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If you face an ongoing struggle with your music lesson program, it can be turned around with a few key strategies. At 2017 Summer NAMM, Melissa Loggins of Music Authority looked at how to keep students engaged, so they stick with your program. It starts with marketing and recruiting (both students and teachers), and ends with a thriving lessons operation built on customer and student satisfaction, commitment and loyalty. As a retail business owner and voice and piano instructor, Loggins also manages Music Authority’s growing lessons program, which averages 525 students weekly. It

At 2017 Summer NAMM, Mitch Gallagher, editorial director for independent retail giant Sweetwater, shared expert tips to create effective YouTube videos that help drive business. Gallagher, who hosts three Sweetwater video shows a week, is also in charge of video content for the company’s website and 167,000 YouTube channel subscribers. According to Gallagher, the reason to do video is to connect with your customers. He stressed being natural, viewing your customers as friends and communicating one-on-one when you create videos to share to your website and social media. Watch the

At 2017 Summer NAMM, financial expert Alan Friedman of Friedman, Kannenberg & Co. presented an interactive session to test music retailers’ financial IQ. According to Friedman, music retail is more competitive than ever, and retailers who come out on top are the ones who take control of their business by being fiscally smart. “Now, it’s not good enough to just make revenues,” he said. “You have to make sure you’re controlling your expenses, paying your bills on time, avoiding common financial mistakes and not ignoring vital financial principles.” Friedman posed 10 questions an

At 2017 Summer NAMM, Ryan Sargent, social media manager for MakeMusic, and Billy Cuthrell, owner of Progressive Music Center, shared ideas for using Instagram to connect with customers. According to Sargent, Instagram provides the best opportunity (more than any other social platform) for you to reach your customers exactly where they are spending time—and where they can get to know your business. Cuthrell illustrated the power of Instagram by taking a photo of the audience and posting it in real time. He noted for audience members who self-manage their Instagram accounts that it

With more than 7,000 brands at The NAMM Show, it’s easy to miss out on your next best-seller. "Best in Show" kicked off the last morning of NAMM to highlight the can't-miss products, services and technologies. In this NAMM U Breakfast Session, Frank Alkyer, publisher of Music Inc. and UpBeat Daily magazines, moderated a panel of six music retail experts, who shopped the far corners of the exhibit floor to bring you their favorites. This is gear that’s sure to make a splash in the new year and beyond. 2018 NAMM Show – Best in Show Winner List Add-ons and Accessories Cling-On Pickup

At 2017 Summer NAMM, Inbound Audio Video CEO and MI industry marketing expert Peter Malick presented a roadmap to email marketing. He shared that email marketing can be one of the most beneficial places to spend your advertising dollars. “What’s so powerful and unique about email marketing is that you own your list,” Malick said. “It has its own value.” He then stated that email marketing is not a zero-sum game. “Your competitors are working this in one way or another. If you really want to be effective, it’s something you should take a look at.” Here are six email-marketing ste

Bringing new people in the store and creating a steady traffic flow is every retailer’s challenge. Whitney Brown Grisaffi of Ted Brown Music is a third-generation music retailer who’s keeping the 86-year-old family business strong by generating in-store traffic. At 2017 Summer NAMM, Grisaffi shared how she runs the business in six locations (with her sister Stephanie), stays relevant and invites people in the store. According to Grisaffi, music lessons remain one of the most effective ways to get people in your store, as they provide a steady traffic flow of students and parents,

Music retailers are increasingly using video as part of their online marketing toolbox. Among them, Billy Cuthrell of Progressive Music Center started shooting video music lessons and distributing them to students before YouTube, Facebook and Instagram even existed. Fast-forward to 2017 Summer NAMM, where Cuthrell and his company’s social media manager Barrett Certoma shared their know-how on using new video technology to get more people and students in the store. Here are their best ideas. (Watch the video for the full session.) Get Video-Inclusive Smartphones now give you vide

At 2017 Summer NAMM, Dan Abel, director of marketing for Reverb.com, shared five tips to help you grow your video audience—and create content that keeps people coming back for more. Abel, who formerly served as content partnerships manager for YouTube, is currently in charge of Reverb’s 10 million global visitors per month. According to Abel, video marketing is a part of your story. Still, getting in front of people and using your other marketing assets to distribute videos is paramount. He stressed keeping your different distribution levers, such as email and social, in mind wit

Why do some companies consistently outperform everyone else—and stay at the forefront as the competition struggles to keep up? At The 2017 NAMM Show, marketing legend Guy Kawasaki revealed the answer in "The Art of Innovation," a NAMM U Breakfast Session. In 60 minutes, Kawasaki offered practical, surprising and even counterintuitive ideas to trigger innovation in your own music business. Here are his 10 lessons on the art of innovation. (Watch the video for the full session.) 1. Set out to make meaning, as opposed to money. Companies that change the world somehow make the world

Music retailers all share the same goal: to grow their businesses and generate revenue. At 2017 Summer NAMM, Will Mason and Nicole Patton of Mason Music honed in on how website content can help you achieve that goal to drive sales, repeat customers and potential buyers who like your brand and think of you first when they’re ready to buy. Mason and Patton offered three tips to help your website reach its full potential. (Watch the video for the complete session.) Have a Step-by-Step Process for Creating Content 1. Build a team. You have staff and people who can help; you just have

At 2017 Summer NAMM, Carol Cook of The Music Room shared her lesson program do’s and don’ts—picked up during her 23 years in business. During this session, she stressed that running a retail store with a vibrant music lesson program requires clear rules and communication with prospective students, trained staff and staying open to new ideas. Here’s Cook’s list. (Watch the full session video and the Q&A at the end for more details.) Do: Schedule registration appointments. When you sign up new students, do so with registration appointments. Have them come in and sit down with yo