Increase Your Business – Host a Studio Clinic By Keith Hatschek | June 2008
Excerpted from the book, The Golden Moment: Recording Secrets of the Pros, by Keith Hatschek.
Looking for a way to boost awareness of your studio and build the brand? Why not allow bands to “test drive" your studio by inviting them in to see and hear just what your studio is capable of doing? Planning and hosting a clinic at your studio is one of the most sure-fire means to build your reputation and increase business. Attracting musicians to your studio to see the gear and meet you can instantly enlarge your pool of potential clients, and it isn't all that difficult to do.
Sell Yourself
If you own and operate a studio, you not only have to convince people that you have the right room and equipment to record their music, you also have to sell them on your chops as an engineer. Nearly as important is getting potential customers to feel comfortable with you. Even casual rapport provides a powerful inducement for musicians to bring their work to you rather than to a complete stranger.
Most musicians are interested in expanding the range of people they can work with and learn from about the recording process and the newest equipment. The perfect way to help meet your clients' goals is a series of free clinics. Spotlight your strengths: be they drum micing, MIDI sequencing, or getting the ultimate guitar crunch. Introduce and promote new or especially hi-tech gear, or perhaps you have a special technique with older, vintage equipment that can make for an exciting workshop.
Hook up with a local music store to co-sponsor the clinic. That way, you can target clientele and the store can do some advertising. And a free clinic can be promoted at no cost, especially in local alternative and free publications, and perhaps even in a public service announcement on a nearby college radio station. Be sure to have some type of pre-registration process, such as by emailing the studio in advance. Be sure to include a sign up sheet at the actual event, so that you can capture more contact names to follow up with after the event.
Make the Clinic Worthwhile
Successful clinics usually run about 60 to 90 minutes, which includes time for questions and discussion. Rehearse your presentation so you can run through it without a hitch. Keep the tone as informal and personable as possible. Include hands-on demonstrations and playbacks in your studio and control room. Don’t spend the whole clinic talking. Instead, show off your hardware and the sounds you can create with it, as this will engage the audience more fully.
Never hesitate to communicate your excitement about the topic and about recording and music in general. Enthusiasm for your work will breed enthusiasm to work with you. A significant side benefit of the clinics is that they are a very cost-effective way to gain insight into the changing needs and concerns of your customers.
Remember that to draw attendees to your clinic, the topic must interest your prospective clients. If, for example, drum micing is your forte, present it in a way that would interest bands, such as "Studio Drum Micing Techniques That Work." Don’t forget to think target market for your clinics. If there are a lot of metal bands in your area, try a clinic on shred guitar sounds in the studio or something else that will attract a particular group of potential clients.
At the conclusion of the presentation, bring out some simple refreshments to encourage people to mingle and talk. Double check to ensure everybody has signed a guest list, which includes a column for their email address and snail mail. Everyone should leave with a studio brochure and/or your business card. You might also want to offer a clinic special offer, for instance a one-day deal to “Buy 3 hours, Get 1 Free."
Remember, people are much more likely to call back the person they've already met. After the success of your first studio clinic, pick another topic of interest and begin planning your next one for a few months down the road!
For the cost of a few phone calls, flyers, a mailing, and a bit of time and effort on your part, you can expand your pool of likely clients and grow a reputation as a resource where musicians find a knowledgeable, helpful professional. That’s the impact a well-executed recording clinic can have on your business.
Studio Clinic Organizing Tips
• For maximum attendance, schedule it for a weekday evening or weekend day.
• Design an eye-catching, clearly written flyer and post it at the music store that is co-sponsoring your clinic.
• If attendance space is limited, be sure to say so on the flyer, but always take the names and addresses of others interested for future clinics and promotions.
• If a local music store is co-sponsoring your clinic, include the music store's name and logo on the flyer and keep their counter stocked with flyers. Also, offer to cover the cost of mailing the flyer to the store's house list as well as your own.
• Enlist a few helpers to hand out cards and flyers on the day of the clinic, make sure guests have signed in, help with security, and assist with seating and refreshments.
The Golden Moment: Recording Secrets of the Pros is written by Keith Hatschek, published by Backbeat Books, and available online at www.amazon.com.
