You may have been offering Take it away loans for a while now, but are you aware of everything they can be used for?
If you sell other items and services alongside your musical instruments – such as accessories, tuition and audio equipment – these can all be covered by a Take it away loan, so it’s a great way to help your customers get started on their musical journey in a single transaction.
Here are a few examples of what can be added to the loan:
Lessons to get started
Becoming an accomplished musician takes hours of practice, and any novice will need a lot of guidance and encouragement along the way. If your music store offers it, why not book a block of lessons for your customer and add the cost to their Take it away loan? So, as well as helping them buy an instrument, the loan can help them to start learning straight away.
Accessories and extras
Many instruments come with additional extras such as cases. And there’s often so much other equipment to consider. An amplifier is essential for an electric guitar, as well as a stand, leads, strings, maybe effects pedals…the list goes on. For some instruments, you may offer a bundle that comes with everything needed to get started. The cost of all these things can be added to the loan.
Recording equipment for that bedroom studio
If your customers are aspiring music creators, you might want to sell them the equipment and software they need to help them express themselves in the comfort of their own home. Just like buying an instrument, this can be a minefield. From condensing microphones to keyboard controllers, you can add these extras to a Take it away loan.
Everything for the stage
Your customers may want to show their skills to the world at some point – so they’ll need a microphone and stand if they’re planning to perform with a band, maybe a PA and speakers too if they’re entertaining solo. We know that there are many ways to entertain, and that many budding musicians are also aspiring DJs. If you sell the equipment, you could encourage your Take it away loan customers to get a turntable to practice on! Other items to consider include a mixer, headphones, and a DJ interface software package such as Serato…the list can be long!
Hopefully, this has given you a good overview of what the scheme covers. Our aim has always been to remove some of the hurdles that many people face when learning music, and we recognise that a customer’s interest can take many forms. A Take it away loan can help you upsell your products so that your customers can buy all the equipment they really want right now, rather than having to wait until they can afford a better version.
Whatever they choose, Take it away will be happy to help your customers get started on their musical journey. Since it launched in 2007, the scheme has helped around 90,000 people to buy musical instruments, making learning and playing music more affordable and open to everyone.