How to Increase Tuition (or change your policy) Without a Revolt

 
How to increase piano tuition without a revolt in your piano studio | composecreate.com

In the online workshop “The Best Stress-free Business Practices for Your Studio” we discuss why it’s important for teachers to keep up with inflation and raise their prices a little every year. With the wonderful conversations we’ve had about this, I wanted to share step-by-step instructions on increasing piano tuition without a revolt.

Whether or not you make a large increase is up to you. You have to weigh all your variables (the demographics of your clientele, whether you have a waiting list, whether you have enough students to begin with) to make a good decision.

How to Increase Piano Tuition:

1. Make sure your price is competitive.

Make sure you have not out-priced yourself in your community. Here’s how to do this: call your competitors or check their websites to see what they are charging. See what dance studios are charging for private and group lessons. What does it cost to participate in a sport for a semester? Note on this: make sure you aren’t checking places like the YMCA. They get private subsidies to offer cheaper prices (and last time I checked, we don’t get those). Read this post for more on this topic.

2. Make a big to-do about all your studio is doing before you increase piano tuition.

Sample Front Page Newsletter
It doesn’t have to be this fancy. I used a template in Mac’s Pages for this.

This is the most important. Make an attractive newsletter (use a template from your word processing program or if that’s too daunting, just an email with headings put in bold and good formatting). You newsletter should outline the following in a positive way:

  • All your studio offered in the last year. I did this one year and was amazed at all the opportunities that I had forgotten about. In a year’s time, you offer so much for your students. Parents are so busy that they just forget about your summer camp, 2 recitals, NFMC events, composition contests, group lessons, performance classes, piano parties, visits to the nursing home to share music, memorized pieces (you could list the total number of memorized pieces amongst all your students in a year),etc. Make a list of these so they know private lessons were just part of all you offered.
  • Your student’s accomplishments. It may take time, but naming each student and an accomplishment is important validation to parents. Even if it’s only that they mastered eighth notes in the year!
  • Special student awards. Did any of your students win anything? Tell the whole studio about it because that gets them excited about the possibility of their child winning too!
  • All the things YOU did to make you a better teacher for THEIR child. Remember that you always need to frame what you do by how it benefits your clients. Did you attend a national conference, summer workshop, chat for hours with piano teaching groups online, get a book published, write an article, set up a website, make worksheets, etc.? Parents need to know about these things and about how they help you be a better teacher for their child.
  • Pictures of events. A picture is worth a thousand words. If you have pictures of their children having a great time at group lessons or getting an award, include it!
  • Anything special that you will be doing in the coming year. Maybe you are going to be revolutionizing your students rhythm skills by using Rhythm Menagerie, or doing the Rhythm Manipulations World-Wide Challenge, or starting group lessons, or Rhythm Cup Explorations. Tell parents about these things! Communicate excitement about the coming year. If you don’t know what you’re doing in the coming year, make a general statement at the bottom like:

    I look forward to continuing to offer all of these opportunities for your child again next year!

  • Nothing else. Don’t talk about increasing rates for the next year, or moving to a no makeups policy. That’s going to come later.This newsletter is all about the benefits of being in your studio!

3. Announce your piano tuition increase with their point of view in mind.

A few weeks after the energetic newsletter that you send, give them the new policy where you increase piano tuition. You’ll probably need to draw attention to the new changes as most parents will only glance at your newsletter. So, in your email or cover letter, be sure to include some explanation. And always, always, always talk about changes and how they are going to positively impact your client, not yourself!

Tuition changes:

For example, if you are switching to a tuition based system (which I strongly recommend), then frame it this way:

DO thisThis year, I have reworked my tuition structure such that it will be much easier for you to budget for lessons. No longer do you have to wonder how much you owe because the annual tuition will be evenly divided into xx payments! This will help free up time and energy for both you and I since we will no longer wonder how much lessons are at the end of the month.

That is so much better than this:

Not thisI will no longer be charging by the week, but will be doing a yearly tuition based system. I need a payment structure where I can have a predictable income and the current system is not working for me. This will help me to be able to live comfortably and not worry about whether or not I have a reliable income from month to month.

Do you see the difference? Again, just so we are clear…do the 1st way, NOT the 2nd!

Makeup lesson changes:

Here’s where you might need to talk about the effect that make up lessons has had on you, so that you can in turn talk about the effect that it’s having on them:

In the last few years, I have come to realize that the number of makeup lesson I have been giving has added such a huge stress to my life that I haven’t been able to give students the energy that they deserve in their lesson time. I will now be offering some great alternatives if you cannot make your lesson (like lesson swaps or Facetime/Skype lessons), but will no longer be giving make up lessons. This will allow me to give every child the energy and instruction they deserve since I will be now able to spend appropriate time planning lessons instead of making up lessons. Please be assured that your tuition is always working for your child as I spend a great deal of time outside of lessons choosing repertoire, planning, strategizing, attending competitions, etc. So, even if you have to miss a lesson and cannot use the alternatives offered, you don’t have to worry about receiving less for your tuition. You’ll be receiving more energy, enthusiasm and a more successful lesson each week since I will have the appropriate time to give.

Be sure to read “A Step-by-step Guide on How to Move to a No Makeups Policy” for further information.

4. Deal with exceptions as they come.

It’s possible that there might be a family or two that really can’t manage a big tuition change. The possibility of this is never a reason NOT to change your tuition when you’ve determined that you should. You should determine before you make any changes whether you have room in your budget to offer a scholarship should a need arise. You have to use wisdom in determining if this is a real need with a family, and deal with these exceptions as they come. And definitely don’t make any studio wide decision based on the possibility that some may not be able to afford your change.

Be sure you are signed up for the ComposeCreate newsletter so that you can receive helpful articles like this through the year. I only send newsletters when there is something helpful to share and I’d love to be able to share with you regularly. I sure hope this helps if you need to make any big changes this year! Remember that you should always do what is best for yourself and your family first and then factor in the impact it has in your community. No one says you have to make these changes, but you’ll know deep down inside if you should make them. Don’t forget that you can get a complete guide to an effective and enforceable policy here.

What are your thoughts on how to increase piano tuition without a revolt?

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17 thoughts on “How to Increase Tuition (or change your policy) Without a Revolt”

  1. Thank you! I’ve been eagerly waiting for this post, as I plan to raise rates this year. I love your suggestions. What a great guide. I think it is important to highlight everything you did in the studio, even if you aren’t raising rates – and I’m going to add that to my yearly “to do” list. Again, THANK YOU!

  2. Perfect timing, Wendy! Thank you so much! I am planning on moving to a yearly tuition divided evenly by 9 months, which may help me include a small increase in my rates, as well as to a no make-ups policy and I have been wondering how to word it! Instead of doing a newsletter this year (but awesome idea for next year!) I will use my recital in a couple weeks to highlight events from the year, then the following week which is the last week of regular lessons I will send out the new policy letter along with the cover letter. I can’t thank you enough!!

  3. Thank you Suzanne! I’m happy to share and the more that know about this, the better for us all! Thanks for sharing.

  4. Thanks Lisa! Feel free to share this with other teachers if you think they’d benefit! I’m super glad it was a help to you.

  5. So Wendy….

    ANOTHER AWESOME POST.

    Because you’re awesome.

    By the way, I loved your second way of addressing tuition system change. HAHA.

  6. Hi Wendy:
    Thank you for addressing very important topics for piano teachers – makeup lessons and tuition raises. I missed last Friday’s discussion on FaceBook. When is the next one?

  7. Hi Wendy,

    I finished teaching very early today and decided to get to work on my” Tuition Overhaul” as I like to call it. I have been studying your Dollar and Sense articles for the past few hours really preparing myself for this change. I am feeling very confident in switching to School Year plus Summer tuition beginning in September. Just wanted to drop by and thank you for your great articles!

  8. Hi Jennifer,
    Thanks so much for dropping by to tell me this. I’m so glad that this has helped you! Thanks so much for taking time to write!

  9. I am very much wanting to raise my tuition just enough to help cover some changes I’m adding to my technology lab. Do you think it would be OK to send the newsletter plus the notice of tuition change together?!? I have run out of time! I so wish we had you coming down here right now!!!!!

  10. Hi Kerri! Sure, I think it would be fine to send them at the same time. Of course, it’s best if you send the newsletter first with just amazingly positive reviews of the year, but if you don’t have time, then definitely send them together.

    Can’t wait for July!

  11. I have read that rates should increase every year to avoid a big increase. What are your thoughts, and do you state that in your policy?

    Thanks Wendy!

  12. Hi Wendy,
    Same question as Amber above regarding increase rate. And also – what title do you give the email/newsletter for increased tuition? Is “Tuition Increase”? too scary? 🙂 it will certainly make them open and read!
    Thanks!
    Isabella

  13. For the newsletter, I agree that “tuition increase” feels like it puts them on the defensive immediately. So I might say “new policy” or tuition adjustments.” But always try to frame it with the parent in mind. So if you are moving to equal payments, then that makes payments easier for them to budget. But if it’s just a tuition increase, you could just say something simple like, “Tuition this year will be $xx divided into equal payments of $x. Sometimes simple is better, but you know your families best.

  14. Pingback: Getting paid what you're worth - The Unfinished Lesson

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