learner and your organization. Your classes are just one tiny piece of that. The rest of the experience, including ease of registration, communication, and issue resolution, is more important from a customer service standpoint.

   Make no mistake, your students are customers. That’s why customer service matters in education.

   And make no mistake, your students are customers. You may not usually think about them in that way, but most bring a shopper’s mindset to the experience of signing up for a class. If their needs aren’t met, they’ll go elsewhere, leaving you wondering where all your students have gone.

   Customer Service in the Education Industry: Why It Matters

   When a potential student is looking for a block printing class so they can impress everyone with handmade Christmas cards this year, they want the process of finding and signing up for a class to be as easy as possible. 

   If they run into an issue, they expect quick and helpful service that gets everything sorted out without burning through their entire lunch break. That may be why the Qualtrics Consumer Trends Report found that customers are much more likely to do business with organizations that have a great reputation for customer experience, even in a down economy.

   Obviously, the class itself should deliver on student expectations. The material should match the course description and students should walk away feeling more skilled, more informed, or at least entertained.

   A good student experience can turn one-time customers into lifelong learners and brand ambassadors.

   But, the student experience doesn’t end when the class is complete. Ideally, you’ll keep communicating with those students. Your social media, email, and SMS messaging will offer them personalized class recommendations they can get excited about. That’s how one-time customers turn into lifelong learners and brand ambassadors. 

   If an organization can’t meet student expectations for customer service, they’ll look for one that does. Often, they’ll do so without stopping to tell you about it first.

   Most Unsatisfied Customers Never Complain 

   CourseStorm customers find that about 35% of arts students return to take another class. Those students were clearly satisfied with both their first class and the student experience. But at least some of the remaining 65% probably felt less than satisfied and didn’t explain why.

   You might think that students will complain if they are unhappy, but often that is not the case. Overall, people are giving less feedback to the organizations they buy from. According to Qualtrics, about 66% of customers won’t complain when they’ve had a bad experience. They’ll just take their business elsewhere. 

   Data show 66% of customers won’t complain when they’ve had a bad experience. They’ll just take their business elsewhere.

   This happens for a couple of reasons. Some students are just busy and unwilling to invest time in complaining when they can just find another class. Others may believe that their complaints won’t make a difference, so they don’t bother voicing them. 

   They may not be talking to you, but they’re almost certainly telling friends and family about the experience. People may end up avoiding your program without ever experiencing it for themselves. 

   That leaves education directors and administrators with the challenge of how to provide a better student experience without much feedback. Fortunately, there are a few areas we know can improve the student experience.

   For more insights on what’s working in arts education and how to improve the student experience, download our State of the Arts Report 2024.

   How to Improve the Student Experience

   Consumers in general, and students in particular, prefer to do business with organizations that deliver these three things: 

   1. Self-service on-demand 

   Learners expect to be able to sign up, change registrations, and handle payments online and without direct interaction with a staff member. In fact, about 67% of survey respondents said they preferred self-service over speaking to a representative. 

   Online registration and payment systems with carts and friends and family registration tools can help customers help themselves. 

   2. Quick and helpful communication

   When registrants do run into an issue they can’t solve on their own, they expect quick and helpful service. Research by author Jay Baer found that customers “hate” having to contact a business more than once and about 66% of customers think speed to respond is as important as price.

   Arts nonprofits probably don’t have someone standing by to answer customer questions at any moment of the day. That makes it all the more important that whoever is assisting customers is trained in customer service and empowered to provide real solutions to issues, for example, tech support, discounts, refunds, or transfers.

   When someone does reach out, let them know how quickly they can expect a response. Feed the need for self-service by offering an FAQ sheet or a knowledge base they can read while they wait.

   3. Personalized marketing and communications

   According to HubSpot’s Marketing Trends Report, 75% of marketers say offering a personalized experience increases sales and repeat business. Personalized messaging can lead to 50% better customer re-engagement. 

   Customized class recommendations, SMS-based text reminders, and centralized customer data management can help you personalize communications so each student feels valued. 

   Offer returning students exclusive early-bird registration or special promotions to make them feel valued.

   Acknowledge a preexisting relationship with students who have enrolled before by offering them exclusive early-bird registration or special promotions for returning students. When you personalize marketing and communications, you make every student feel valued.

   Listen and Take Action to Improve the Student Experience

   Although customers may not seek you out to complain about a sub-par experience, some will answer candidly when asked. Asking for feedback from students can help you catch and fix common issues. It can also strengthen your relationships with learners. After all, everyone likes feeling like they’ve been heard.  

   For more advice on listening to learners to improve the student experience, read our article on How to Collect and Use Student Feedback to Build Better Programs.