Great Marketing Lessons Are Sitting Right in Front of You
The best marketing ideas aren’t always in books, courses, or on YouTube. Sometimes, they’re hidden in plain sight—in every store you walk into, every ad that catches your eye, and yes, every sales conversation you have with a parent considering your music school.
“Ask yourself: What caught my attention, and why? What can I apply to my music school from that?”
It’s this curiosity that led to an unexpected but powerful marketing inspiration—from a baseball team.
What Music School Owners Can Learn From Baseball
Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas and creator of Banana Ball, didn’t just rebrand baseball. He reimagined the entire experience—by asking a bold question:
“What do people hate about baseball?”
That question led to a total overhaul: two-hour time limits, choreographed dances mid-inning, fans catching foul balls for outs, and players wearing motorcycle helmets while on base. It sounds crazy, but it works. Fans love it.
And it begs a similar question:
“What do people hate—or at least dislike—about music lessons?”
The Music Lesson Audit: What Kids Love and What They Dread
Let’s take a Banana Ball approach to your music school. Start with a blank sheet of paper and ask:
- What do kids love about music lessons?
They love their teacher. They love feeling successful. They love the social connection and recognition that comes with performing.
- What creates friction?
Working through method books. Sight reading. Practicing scales with a metronome. Waiting months to join a band.
Once you’ve identified the friction, ask the Jesse Cole question:
“Can we eliminate this? Can we elevate this? Or can we replace it with something better?”
When Tradition Gets in the Way of Progress
Much of how we teach music today is steeped in tradition—some of it valuable, and some of it outdated.
Piano lessons in 1910 were designed for solo performances in parlors. The world—and the instruments—have changed. Why hasn’t the teaching evolved just as much?
Think about how keyboards have evolved—from grand pianos to affordable digital keyboards to portable synths. Yet many teaching methods still operate as if it’s 1910.
Just like Jesse Cole challenged baseball purists, we need to be willing to challenge music education purists.
I’m not trying to diminish tradition. I’m trying to help more kids fall in love with music.
What Would Banana Ball Do?
Let’s take a page straight out of Jesse Cole’s playbook and apply it to your music school:
- Eliminate early friction. Delay the boring stuff until the child has a passion for the instrument.
- Elevate necessary but tedious tasks—gamify sight reading, reward method book milestones, or turn scales into musical challenges.
- Initiate new traditions: trivia between recital performances, themed concerts, school-wide jam nights, or surprise “ice cream hangs” for students.
It’s not about lowering standards. It’s about removing barriers to connection and joy.
Your Sales Conversations Hold the Clues
You want better marketing? Listen to your prospects. Really listen.
Sales calls are a window into your ideal customer’s hopes, fears, and frustrations. Every objection is a chance to rethink your offer. Every question is a future FAQ page or blog post. Every compliment is a marketing message waiting to happen.
Sales conversations are not just about closing. They’re about collecting—the raw ingredients for a better product and stronger marketing.
Final Takeaway: Fans First, Always
Jesse Cole built Banana Ball on the mantra “Fans First.” And maybe that’s the best mantra for your school, too:
Put students and families first—not tradition, not curriculum, not the way it’s always been done.
Marketing gets easier when your program speaks directly to what families value. Sales get easier when what you’re selling sounds exactly like what they’ve been waiting for. And retention skyrockets when your students feel like they belong to a community that “gets” them.
Just like Banana Ball, your music school will be less about lessons—and more about the love of music.
