Price plays an important role in the success of any tutoring business. However, there is a lot of confusion about the best way to price your tutoring services and how to find the right price. This article looks at pricing strategies for independent tutors and tutoring companies and how to research prices in your market.
Set your price level
The first step in determining how much you should charge for your tutoring services is to determine what other tutoring services are charging in your area. You’ll want to focus on tutoring companies that offer similar services to your own tutoring business, as there can be a wide variation in tutoring prices for different types of tutoring.
The next step is to do a little research like someone looking for tutoring might do. Find tutoring services in your area online, check the phone book, ask counselors about other tutoring companies. When you have a list of similar tutoring companies in your area, you can find out their prices by calling them and asking or looking at their website for prices. You can also check online tutoring directories to find out how much freelance tutors charge for courses offered by their company.
If your company is new and you or your tutors have average experience and credentials, then you should try to price your services a little above the average price.
If your business has been in business for a while, you have satisfied clients, and you or your tutors have experience and teaching credentials, then you should price closer to the top range of comparable tutoring services.
Many new tutoring companies think they need to start low to attract clients, but this is a risky strategy and can actually hurt your business more than help it. The reason for this is that if your prices are very low, you will generate very little profit to reinvest in promoting your business. If you are paying tutors to work for you, you will also have a hard time attracting and keeping high-quality tutors, which are extremely important to building your reputation and creating satisfied customers who will recommend you to other clients.
At first, it might make sense to focus on an underserved segment of the tutoring market in your area. This will allow you to charge higher fees and generate higher profits which will help you pay for more marketing and better tutors. These, in turn, will help you establish a base from which to expand into more competitive segments of the tutoring market.
Tutoring Price List
Providing different pricing options can also help your business meet the needs of more customers. There are several pricing or billing methods you can use.
Payment per session
This pricing option makes clients pay before or after each tutoring session. This is a good method if your company does not have a long operating history. It also reassures new customers if they are new to your business and wary of paying for a longer period of time up front.
Payment per period
Pay per period can have clients pay a week or a month in advance based on the number of sessions they will have during that period. This method is good for tutoring companies because you get the money up front and you don’t have to worry about students forgetting to pay for each session. It’s more convenient for clients because they can pay for a week or a month and don’t have to worry about writing a check for each session. Some tutoring companies may invoice at the end of each week or month, but for new companies it is better to request payment in advance, as this will allow you to get paid for tutoring sessions before you have to pay your tutors.
Prepaid Packages
Some tutoring companies sell prepaid packages of tutoring services. Such as 10 hours of math tutoring or 12 hours of English tutoring. These hours can be scheduled for the following months as the student schedules them. This method allows you to offer volume pricing that can encourage potential clients to commit to more tutoring sessions.
Adapting your Prices
The tutoring market is constantly changing, so it’s important to be flexible with your tutoring company’s pricing. If your pricing structure isn’t helping you meet your business goals, you should simply try to adjust your pricing or possibly your services. People care about value so if you offer more value on your tutoring services you may not need to lower your prices or if you offer more value than a year ago then it might be a good idea to increase your prices.