8 Ways Tutors Can Increase Bookings and Lock in More Sales

If you’ve set a goal to grow your tutoring business, here are eight ways to increase bookings and capture more sales. 

Note: while these tips aim to increase first-time bookings, many will also help you retain customers and increase repeat business. 

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#1. Understand your target market and customer base

The first step to increasing bookings for your tutoring business is to understand who you’re trying to sell to. The information you gain from this exercise will inform your marketing strategy, including how and where you advertise, the language you use on your website, and the offers that most appeal to your ideal customers. 

To get started, ask yourself the following questions (analyzing your current customer base can help you answer them).

• Why do people need/want the services you offer? What are they trying to achieve by engaging a tutor? 
• Where do potential/existing customers go to find tutoring services? E.g., Google, social media, tutor review sites, direct to your website, via email newsletters, etc. 
• What makes your current customers choose you over a competitor? 

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#2. Simplify the customer experience

Another easy way to increase bookings for your tutoring business is to make it easier to transact with your business! Steps to take to simplify the customer experience include 

• Designing your website so it’s easy for customers to find what they’re looking for — most commonly, what services you offer, how much you charge, where you teach, and how to book tutoring sessions. 
• Creating an FAQ page to reduce the number of questions a potential customer needs to contact you with before making a decision.
• Eliminating delays between customer inquiries and booking confirmations by removing unnecessary steps during the booking process, for example, waiting to ask non-essential questions until after the booking is confirmed.

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#3. Implement online booking software

More than 70% of customers want to book online. Introducing online booking options is a great way to simplify the customer experience and increase bookings, as it lets students book and pay for lessons online at their convenience. 

Online booking software (sometimes referred to as tutoring software) lets you capture the 40% of bookings made after business hours. It gives customers the flexibility to compare options and choose a time and date that works for their schedule without the pressure of deciding while you’re waiting on the end of the line! 

And as an added benefit, booking systems reduces admin tasks so you have more time to focus on getting results for your students and providing great customer experience that keeps them coming back.  

For mobile tutoring services, MarketBox is the only appointment management software specifically designed for in-home and mobile appointments. The all-in-one platform makes it easy to get booked online, 24/7, coordinate tutors, and take payments. The booking system filters tutors based on the customer’s criteria (skills, location, availability, and service type) and lets your students hand-pick the perfect tutor for their needs using Provider Profiles.

Book a personalized demo with an expert to learn more. 

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#4. Offer free consultations or taster lessons

Consider offering free consultations or short taster lessons to increase first-time bookings for your tutoring business. Consultations are a great way to ensure students and tutors have compatible teaching-learning styles and ensure your customers have a great experience that will encourage them to book again.

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#5. Diversify how and where you teach

Another excellent way to increase sales for your tutoring business is to diversify your appointment styles to reach a wider audience. Adding virtual appointments or offering tutoring sessions in clients’ homes makes your tutoring services more flexible and allows you to capture sales from clients who may not want to travel to a fixed location or prefer to learn in person rather than over Zoom. 

If complicated scheduling has stopped you from offering mobile tutoring services, MarketBox offers an all-in-one solution. With provider travel zones, scheduling mobile appointments happens automatically. Once a customer chooses their tutor from the filtered list of available options in their area, the tutor's schedule is updated, and both parties are notified. 

Travel zones let you establish service areas and control where and when your team operates, helping to reduce travel time, optimize schedules, and improve productivity. Book a personalized walkthrough with an expert to learn more. 

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#6. Display customer testimonials

Customer testimonials like reviews or case studies are excellent “social proof.” They help potential customers to see the value of your tutoring services, and the FOMO effect makes them want to book with you so they don’t miss out on the quality and results you provide. 

Collect and display reviews on your website, social media, and Google Business Profile so that potential customers can see them at every stage of their buying journey. You can use third-party review software like EmbedReviews to automatically pull reviews from Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc., onto your website and automatically update them as new reviews come in. 

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#7. Offer discounts & promotions 

Offering introductory offers, discounts for purchasing multiple tutoring sessions, or promotions are effective ways to increase sales because it removes friction from the buying process. If a first-time customer can get a free taster session or discount on their first lesson, there’s less perceived risk in booking with your tutoring business. Plus, who doesn’t love a discount! 

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#8. Provide value-added services

Finally, another way to increase bookings for your tutoring business is to offer value-added services. These could be things like study materials, online resources, or subject guides that allow customers to continue learning outside of their lessons and get more value for money. 

While creating these value-added services requires additional work upfront, once you have the resources, they become a passive income stream for your business and can be used to entice customers to book with your tutoring business repeatedly. They also become great marketing materials and a way to bring more people to your website and get them onto your mailing list.  

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Final thoughts 

Increasing sales for your tutoring business is easier than it looks. By offering convenient online booking, understanding your customer base, and honing your marketing strategy, you can increase the number of customer bookings and improve customer satisfaction in one go. And with tutoring software from MarketBox, your business expansion doesn’t have to mean more work for your team, either. 

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