Convincing a brand-new client is more challenging than maintaining good relationships with current students. But what about former students? You definitely shouldn’t write them off immediately. Just because you buy a pair of shoes from an online store doesn’t mean you’ll never return. Learn how to win back former students in a language school and enjoy full classes in the new semester.
What will you find in this article?
- Why is it worth investing in winning back former students?
- Where to find former students?
- How to win back former students in a language school?
- How to put theory into practice in winning back students?
- Summary – how to win back former students?
Why is it worth investing in winning back former students?
Maintaining student loyalty is the key to the stable growth of any language school. However, even the best institutions experience a loss of clients. Does this mean that we should accept their loss? Absolutely not!
Former students represent a significant potential that can be effectively reclaimed by employing the right marketing and communication strategies.
Why is it worth doing?
1. Financial aspect
Reacquiring lost students in a language school brings tangible financial benefits. As you probably know, acquiring a new client can be up to five times more expensive than retaining an existing one. Additionally, former students often opt for more expensive courses or packages because they are already familiar with the quality of our services.
2. Image aspect
Successfully reacquiring lost students builds a positive image of the school. It demonstrates that we care about long-term relationships. This can translate into recommendations and positive reviews in the community.
3. Adjusting your offer
Former students provide valuable insights into what can be improved or which new courses to launch.
Where to find former students?
Initially, you should determine how many people remain in your database as former clients. This task is quite straightforward when you have a CRM system that assists in managing customer relationships and stores the most crucial information about them from your perspective.
Tip! LangLion Platform clients have quick access to their former students through a special feature called Archive. Inactive students are transferred there along with installments, payment schemes, and discounts, ensuring that all information is preserved and can be accessed at any time.
How to win back former students in a language school?
Re-engaging lost students is one of the most profitable ways to grow a language school. Importantly, former students are already familiar with our school, have a certain level of trust, and understand how it operates. This makes the process of re-engaging them potentially much simpler and more effective than acquiring entirely new students.
Step 1: Analyzing the reasons for students leaving
To effectively regain lost clients, it is worthwhile to first understand why they discontinued their studies. You can achieve this through:
- Surveys and Interviews – sending a short form with a question about the reasons for dropping out.
- Behavior analysis – checking at what point students most frequently drop out.
- Feedback from instructors – teachers may have valuable insights about the students.
Step 2: Segmenting lost students
Not all former students are the same. It’s worth dividing them into groups and tailoring communication to their needs. You can distinguish, for example:
- Students who dropped out for financial reasons – it’s worth offering them flexible payments or discounts.
- Individuals who stopped learning due to lack of time – you can offer them online courses or more flexible class hours.
- Students who were dissatisfied with the offer – it’s worth showing them what has been improved.
Remember! The reasons for dropping out are not always financial or a better offer from the competition! It might turn out that the lack of parking at your school or poor public transport access is the reason for dropping out.
Step 3: Effective methods for recovering students
Most clients want to feel „retained” What does this mean for you? Archived students need you to show interest in them, present an attractive offer, or solve their problem (e.g., they want to pay in installments) during the first contact. Below, you will find proven methods for reactivating lost students.
1. Consistent and regular communication
A very important element is consistent communication. Developing long-term relationships is crucial as it builds customer loyalty. From time to time, send personalized newsletters, promotions for loyal customers, e-books, and invitations to training or school events to former listeners or companies that have used your services. It is important that it is not intrusive and provides value to recipients.
It’s worth reconnecting with archived students because, in reality, we do not know what phase of life they are in – they might need a language course because they have changed jobs or are going on a vacation abroad.
2. Personalization of communication
Everyone likes to feel important and individually treated, which is why it’s worthwhile to focus on the expectations of our clients. The goal is to provide our recipients with only desired information, e.g., if you offer a course for children, you send an email to the parents of those children, not to the students. Therefore, try to identify recipient groups (so-called personas). …and gather information about their interests or plans.
What communication channels can you use?
- Email marketing
According to research, using personalized emails can increase your revenue by up to 70 percent! Unlike new clients, you have the contacts of former students at your fingertips. Addressing a client by name breaks the barrier and increases communication effectiveness.
Did you know that?
Personalization in email marketing not only increases recipient engagement but also translates into tangible financial benefits for companies. Emails with personalized subject lines see a 26% increase in open rates.
- Personalized SMS
This form works well, for example, as a short reminder about new courses.
- Phone contact
In a conversation with a student, it is worth using all the information you have previously gathered about them such as, „Hi Adam, you completed a B2 level course at our school, have you thought about developing your language skills to a higher level? We currently have a summer promotion…„.
Always track your client’s journey, meaning analyze how they reached you before (you can include such a question in the course registration form), whether they filled out the form on a mobile phone or a desktop. This makes it easier for you to tailor advertising, creating individualized promotions or landing pages.
3. Loyalty program and discounts for returning students
If you focus only on new clients, former students may feel neglected. 😉 The goal is to engage with former students, enhance the course by offering additional classes with a native speaker, and appreciate and reward them as loyal customers.
Tip! Preferential treatment is an ideal way to retain students who have just completed their studies with you. A very important aspect from their point of view is the guarantee of a spot in the same group and, as much as possible, the same trusted teacher for the next semester’s course.
It’s understood that as a business owner, you’re not fond of giving discounts, but it is a very convincing way to retain old clients. Creating special discounts for former clients can encourage them to return.
Language schools most often offer, for example:
- discounts for paying for the entire course upfront,
- discounts on summer courses,
- referral discounts, because recommendations are a powerful source of acquiring new clients.
How to put theory into practice in winning back students?
If you want to successfully win back former students, it’s not just about having the right intention — it’s about taking the right actions.
Below are five practical, proven strategies that you can start using right away in your language school.
✔︎ offer discounts to clients before they complete the language course,
✔︎ segment the audience of your marketing campaigns to better tailor communication,
✔︎ combine offers such as a business course plus weekend conversations to sell more services and thus increase profit,
✔︎ use cross-selling (sales related to another product/service) and up-selling (encouraging more expensive purchases),
✔︎ and most importantly – stay in touch with former students!
Summary – how to win back former students?
The most important thing is to understand that former students are not just a potential source of income but, above all, brand ambassadors who can significantly impact the school’s growth. That’s why it’s worth investing time and resources in building long-term relationships with them. Start doing this today!
If you’re dealing with negative online reviews, including those from former students, be sure to check out our article!