Black Friday and Beyond:  Strategic Positioning for Test Prep & Tutoring in Late November

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November  2014 Blog Preparing for Black Friday www.testprepprofessionals.com

TEST PREP & TUTORING PROFESSIONALS SAT scores from the November 8th administration will be released starting next week which, as luck would have it, is also Thanksgiving week.  While the beginning of the week may be subdued in terms of inbound phone volume, make no mistake; potential clients will be in the habit of web-shopping because of a fairly normalized consumer sales cycle.  Although this sales cycle is more traditionally related to retailers and holiday shopping,  Test Prep & Tutoring sales also tend to peak as well.  That having been said, Black Friday may be hit or miss for Test Prep & Tutoring consumer traffic--BUT-- the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving are usually quite busy. To take full advantage of this opportunity, it will be helpful to prepare.  Here are some basics worth reviewing with your team: 1.  Have a singular and impactful message.  Whether you are using price incentives, value-adds, or new product announcements, limit the scope of your sales messaging to a singular message of choice. 2.  Have a short team meeting during which this message is discussed and be sure folks fully understand how to discuss and implement the promotion or message of choice. 3.  Review and update sales sheets (product descriptions, pricing, pricing if there is an incentive, limitations to any incentives, and sales scripts if you have them etc.). 4.  Consider developing a quick FAQ for team members taking in-bound calls 5.  Double check class offerings &  tutor availability through January.  Many people will be looking ahead and you will want to have inventory to meet the demand! 6.  Extend the discussion to all tutors and teachers in order to maximize network outreach.  This can be done pretty efficiently through a bullet-pointed email. 7.  Document any and all information from web forms or inbound callers who don't enroll.  These folks could be prospects for a future class or offer. 8.  Consider sending an email on either the Monday or Tuesday after Thanksgiving 9.  Don't forget your current clients--they deserve to be rewarded as much as or maybe event more than new clients. 10.  If you are not in the habit of "goaling,"  try to set an enrollment goal using comparitive dates from the prior year.  For example, if the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2013 your enrolled 3 students, try goaling at 5 or 6 this year.  Extend that logic forward as appropriate. Hope it helps.   Happy Holidays! Kevin

November test prep promotion and pricing strategy

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November test prep & tutoring promotional  strategy

As we approach the beginning of November, Test Prep & Tutoring demand will wane slightly for a week or so, resurface briefly and then, toward the beginning of December,  decrease along a somewhat predictable trajectory until after winter break.  The good news is that there are still plenty of people interested in test prep and tutoring at this point in the year. In fact, there are a couple of what I will call "micro-peaks" which surface at this time of year.  

Although the sales cycle becomes abbreviated due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we are still at a unique moment when market forces coalesce to provide opportunity.  The variables:    scores back  + changing SAT/ACT +  high school exams + Black Friday = Late Fall Demand.  

Larger companies anticipate this dynamic and will bombard the consumer base with a mix of products and offers designed to win market share ahead the January enrollment cycle (for March or April SAT/ACT).     Still, it is possible to compete and maybe even grow your share over the prior year through some deliberate positioning.  

The key for small test prep & tutoring companies is to recognize the playing field looks something like this to a larger firm:

• Total test prep market share for November available in November
• Key products for that group
• Important buying criteria to that group
• Total market share available for December and for January available in November
• Key products for that group
• Important buying criteria to that group
• Action step:  determine promotional mix that will afford greatest share of the above.

From this point forward, the buttons and levers available to the larger companies will probably involve a segmentation + incentive enrollment strategy.   Said differently, the market leaders will probably  leverage a commoditization position.   And let's face it--when it comes to having access to consumer buying trends  and then being able to  leveraging through a powerful marketing engine--big box test prep has nailed it.    

But this is as good thing.  How you ask?  Market forces like those described above generally increase consumer awareness and grow the overall market segment.  So, even though small firms may be outmatched by the big box folks, the net result is that the overall market has expanded and that means more opportunity for everyone. 

All of that having been said, an increase in market size or overall demand does not automatically confer a proportionate increase to each company.  But here are some ideas to help benchmark and improve over the prior year:

• Review prior year sales for a discrete time period.  Use that as a basic benchmarking tool.
• Use whatever empirical data or even just your intuition to define past consumers.
• Message  offerings that have the greatest appeal to that group but...
• Remember that the majority of consumers view Test Prep & Tutoring as a commodity and, as such, have begun to expect commodity-type promotional messages.  The usual suspects? Early-bird SAT sign-up incentives and Academic Subject tutoring in advance of exams).
• Try it yourself:  test  pricing incentives and value-add messages.   Remember to create urgency.
• Don't forget to promote.   The last thing one should do is expend the mental energy required to come up with a grand incentive plan and then just sit by the phone.  One needs to fold this approach into a marketing plan.
• Build a bridge to better practices in the future by measuring and noting the results.

Good luck!

Fall 2014 Tutoring & Test Prep Strategy | Event Calendar

Fall 2014 Tutoring & Test Prep Strategy  |  Event Calendar

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October  2014 Newsletter SAT/ACT Test Prep & Tutoring Strategy www.testprepprofessionals.com

FALL  STRATEGY  II With the confluence of  ACT, PSAT, and SAT test dates in October, combined with the fact that SAT Subject Tests are offered, and with impending changes to both the ACT and the SAT scheduled in the near future, test prep & tutoring concerns should be averaging about 15-25% more in gross revenue vs. prior year.  That is, unless this increase demand has been better anticipated by others.  Unfortunately, when the circumstances I have mentioned align, hyper-competition can ensue. Bigger companies diversify offerings to take advantage of heretofore un-leveraged products...think SAT regular, SAT short course,  and  something like:  SAT 1600 (and then multiply x2 to add online companion products).     Fast followers will match the bigger concerns--not so much with inspired strategy but with duplicate market messaging and hastily prepared product extensions.   And let's not forget that Khan Academy has begun  "democratizing" test prep. So the largest two or three companies combined with whatever large regional player exists in your geography will likely fight it out for the surplus share resulting this Fall.    As a result, even with an increased in total share available, it may be difficult for small or medium sized companies to carve out the revenue increases mentioned above. Many folks will be satisfied with increases vs. last year and, lets face it, most are so inundated at the moment, that gauging relative improvement vs. potential improvement will fall low on the list of things to do.  The good news is?  Performance can be measured in hindsight.  The better news is that there is still a great opportunity more fully leverage opportunity without getting too far afield from delivering one's service.  Here are some tips for this particular Fall: 1.  Know your strengths and define what you are good at and stay committed to those ideals BUT keep an open mind about diversifying products to match dynamic demand.  2.  Know your competition's strengths - visit web pages, view product lines.  This is just good business.  3.  Determine how to best leverage your product mix, pricing strategy, people, and promotional efforts and frequently ask yourself if you are doing so.  4.  Examine your lead - funnel ( this will help you empirically assess demand ).  You may be able to benefit by ramping up high yield,  low time-involved activities over the next four weeks.  If you have not, add a "chat feature" to your website, every inquiry is a potential client (we use OLARK...its free). 5.  Remember that consumer needs are extremely dynamic --particularly as the test dates draw nearer.  For example, two weeks prior to a test date is an ideal time for short courses, or small group single-subject tutoring (Math is pretty popular) etc.  Updating a Facebook page, email list, and current clients with a highly specialized product that matches consumer needs, costs very little and can teach one quite a bit about product diversification.  I kept things short because I know most folks reading this are probably tutoring from morning to night at this point in the cycle.  Feel free to visit our call to learn more about what has  been written here. www.testprepprofessionals.com. Warm regards, Kevin www.testprepprofessionals.com 617.285.4036

Positioning for the New SAT www.testprepprofessionals.com

The SAT is changing (again) The Collegeboard's recent announcement that the SAT will change in Spring of 2016 has created ripples throughout the test prep and tutoring world.  Collegeboard President, David Coleman, explained the changes during a press conference on March 5th.  One of the more intriguing topics involved the decision to enlist Khan Academy as the provider of free SAT preparation.   Many folks in the tutoring industry became rightfully concerned.  If Khan Academy provides free SAT test prep, what will happen to the for-profit tutoring and test prep companies? Although concern is an appropriate response to the issue, a viable alternative may be enthusiasm.  Why enthusiasm? Well for one thing, historically test changes create consumer anxiety and anxiety generally translates into opportunity for companies with the right mindset.  For example, although the SAT is changing, it is not changing for two years.  In the interim, the media hype around the test will create greater public awareness.   And greater public awareness will generate an increase in things like web hits, lead flow and call volume between now and Spring 2016.  Not to mention the fact that when a story like this is routinely carried by national media, it can turn into free PR. Another benefit from the announced changes includes the consumer segmentation between current 9th, 10th, and 11th graders.  Students in 10th and 11th will still see the current SAT.  On the other hand, 9th graders may be faced with a choice:  take a known test or try the new one.  In any case, consumer segmentation tends to help companies focus their marketing messages through more discrete targeting of  email, direct mail, SEO etc.   Said differently, there is both marketing momentum (from the media hype) and a market based consumer-segmentation event that should allow forward thinking business people to better target their messaging. Still not convinced?  Consider also that the ACT will likely benefit from the change (think New Coke and Pepsi).  The comparison is not ideal nor identical but it is likely that the ACT will extend its lead in overall test takers through at least the Spring of 2016.  The caveat here is that the ACT plans to offer both the traditional paper & pencil test as well as a digital version in  2015.  In my view, this is still an opportunity. You may be thinking, "okay, great, the next two years could be fine--even good-- but what about after that?!"  I'll answer your question with a question:  if you were a stockbroker and you knew two years in advance that the main stock in your portfolio, lets call it 80% of that portfolio, could be reduced to 0, what would you do?  Would you lean on other stocks in the portfolio?  Maybe reposition and lean on the next closest stock (ACT)?  Would you could look to expand your holdings of many smaller stocks (subject tutoring, SSAT, college admissions). There are myriad scenarios available but each is unique to the region and market in which you compete.  So what should you do? Given the timeline and the access to information, I would recommend considering the following: 1.  Become an expert in the New SAT.  On April 16th, when a sample version is released, learn it intimately. 2.  Be able to talk intelligently about the differences between the current SAT, the ACT, and the New SAT. 3.  Take an aggressive posture with events and informational campaigns in order to establish thought leadership. 4.  Decide which test will be the  main stock in your portfolio and begin developing or searching for updated curricula while also  investigating services that can digitize content. 5.  Look to reduce expenses.  This will insulate against a "worst case scenario."   Generally, rent and personnel fuel the expense engines of test prep & tutoring companies.  If your lease is coming up for renewal, renegotiate and take less space. 6.  Revisit the rationale behind service delivery.  If you have not ventured into online tutoring for example, start to explore its utility. 7.  Identify a new product or service that is closely associated to test prep & tutoring and build it out (going vertical). 8.  Segment your current successful offerings into additional product lines and try to expand the margin on those new products or services. 9.  No matter how you proceed, be transparent with your team and solicit their thoughts and opinions. Diversification, preparation, and expense reduction are key ideals when drastic changes occur to a market.  Although these are uncertain times for test prep & tutoring,  there is always great opportunity for those with the vision and the ability to execute. Warm regards, Kevin