Surely all readers of MMR – reps for MI brands, individual retailers, administrators – recognize that young and new music students are a key engine driving our industry. First-time students as well as those advancing to the next levels of ability each generate profit for suppliers and dealers on a global scale. Encouraging the culture of music making and advocating for music & arts scholarship has long been a common goal for many.
And yet, while the direct line between emerging players and repeat customers has long been understood, valued, and respected, on an individual level sometimes certain parties seem to lose the plot. At industry gatherings such as the NAMM Show it’s (sadly) not uncommon to occasionally witness representatives for exhibiting brands, upon realizing that the guy or gal who just entered their booth is wearing an educator badge, “disengage” – and in some cases literally turn the other direction and walk towards another visitor – as if such an individual isn’t worthy of attention because they’re unlikely to directly represent an immediate sale.
Wrong!
In an age where online influencers are sought-after brand ambassadors, some forget that in many ways no single opinion has more authority or sway when it comes to the purchase of instruments and gear than individual music instructors, band directors, or district leaders. These folks aren’t lowly “tire-kickers” (to borrow a phrase from MMR publisher Mike Lawson) taking up space at trade shows, clutching their demo CDs (yes – CDs, even in 2023) and dressed ready for a night on the Strip circa 1989. Music educators represent very real, direct and indirect, potential sales – sometimes in substantial volume.
We recently touched base with three authorities from different segments of the MI industry on the far-ranging purchasing power wielded by educators and how best to develop, maintain, and grow meaningful and lasting relationships with these individuals.
Music instructors – be it classroom or private, one-on-one teachers – are in many cases the “influencers” when it comes to students or parents of younger students deciding what brand or model of instrument or music gear to purchase. Can you talk about the unique role teachers have in terms of impacting those types of student- or parent-of-student purchases?
John Mlynczak: Everyone tends to get excited when there’s a YouTube or TikTok influencer: “Oh, we’ve got to get them to mention the product!” Well, educators are the influencers when it comes to student purchases.
I think that the best way to sum up the value of an educator and education purchasing, as compared to consumer purchasing, is to understand everyone’s role. As a consumer, you are the decision-maker, the purchaser, and the user. In the education world, those roles can be occupied by three different people. And that’s the key understanding that folks have to have. So, for an example, a beginning student is the user, but they don’t have the chops to really know what is actually a quality instrument, or what helping them or hurting them at the time. The teacher could actually be the key decision maker helping drive what that purchase is, but the parent is actually the purchaser. Just understanding who’s playing what role is crucial because that teacher is ultimately the one driving the purchase.
Rick Ghinelli: I think there are several factors at play here. A music instructor was most likely influenced by their music instructor in college. If a college instructor is a die-hard fan of a particular brand/model, there is a good chance they are influencing their students to play the same.
Instructors can also be influenced by private teachers that play instruments other than what the instructor plays. Typically a band director is only proficient in one instrument, so they would depend on others to guide them.
Band directors are also going to look outside their own situation to see what other successful programs are using. I say, “Band directors can be like sheep.” Once a few start heading in a particular direction, others will tend to follow.
Manufacturer and dealer influence can also be a factor. If that’s who the director sees as the expert, they could be influenced by special features, price, promotions, et cetera.
George Quinlan, Jr.: As music retailers, we must realize that most parents have little or no experience or expertise about the products they need for their children to participate in Band or Orchestra. Understanding this dynamic is a key to becoming a trusted advisor and for teachers. We try to emphasize that “where you buy” is equally important as “what you buy,” [and] having a local presence to properly repair and provide needed services for their school music program. And, our role is different for directors and private teachers. Private teachers are expert at their particular instrument. Typically they have a great knowledge and experience with brands, models, reputation, and specifications. Occasionally, we can provide information about new models, but often their preferences are already established. With B&O directors, while they may have great experience and knowledge about their major instrument(s), they often need supplemental information from their recommended vendor to assist in guiding parents towards high-quality, yet affordable instruments. Educational representatives must continue improving their product knowledge to add value to the relationships for the directors they serve.
In your experience, when a school district is looking to replace or upgrade some of their instruments – say, buying new B&O instruments, or some new synths for the music tech lab, or replacing a district’s pianos – what are the factors, aside from price, that come into play when it comes to choosing brands to purchase and MI retailers to do business with in order to acquire that new gear?
GQ: For purchases of school-owned instruments, many directors will rely on recommendations from trusted experts in their particular area of expertise, especially marching and concert percussion. As retailers, we try to cultivate positive relationships with these teachers so they recognize the value we provide servicing their band or orchestra program. Smaller schools may not have the resources of larger schools, so it’s important that our educational representatives bring expert knowledge to our recommendations to earn our reputation as a partner in music education. Price will always be one factor in their decision, but when the district realizes the value a local store offers, this too can become part of their decision-making process.
RG: I may have touched upon this, but price is probably the main thing a district looks at when approving a purchase. Many times the music director will have to provide specific data/reasons to purchase a similar item that has a higher price point. In many cases it has to be a pretty compelling argument, especially when this goes out to bid and has to be approved by the board. Certainly the reputation of the brand, past history, and feedback from other users would be taken into consideration.
Do you have any advice or recommendations for “best practices” that businesses might want to adopt that would help forge and/or strengthen relationships with local school districts and individual campus directors or independent private instructors?
RG: I personally feel that a director needs to be constantly informed about the new products that are coming out. We’ve seen the best results happen when a dealer or manufacturer can provide an instrument to the school/director, so that it can be play tested by instructors and students. You can’t tell how an instrument plays by looking at a picture on the Internet! The other big factor is service. Is the dealer sending a rep to the school every week to pick up/return repairs, hand deliver accessories, to update them on products, etc. Are invoices accurate, payments applied appropriately, et cetera? A lot of loyalty can be gained by a dealer rep going above and beyond to make sure the director is taken care of in the best way possible.
JM: When talking to an educator, either in-store or at the NAMM Show, it’s really important to ask your qualifying questions to understand how to get that teacher to influence, because, at the end of the day, a purchase is driving people emotionally to take action.
So, you must ask those qualifying questions of, “How many students do you have, what level they played, do they mostly play beginner instruments, what are their biggest frustrations, how long do they stick with it?” And then you come up with your pitch: “Hey, did you know if you had this model, the action is better, and it’s going to help them play longer” – whatever the strategy is. It’s the same sales cycle, but it doesn’t have to lead to a dollar in that moment; it leads to a lasting influence.
I think educators really want to be educated. Educators are typically very wary, they could smell a sales pitch a mile away. But they do want to be educated, especially on the emerging and rapidly developing areas of audio and other areas of music technology. However, they often don’t have time – they are so busy, they have classes, they don’t have a free second without kids around them. So, the idea of having to research what products to use and learn about the new innovations, or what models of instruments they should recommend, or how to design that audio lab, they simply don’t have time. So, if someone comes in and just helps them, and is a partner educating them, that’s key. And, like everything in education, you have to build the relationship. We’re planting trees, right? So you’ve got to give them time, educate them, and when those funds come by, which might be five years later, they’ll come by to do business in a big way. But you have to invest early, you have to invest in the relationship piece of it long before the money comes. Because if the relationship’s there, the money is going to come and that’s going to be the easy part.
GQ: While most school music dealers and their educational representatives strive to cultivate positive relationships with music teachers, we often emphasize the importance of having strong relationships with other key people in the school district, notably the purchasing/finance department staff, principals, and school office staff. Since these people will have influence on the purchasing decision, having developed a trusted relationship with them will help guide their decision, hopefully in our direction.
Some MI suppliers occasionally undervalue the potential purchasing power represented by school districts. Off the top of your head, can you think of any instances where a single high school, school district, college, or conservatory placed an order with an MI retailer that represented impressive volume?
RG: Last year, I, as a Conn Selmer educational support manager, sold $4.7 million dollars of instruments to the Houston Independent School District. Those sales went to two local music dealers that forged positive relationships with the district. There are a number of other examples where districts have purchased several hundreds of thousands of dollars of instruments. When a new school is opening, especially a high school, you’re looking at them purchasing thousands of dollars of instruments, pianos, electronics, sound systems, et cetera.
GQ: Many school district finance managers realize the importance of ongoing preventative maintenance and repair for their school owned instruments. After all, they see the repair invoices, too! Several years ago, a large suburban district reached out to us for a comprehensive package of rentals and school service coupled with a plan for preventative maintenance of their school-owned instruments. Once the age of their existing inventory was demonstrated, they made a major investment in their music program. One administrator remarked that she could not think of a single asset used daily by the students which was older than their school-owned tubas as she authorized replacements!
Are such high-volume sales usually coordinated directly with an MI supplier/brand, or an individual MI dealer, or both?
RG: I think it can be both. Sometimes the dealer hears about the potential purchase first, sometimes it’s the manufacturer. Hopefully the two work together to help the district get what they need, but then that depends on the relationship between the dealer and the supplier!
In your opinion, what are the most important “action items” that both MI retailers and suppliers should consider in order to leverage the considerable buying power and profit potential represented by institutional sales?
JM: As discussed earlier, right now we’re all hot on the YouTube influencer, the TikToker, the people that are doing unboxing videos and demonstrating products online and getting lots and lots of followers. When we see an influencer or a YouTuber come in the booth [at the NAMM Show], we’re like, “Wow, I have to talk to that person because I’ve got get them to talk about my product.” The teacher is the same person, with the same or greater impact. We need to treat them like those high-level influencers, because they have hundreds of students every year that they’re sitting with. We need to treat them like a rock star or YouTuber when they walk in, because they have that level of influence.
I think the other thing to understand, too, is that the level of influence on convincing a student or parent to buy something is massive. But also, teachers do make large district-wide purchases of instruments and audio equipment and installs, and the music teacher is a big decision-maker there. And I’ll tell you, the key to that – and this is where it really becomes about quality – the thing to remember when a teacher is spending district money is that those funds come around once every seven years, or there’s a new millage on the tax or there’s a new school opening. Those things come around, like, once in a comet cycle, right? And when they come around, you’ve got to run outside at 2:00 a.m., look at that thing, and see the streak in the sky, because you ain’t seein’ that again for the next 22 years or however long! [laughs]
So, when that money’s there their number one thing is, “I need to make a purchase that’s going to last long enough.” So, they’re going for quality, at that stage. They’re absolutely of the mindset: “Give me everything I need to buy right now, every accessory, every extra cable, whatever it is, give me the repair contract for seven years.” Their mentality is, “I need to go big now.”
GQ: Avoid making assumptions that because a particular school or district is small or financially challenged, that they have limited potential. Typically, the total expense to operate a Band and/or Orchestra program is a very small line item compared to the entire school district budget. When an administration sees high value in their Band & Orchestra programs, they will invest accordingly We suggest to think long-term. Perhaps develop a five year plan to replace or enhance existing school-owned instruments. After developing a comprehensive plan, administrators often realize that they have long-neglected or under-valued their music programs. It’s important that we focus on providing the best educational tools for the students as the benefit of this project. “They don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
RG: It really boils down to relationships. I was told once, “People will buy from people they like, so just go out and build those relationships and the sales will come.” I saw that come to fruition when I was stopped by a fine arts administrator at a conference who said, “I have $800K to spend. We need to talk!”
John, let’s wrap up with you. What do you see organizations like NAMM and events such as the NAMM Show doing differently in the future to better leverage the purchasing power of band directors, music educators, and school districts. What paths do you see towards strengthening the relationships between all parties – suppliers, retailers, educators – to mutual benefit?
JM: I’ll start with what’s NAMM’s doing, because if I’m doing it at NAMM, I honestly believe it’s what should be done. From an institutional standpoint, you have to look at the supervisor, the district arts, or visual performing arts director or music supervisor, because the end of the day, they’re the one that’s going to approve the large purchase. But again, it’s another example of purchaser and decision-maker and user, right, because the teacher is the driver.
So, the one-two punch that you have to get right – either as a brand, as a retailer, or what we’re doing at NAMM – is you’ve got to get the supervisors there to see it and feel it for themselves. But you have to get the teachers engaged in the brand, because they’re the ones that are going to design the audio lab or pick out the tubas for the marching band and decide what they want. So, you have to get to both. And if you get to both, top-down, it happens a lot quicker. Otherwise, you have to get to one and they have to convince the other party. There’s a music supervisors group that always meets at NAfME. We’re bringing that group to NAMM. We’re actively engaging music supervisors. And we’re actively programming to engage teachers so that we can get both groups at the table.
Again, it really goes back to understanding that the educator in your booth is an influencer. And you actually don’t know the type or degree of influence. We have to think of it as media, you know? Sometimes you see a media badge at the Show and the first reaction may be, “I don’t know you, I don’t know that.” Then all of a sudden you look it up and realize, “Wow, this YouTube channel has a million followers!” Just because you don’t immediately know or recognize a person, do not discredit them because, even though they might teach at one high school in a district, a music supervisor could have sent that teacher to scope out the lab that they’re going put in one high school this year, and expand to five the next year, and then putting 10 more the following year. Those types of opportunities are really there, and that’s there’s just massive influence, and we just do not discount the power of that – we cannot.
