How did the pandemic affect your January sales?
There’s something unfolding in the language learning industry that every language school owner ought to know about. Specifically, why on earth do your sales drop down so significantly compared to last year?!
I mean – we were all expecting, that due to the pandemic, the sales might be lower, but for Goodness sake – “This year I will learn THE language” is a New Year’s resolution as old as the hills! Especially when we discuss learning the local language by the expats, as in this case it’s far more than having a passion project – in most cases it’s also about better job opportunities, being able to communicate with your spouse’s family and friends, and even getting a nationality!
Now, if you’re like a lot of every language school owners, then you’re probably thinking about this unexpectedly high drop in sales in terms of the restrictions around Covid-19 (especially if your country is currently at a stricter lockdown). Some people even say that this problem can be solved by pushing all of your language courses online and picking up some extra Facebook ads. Well – it turns out that the problem is quite more complicated than anyone would expect…
I’ve been following this story since it was first brought to my attention a few days ago by some of my clients and I’ve done my fair share of (rather fruitless) research. Since Google was spitting out quite a bunch of useless information – I have decided to talk to our niche experts – the expats themselves. I took up this topic on several expat Facebook groups and forums and came out with the main reasons why the number of enrolments is so surprisingly lower than even the most pessimistic expectations.
Below I will share with you the main reasons your revenue has dropped. I will also show you the selection of the most characteristic answers I got from expats, clearly keeping their privacy intact, so only the first letter of the name is mentioned.
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So let me share with you now the top eight reasons we have identified why expats are not signing up for language courses in January 2021:
Shortcuts:
1. ONLINE VS FACE TO FACE
Now this one will come as no surprise, but we should still mention it. A lot of people (myself included) prefer in-person experience when they’re learning a new language and if they cannot get it – they will learn with (much cheaper, we have to admit) software.
“I really would like to take another intensive, but I really don't enjoy online classes or get as much out of then as in-person classes. So for now I am not enrolling. Instead I'll continue with DuoLingo, reading, using subtitles on everything I watch, etc. It's not quite enough, but it's something.” L.
A few then more people have brought up the fact, that after a full day in front of the computer, they don’t really feel like “attending another zoom meeting” – even if it’s for a reason as different as language learning. Zoom fatigue appears to be a real thing and if you consider the fact, that most of people are having both their professional and private lives happening online now – no wonder some of them will not take upon themselves an additional hour or two in front of the screen at this point.
“Well, I got to experience sudden switching to online courses in March. Cannot say a bad word about the school and how they managed to pull off Zoom-based teaching, but my own motivation and performance decreased (including just browsing the web during class and using too much google translate). I think the biggest problem for me in online classes is that after spending whole day behind the screen, sometimes with many hours of videocalls, I get to spend even more time doing basically the same.” P.
It was also pointed out on several occasions that teachers are not prepared to do “the online experience” and they’re basically trying to replicate what they were doing in the real classroom on the zoom calls. This leaves the lessons are boring, underwhelming, and disengaging. And your potential students are expecting far more – as much as zoom was an acceptable alternative at the very beginning of the pandemic, at this point, people are not willing to pay for plain online conversations. They expect virtual classrooms, interactive workshops and all the fireworks which they know are possible.
2. BAD EXPERIENCES (LESSONS BEING POSTPONED, ONLINE CHAOS)
Well, you need to admit: among the whole chaos things might have gone slightly out of control even on your side (and hey – no shaming here! It was a crazy period, and no one was prepared for the madness that has happened!).
But now we all need to face the effects of this mess, whether your school has experienced some hiccups or you managed everything well – in this case, we’re looking at a very unfortunate case of collective responsibility… Some students have lost their trust in the fact, that language schools can deliver quality service before the pandemic will get under control.
“Looking to enroll in a school, made multiple appointments but kept getting postponed due to coronavirus. I personally would prefer to attend an in person class so I can communicate with peers with the same level as I am but if I have to, online class could work too.” K.
“I would like to go to real classes because online courses often turn into a mess... So far, Duolingo app is a good way to learn by myself, and then maybe I will enroll in a real class.” S.
“After a lot of disappointment with [NAME] language schools (teachers very poorly prepared and schools just going after the students' money), I am now taking private classes with a group formed via Facebook with a private tutor. I hope this time everything is gonna go better.” A.
3. NO ADDITIONAL RISK
This should come without saying, as we are in the middle of a frekin’ pandemic, but hey – let’s talk about it: people really don’t want to take an additional risk by going out. Solution? Go online, du-uh! And then we’re circling back to point 1, so let’s not repeat ourselves unnecessarily.
“I would not take it in-person courses right now. I don't need any additional risk at the moment. I did in fall and attained B2, so I'm probably going to wait a while as C1 is a big jump. (I suspect a lot of people feel similarly about the corona situation in our country at the moment.)“ K.
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4. PEOPLE ARE MOVING BACK TO THEIR HOME COUNTRIES AND/OR LESS RELOCATION ASSIGNMENT
There are far fewer expats in January 2021 in your country than there were in January 2020. A number of reasons can be mentioned here, among others:
Expats themselves deciding to move back, to be closer the families and friends in those uncertain times
Companies bringing their workers from foreign posts back to their original countries
Due to the remote character of work people who are being hired by companies can remain at their current locations, there’s no need to relocate them (and their families, which usually means at least two less clients per case for you…)
I will not include any quotes here, as those stories were too personal to share in public.
5. PEOPLE STAYING BACK HOME AFTER CHRISTMAS & WORKING REMOTELY
Now this one, I must admit, came as a surprise for me, but if you think about it a bit longer – it absolutely makes sense. I mean – if you’re working from home anyway, in a foreign country, where your friend group is limited and at this point highly unavailable, why on earth wouldn’t you stay back with your own friends and family and just work from your mom’s couch? At least you’re less lonely, right?
Also – most of us haven’t seen our families for damn too long (my last visit was in January 2020 without clear prospects for the future, so if I would sit out the two-week quarantine there’s a strong chance I would stay back with my family for quite a long time as well).
“Many courses were starting in January, meanwhile due to COVID a lot of people who went for Christmas to their home countries are now using the opportunity to stay there a bit longer (working remotely), since we don’t know when we will be able to safely go there again.” Z.
6. MEETING WITH FRIENDS TO PRACTICE
In some countries, where the restrictions have been lifted at least a little bit, expats are using their time outside very wisely – killing two birds with one stone – and meeting with their expat friends to practice their new language. This is rather surprising, considering the fact that you need to have people of at least a similar level of language, but It’s not at all uncommon.
“We are meeting once, sometimes twice a week. You can bring snacks for the meeting as your contribution. Anyone can join us, it is free. Those meetings are more as practice but with grammar rules, texts etc.” N.
7. A NEW FINANCIAL & FAMILY REALITY FOR A LOT OF YOUR POTENTIAL STUDENTS
Needless to say – there is a “new reality” thing happening. But how does it affect the language course attendance? Well, the impact is greater than you think. There are six main life-changing situations that were showing up consistently in expat’s responses:
With more than one person working from home (usually a home that doesn’t have two separate office rooms) actively learning anything is very difficult, if not impossible
New babies – yes, corona babies are here. Also in expat families. And they don’t seem to be very helpful in learning languages so it seems…
“Old babies” stuck at home, without schools or daycare, are not allies of concentration and motivation to take on new challenges.
New pets – this is my case as well as we’ve recently adopted a dog 🥰 Living in a foreign country is very lonely, and 2020 has put a whole new layer of loneliness on top of it. Therefore a lot of people got pets, mainly dogs. And as much as I love our new fur baby – taking care of her takes at least 4 hours a day. That’s a minimum of 28 hours a week and that is a lot of time which I WILL NOT be spending learning Dutch, especially attending classes…
Strained finances – a lot of expat partners are facing trouble finding jobs (especially in their own fields) after their move. Pandemic made the problem even more severe.
Everything that comes with the pandemic is a lot to take in – therefore loads of people are saying, that they simply don’t have the mental capacity to take anything more ambitious on their plate. A lot of people have switched into a survival mode and they just simply want to get to the other side – not necessarily as a superhuman. (And we all need to respect that, so be mindful in your ads – we’ll be writing about those very soon!)
“I wanted to enroll but we don’t have daycare at the moment, and my husband is working from home. I work in the evenings so it's difficult to fully give focus too. Also, I am self-employed so out of work at the moment and trying to make any money I can.” B.
“I was going to enroll this Jan but frankly, lockdown is sapping so much of my mental capacity I just can't add another thing on top…” F.
8. NEW “CORONA-SCHOOLS” AND TEACHERS WITH POOR SKILLS
Ok, there was a crisis. A lot of people have lost their jobs. A lot of scammers have surfaced, especially in the deep waters of the Internet. BUT THIS?!
Apparently, a lot of people have decided, that speaking their own language is a skill that they can profit of off and they have started giving private lessons to expats.
AND NOT EVEN THAT! Some language school owners are irresponsible enough to hire people without proper education to be their teachers! Is it because they’re cheaper than actual REAL teachers? Or are they giving a “helping hand” to friends and family? Kill me and I couldn’t answer, as this is highly irresponsible and unethical. No need to add, that this situation is absolutely outrageous and dangerous for the industry.
It was brought to my attention on Facebook on several occasions. Not naming names, but the scale of this problem is definitely bigger than I expected. Here’s one of a few too many conversations I had about this:
G: “I want to enroll, but the sudden rush leaves me concerned about where to spend my money. I want to actually benefit and have a good certificate... Not get caught in some scam.”
(ME): “Could you please tell me a bit more about what you mean by "sudden rush"? Have you noticed that there are more offers than there used to?”
G: ”Yes. Every other minute there's a different programme on offer - from one on one to groups...my problem is a lot of the companies now offering online options haven't got the adequate training or staff competence to handle online teaching. This will inevitably lead to low student satisfaction, missed opportunities for the learner's and unfortunately retard some of the progress learner's may have had if they become disillusioned as a result of not doing well in the class. Among other things. But these are the main points.”
What can you do to overcome these obstacles?
You probably won’t be able to justify not stepping up your game when it comes to your website and social media content anymore. It’s 2021, the whole planet has literally moved online and an outdated or tasteless online presence is not something people are willing to turn their blind eye on. If you want to stay in business you will need to show your best self online. New rules.
You may have to invest in some additional training for your teachers and up your online class game. As we’ve discussed – zoom calls were ok in March 2020. It’s January 2021, people are expecting proper, interactive online classes.
You may find it more difficult to get completely new students, unfamiliar with your school. As you have seen above – it might’ve been difficult to get clients initially through your door. Now you’ll need to work harder to prove that your offer is worth their time and money. And that you’re not a scammer. An unfortunate additional hoop to jump 🤦♀️
On the plus side, you might have less competition since your weaker competitors will simply drop out… Just make sure that you’re not one of them. Reading this article puts you already in advantage, so good job you! 👏
I want to point out that the above eight points aren’t just my opinion. I’ve talked to plenty of your clients – expats. Most of them have agreed that their will, motivation, and ability to join language courses this year has dropped beyond their expectations.
Obviously, those who are in the language learning industry will be impacted. There is a workaround, though. If you’re providing good value lessons and your online presence is strong, all you have to do is tweak your communication a bit or step up your online game in order to avoid a dramatic downfall in your business. As an extra precaution, you might also invest some extra time now, when things are slower, into making sure that your systems are ready to take on the challenges the future might bring. (You can use our free guide to get some structure and inspiration)
Bottom line?
This January brings far fewer enrolments in expat language courses than anyone could predict due to reasons that you as business owners have no control over.
Just remember: provide the best possible online learning experience and take care of your online presence.
This too shall pass! Good luck! 🤞
