Planning for Summer 2021

Although no one knows exactly what this summer will be like, now is a great time to start planning for it!

The vaccination effort is currently going really well in the UK, but there have been various delays in other countries. The chance of ‘normal’ holidays abroad this summer looks unlikely. Even if our vaccination effort is complete by the summer, other countries are unlikely to let us in for holidays if their effort is some way behind.

Looking closer to home though, we are already seeing huge numbers of people booking holidays in the UK.

The promise of sunny weather and actually being able to leave the house for a change is enough to see many UK resorts already becoming sold out for various weeks over the summer holidays.

No matter how concerned people are about the effects of Covid, they also want some sort of release.

What seems like a year’s worth of lock-down has taken its toll.

As a dance school, you have probably noticed ‘Zoom lag’ within your business:

• Your customers get fed up of virtual sessions;
• you find it hard to differentiate from your competitors;
• customer number and engagement is dropping.

Don’t worry – you aren’t alone.

You need something exciting for your students to look forward to and work towards.

Everyone has got bored of being stuck at home – children especially. People are looking for new things to do once we are able to do them again.

So what can you do?

As lock-down starts to be eased, use the time to advertise your dance school.
People will be looking for new things to do – especially sociable activities related to fitness (like dance).

Give your pupils something to look forward to.
Working towards a show or competitions is a great way of not only engaging but also rewarding your pupils. It has the added benefit of attracting new pupils too.

Plan summer schools.
If people aren’t going abroad this summer, they are likely to be looking for activities closer to home.

Spending a bit of time planning now will help you and your dance school be in a much better position for when lock-down ends.

Dr Michael Parmar is an economist with over 20 years experience. His company, Bristol Forge Insights provides strategic advice and competitive analysis to businesses around the world.