How much should you spend on marketing & advertising? ๐ค
If you want predictable growth, treat marketing like an investment. Dance studios that set aside 5-20% of their revenue for marketing and allocate that budget to the highest-return channels are much better placed to grow fast than studios who treat marketing as an afterthought. A few things to keep in mind: โก๏ธ Paid ads work, but not alone. Ads are brilliant for creating demand and testing offers fast, but they rely on other systems being in place. If your website, social media content, booking flow, reviews, Google Business Profile and local search signals donโt line up, your ad leads leak away. โก๏ธ The investigation phase matters more than ever. Parents research: they search, read reviews, glance at your photos, check class times and booking ease. If youโre invisible in search - including AI search summaries - youโll miss people before your ad even gets a chance. โก๏ธ Search optimisation is no longer optional. That includes traditional local SEO and preparing for generative/AI search results that give answers and recommendations rather than just links. Practical starter plan (example only - adapt to your studio): - Invest in creative and offer testing with paid ads so you can find what converts - Build and maintain local search optimisation - Track everything - Keep a small experiment fund for new channels or creative tests Quick audit checklist (yes/no): 1. Is your Google Business Profile complete and current? 2. Can a parent book in 3 clicks from a mobile/cell phone? 3. Do you have recent reviews and responses visible? 4. Are your ads sending people to a focused landing page with the right offer? 5. Are you tracking which ads turn into paid students? 6. Are you testing new creative/offer variants regularly? ๐ Final note: 20% is an aggressive, growth-focused allocation - itโs not required for every studio, but studios that aim to scale and are willing to measure and optimise will find that investing at that level makes growth far more predictable. Spend based on results, not assumptions.