The school I'm going to is relatively small on students, which my sensei has tried to correct. He's taken out ads around the town, newspaper, and other places, but not much luck. I didn't see an ad an decide to take up karate, I sought out one, and found his. Is advertising really that effective for MA's? Do ya'll have any tips on how to draw more students, the school is in kind of a rural setting, but only about a 10-20 minute drive from town. I also know word of mouth is the best way to spread things, but it especially seems hard with this because if I am with my mates and bring it up, they always want to prove they are tough. Any advice would be appreciated
Exhibitions, open days, ad in paper....etc Its all good as long as people see it. If have time, do a couple of classes in a school or college so you have ahigher chance of attracting younger people who are in the age range of getting interest in active participation of a sport, advertise that the style is good for Women self defense. Also its coming up to Summer, so summer holidays is good for advertising, Parents would want their kids to get out of the house and have them do something healthy etc. Also think about where you place an ad, make sure the place is busy etc. OK hope it goes well.
Mushroom had some excellent suggestions. Our school just did an exhibition in the shopping center parking lot close to where the school is located. It drew a few hundred people and we had 20-some students sign up on the spot. I wrote a "press release" announcing the Grand Opening of the new location, with details about the demonstration, and sent it to the local papers ahead of time. One of the two papers sent out a reporter/cameraman, took some pictures, asked some questions, so we should also have some free publicitiy when the paper comes out this Tues. Besides things specific to MA: I own a small business in our community, and I can offer a few 'keys' to advertising: 1. Be Consistent. Don't expect to place one single ad and get 500 new students. Most people respond to an ad after they've seen/heard it three or four times. Make your name available in the community, so that they know you are there. Then, when/if they decide to get involved in MA (or to make a New Years Resolutioon to 'get fit'), they'll remember you're there. 2. Take advantage or "free" and "low cost". Make sure you have a large, readable sign by your studio. WRITE PRESS RELEASES on the anniversary of your business, on a 'human interest story' about your instructor and his background (how he got into MA and how/why he decided to open up a studio here), about any demonstrations/seminars/competitions you plan or sponsor, and about the achievements of your students. If you live in a small community or rural area, local papers usually eat this kind of thing up, and will publish almost anything that is well-written (and has a story to it......i.e., doesn't sound like raw advertising). I've never written a press release fo our county paper that DIDN'T get published (edited, yes; but they will publish it!) 3. Make sure you advertise where people will look. If you moved to a new town and WANTED to take MA, where would you look? Are you in the yellow pages of the local phone book? Community websites? 4. Encourage word-of-mouth. We all KNOW it's the best advertising, but how do you encourage it? In our school, each new member who signs a contract gets a free gift certificate for a four-week free trial to give to a friend. We also give award stars for your uniform if you encourage someone to sign up. (Also award stars of different colors for winning competitions, or getting all "A's" on your belt test, but that's another story). 5. Do Community Service activities: Offer demonstrations for local school assemblies. Offer an after-school program for students. Provide MA Summer Camps (week-long day-camp) for students on summer vacation. I just did an hour-long 'basic emergency self defense' workshop this afternoon, for a local Girl Scout Troop working on an Emergency Preparedness badge. Community members remember these things. It provides a service. It encourages word-of-mouth advertising. And, it gives another opportunity to write a press release.
One of the great things about the martial arts is that you get to expose yourself to a cross-section of people. You also have to expose your classes to them differently (sell to them differently). Decide first who you want to target. Parent/Child families looking for a positive afterschool/summer activity that provides a goal oriented environment, self discipline and rewards good behavior. Females 16 and over who want to feel safe in the mall parking lot and are very conscious of their appearance and want the additional benefits of weightloss and higher self esteem. Males 24 and over who work too much, maybe slightly overweight. Want an escape from work and other daily pressures. Enjoys the exercise because he sits in front of a computer or in a car for most of the day. Male & Females 18-40 who are known as "young lions" very in shape and active, health conscious, probably runners as well. Some are DNK's (double income, no kids), wanting to add martial arts to their repertoire of lifestyle activities. OK so say these are your profiles now you need to find your distribution channels. This is part of the 4 P's of Marketing - Product, Price, Promotion and Placing (Distribution Channels) Where do those corporate types go to lunch? Where do they work? What do they do? Where do these women live and work? Where do all these kids go to school? What other activities do those "lions" do? The answers to these questions form your distribution channel and are potential ways to reach potential students without contacting them directly. That should give you some direction, based on what your target demographic is. Now for promotions. I've seen the technique of giving out free class cards to work very well! This sales tactic is called the "puppy dog" (named after the pet salesman who talks the parent into letting the kid have the puppy for free for a period of 2 weeks. If in 2 weeks they feel it is too much trouble or can't afford it then they can return it! I think it better to have it instead of a free class make it 2 free weeks or a free month so they get a true idea what is done in class and get used to coming in on a regular basis. If you have a handful of friends/students.... put on a demo or exhibition as Capt Ann's school did at the mall .... pass out fliers promoting, this is a great way to expose your school. Keep demo short so people don't lose interest. Demos are great because they get people talking. The spectators talk amongst themselves and friends of people in the demo talk about the person performing and possible how good of an instructor you are! How are your speaking skills. Do a demo at area schools. You may even be able to strengthen your case to giver the presentation if you emphasize that martial arts is a way to stop senseless school violence and bulliness and improves a students self esteem (a hot topic right about now!) For the corporate types do a business card drawing at local restaurants (I've seen them at Burger Kings/McDonalds too) Make a snazzy sign ontop of fishbowl or other presentable box. Submit your business card to win 2 weeks free or longer of classes. The real benefit here is that when drawing is over you will have a stack of contacts and possible email address. Don't spam them but follow up nicely. In appreciation for using the restaurant, offer to do something nice for them like making it a designated place to come once or twice after a testing or demo. Bartering and networking is probably your biggest asset. Do you have a web site? Include the benfits of the ma, history of art, what class entails, corse times etc. If you haven't for whatever reason, you should do it! Include a link to email you directly. Post your site on search engines especially dojo directories on the net. CaptAnn's #5 .... volunteer work for charity in your community is good PR. PR is free advertising basically. Get some students to collect money for charity. Our school raied $12,000.00 for the American Diabetes Assoc. for their "Kicks for Kids" fund raiser. People sponsored each one of us by pledging a certain dollar amount per kick or a set $ amount. Most of us did 400 kicks in 10 minutes. We will get a nice photo in newspaper promoting our school and our efforts! Just remember to set a goal for yourself and be creative! Good Luck
