One of the most sustainable businesses in the world is the tutoring industry. The tutoring business has been in existence for centuries, and it continues to evolve. In 2023, the global tutoring market reached approximately $102 billion, with a forecast that it will grow further at a CAGR of 9% by 2028. Given the rise of AI and other technological advancements, the tutoring industry is experiencing rapid growth. If you are looking to grow your tutoring business, this is the ideal time. With the right strategies, a tutoring business can experience exponential growth.
If you are a solo tutor or a small tutoring business looking to expand, here is a quick guide for you that can help you understand the various strategies as to how to grow your tutoring business.
Strategies to Grow Your Tutoring Business
Before we begin with the strategies, it is essential to understand that in business, growth takes time and effort. Similarly, a tutoring business requires a strategic approach for sustainable and long-term success. Some of the strategies that you can implement to take your tutoring business to new heights are explained below:
1. Understand Your Target Audience
The initial step towards growing your tutoring business is to understand the target audience you will cater to. You need to select the segment carefully. You need to focus on whether your target audience will be college students, high school students, or adult learners.
Once you have decided on your target audience, research to understand what type of tutoring is in higher demand. To conduct the study, you can either conduct a survey or take direct feedback from parents or students. Market research is essential as it provides valuable information that will help you to tailor your tutoring needs effectively.
Example: Henry found that there was a need for SAT tutors in his location, as most of the students were now starting preparations for it. He started a small tutoring business that provided tutoring services, especially for the SATs, and then scaled up from there.
2. Create a strong brand presence.
Whether it’s parents or students, today, people are more well-versed with technology, and hence, having a digital and online presence is essential for any tutoring business.
Getting a website is the best way to create an online presence, as you can not only share your success stories, testimonials, certifications, and qualifications, but you can also create blog posts, which bring more traffic to your website and, thus, new clients.
Moreover, you can also create your profile on Google My Business reviews, where your students can review your services, which will provide you with more visibility and boost leads for your business.
3. Use Tutor Management Software
Now that you know your target audience and you have successfully established a brand presence online, it is time to focus on the operational aspects of the tutoring business. Operational activities for a tutoring service provider include scheduling, billing, performance tracking, and analytics.
You can invest in effective tutor management software, such as Wise, TutorCruncher, or Noto, to ensure that all operations run smoothly and efficiently. Some amazing features of tutor management software include:
- Real-time scheduling
- Attendance tracking
- Dashboards for tutor performance.
- Automated billing
- Seamless parent/tutor communication
4. Diversify Services
The best way to grow a tutoring business is to diversify the offerings. Here is what you can offer:
- You can choose from various programs, such as test preparation for the SAT or ACT, language tutoring, STEM enrichment, group tutoring, or specialized tutoring services for students with learning disabilities.
- You can also offer recorded video lessons, study guides, and subscription-based additional services.
- Including online services can ensure that you can scale up without the limitation of location. Considering that the online tutoring segment is growing at a rapid rate, In 2023 itself, the online tutoring market was valued at USD 37.74 billion, it is certainly a wise decision.
5. Use Referrals and Partnerships
Another way to get more students and growing tutoring business is by offering incentives. You can offer a discount on fees to every student who signs up through a referral.
Moreover, you can also collaborate with educational forums and schools to broaden your presence. It is also wise to attend career fairs and offer demo sessions, allowing students to gain experience before enrolling in your services.
6. Use Data-Driven Metrics
With all the ongoing activities, it is essential to monitor different data to understand which activities are working and which are not. You can monitor the following KPIs:
- Cost per acquisition
- Tutor utilization
- Track student retention
- Session completion rates
Besides these aspects, you can also monitor financials, subject performance, and client spending. For expanding a tutoring business, it is necessary to utilize feedback from performance reports as well as surveys to refine the offerings.
7. Improve Quality and Strengthen Relationships
Once you have established your tutoring business, it’s now time to grow by attracting more students to enroll. You can offer discounts to enhance student retention. Discounts on long-term packages can help in getting recurring clients.
It is also essential to create stronger relationships with your students so that when they need services next time, they will come to you. You can offer tailored lesson plans or provide one-to-one tutoring to justify the premium pricing.
Example: Stephanie began providing one-on-one tutoring to a few high school students. Seeing such good grades from her tutoring, the parents of the same students hired her again.
8. Networking
It might not seem like it, but a large chunk of job opportunities eventually comes from networking. Getting along with parent groups, schools, or educational platforms will substantially increase your chances of getting clients.
9. Niche Markets
You can also tap into various niche markets, such as tutoring required by people with learning disabilities or the elderly. It will not only give you more exposure but also establish your credibility.
10. Strategic Expansion
Now that everything is in place, you can look to scale up in the following ways:
- You can either get a franchise or adopt a multi-tutor model. With great testimonials, discounts, demo sessions, referrals, and a sparkling online presence, it will become easier for you to scale up physically.
- Besides physical scalability, you can also scale up online. You can invest in a good tutor scheduling software or an LMS, which can help you with getting more tutors on board, along with more students.
One thing that you must not forget after growing your tutoring business is maintaining the quality because, in the end, quality drives loyalty. A good reputation comes from consistent efforts, which also allows for the scope of premium pricing in the future.
Conclusion
Even if you are starting as a solo tutor, it is possible to grow your tutoring business and take it to new heights. However, it can be done only if you blend data-driven insights, high-quality instruction, marketing, and tech automation. It is necessary to offer diversification to attract the maximum number of students, whether by providing online tests, prep tutoring, tutoring for the elderly, or tutoring for individuals with learning disabilities. It is also important to use tutor management platforms that can consistently boost your growth. With the massive surge expected in the global tutoring market, this is the right time to dive in and expand your tutoring business.
FAQs
Which type of expansion is better for my tutoring business, geographical or digital?
Digital expansion is known to offer faster scalability at a lower cost. You can first start with online expansion and test the demand before opting to expand geographically.
How to ensure student retention while growing my tutoring business?
One way to increase retention is by offering loyalty programs, discounts on long-term packages, consistent communication, one-on-one tutoring, and performance-based progress reports, all of which can be automated through a single software.
Is it better to diversify subjects or focus on one if I’m looking to grow my tutoring business?
In the initial stage, it is best to focus on a single subject so that you can establish your brand’s reliability. You can offer diversification only when all your processes, as well as marketing, are stable.
How to grow your tutoring business with the help of social media?
Social media is a great platform that students and parents both use. Hence, it is a great opportunity to showcase your services, qualifications, testimonials, and success reports. You can use Instagram Reels, YouTube explainers, or LinkedIn educator content to attract both parents and students.
