Q&A WITH THREE TUTORING BRANDS
Kumon
What’s the demand for your services?
Up to December 2019, Kumon Australia and New Zealand student numbers increased every year for a decade, with an average annual growth of 3 percent. We exceeded 55,000 student enrolments in Australia and New Zealand in 2019. While our student enrolments are now at 50,000 in 2021, we are again experiencing growth and are confident we will catch up to our 2019 student numbers in the first two quarters of 2022, and then continue to increase afterwards.
Where will the growth come from?
Growth will continue to come from all metropolitan markets, but, in particular Sydney and Melbourne as they rebound after the impact of extended lockdowns in the last two quarters of 2021. We are also expanding into regional Victoria and New South Wales, such as Bendigo, Frankston, Wagga Wagga and Orange, as these are population growth areas.
What are parents looking for?
Extracurricular support in mathematics and reading, to develop confidence and self-learning abilities.
How do franchisees source new clients?
Kumon franchisees primarily source new students through local area marketing and an active social media presence. Kumon offers a national free-trial campaign twice a year during May and August. This event creates awareness in the community and can increase enrolments either directly or from participants telling friends about their positive experience. As a result of the free trials, June and September are among the months of highest enrolments at Kumon.
What makes your business model successful?
Kumon’s business model is kept very simple so franchisees can focus on preparation that relates to instruction of their students. The royalty includes the cost and free delivery of all worksheets and materials required. There is no additional marketing levy or hidden fees. Tutor Doctor
What’s the demand for your services?
We are in high demand. The pandemic has caused the Covid learning loss crisis, with many parents turning to tutoring for help. In fact, the global tutoring market is expected to grow 16.1 percent by 2027. Tutor Doctor Australia has seen a 155 percent increase in student enrolments in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic 2019.
Where will the growth come from?
We are in an education crisis that will have a ripple effect for years to come – impacting students’ academic gains, wellbeing and economic prospects. In fact, a recent study by McKinsey & Company found that teachers in Australia reported students were on average two months behind where they usually would have been by November 2020.
What are parents looking for?
Parents, students and individuals alike are looking for private learning services that are tailored to their specific needs.
How do franchisees source new clients?
We have a combination of digital and grass-root marketing strategies that feed each other. Parent-child website structure to maximize SEO, pay-per-click, social media, community events, partnerships, etc.
What makes your business model successful?
Our service is highly personalised. A one-size-fits-all strategy isn’t what we do. Through carefully matched tutors and a creative approach tailored to each child, we help students confidently achieve their personal best through in-person and online tutoring.
We are local. Our franchise owners are actively engaged in their local communities – building partnerships, supporting local schools and positively impacting the communities they serve.
More than tutoring. From our X-Skills Program, equipping students with vital life skills, to regular session reports keeping parents up to date, to our recruitment process bringing in only the best tutors – we do so much more than homework help.