Six Steps to Marketing Your Martial Arts Studio

The things we’ll be discussing at length during this module.

1. Discovering where the money is?

Finding underserved customers.

2. Becoming better than anyone else.

Find where you have a sustainable advantage.

3. Finding enough customers.

Customers who need you and how best they might locate you.

4. Motivating customers to take action.

Recognizable logo

5. Communicating on a regular basis.

Communications are of great importance and communications is not advertising.

6. Making the sale.

The first (5) steps are designed to get the customers predisposed to buy your services.  They need to be put into the buying mood.  People are typically apprehensive just before they make a purchase.

We’ll deal today with how to handle the customer from the very first contact – the telephone.

DISCOVERING WHERE THE MONEY IS

Customers that are easy to reach:

1. In-house:

Families and friends of current clients.  Have a Open House with demonstrations, food and door prizes.  The winner of the Grand prize WINS one full month of massages once a week at your place of business.  You will still make out with sales of suppliments, package programs with multiple visits for a set price and gift certificates.

2. Vendors:

The people you do business with every day are also a great source of referral or get them involved.  They have families and friends, give them complimentary one-month passes to the school.  The massages may be bartered for services.

3. Mailing Lists:

A direct mail campaign is not cheap but works well at hitting specific market segments of the population.  ALWAYS include a returnable coupon for at least a discounted 3 – month massage package.

The direct mail response is usually 7-1/2% return by telephone calls and of that 5% usually reach a sale.

What an average sale constitutes:

1. One (1) massage

2. A possible referral

3. Sale of suppliments

4. Sale of a group of massages

This is worth $$$$$ to you and you cannot afford to allow one customer to go away dissatisfied.

This return is usually during peak seasons of the year but a good advertising and direct mail

campaign will average no less than 50 appointments per month. This might sound great but consider you’ll average 20 work days per month and that is only 2.5 appointments per day.

DIRECT MAIL PAYS!

RATING THE COMPETITION:

1. Look in the Yellow Pages and then make a list of all those in a business like yours.  Don’t

forget the recreation departments, schools and church’s offering martial arts.

Call around and see how they answer the telephone, what information they’ll divulge and

what they charge.

NEVER give out the cost of classes, tell the caller that you offer different programs and you’d love for them to bring their child or themselves in so you could meet them and show them the school.

GET AN APPOINTMENT!

BEING BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE

Know what kind of relationship the customer wants:

1. Expert.

2. Friendly/caring.

3. having the same goals.

WHY CUSTOMERS BUY:

1. Solution to a problem.

2. Features and benefits they find important.

3. Performance of the services you offer.

4. Image – they like what you projects

5. Quality – they see professionalism.

6. Price is competitive.

7. Relationship they feel comfortable with.

8. Comfort – this is especially important to adults.

WHY CUSTOMERS DON’T BUY AND DROP OUT

1. Fear they will be criticized.

2. Lack of trust.

3. Lack of comfort.

4. Lack of quality.

5. Not solving their needs.

6. Lack of need.

7. Clash with their life style.

8. Not that important.

9. Bad past experience.

10. Found someone else who hit their hot button to buy.

FINDING CUSTOMERS

How much business can you really handle?

A good rule of thumb is in a given 8 hour day that you cover no more than seven (7)hours of appointments, less if you travel to the client.

Customers who have the urge to buy right away came to you through:

1. Yellow page ads.

2. Visible signage.

3. Telemarketing calls.

Best way to find a customer is to take your message to them:

Direct mail

Local FREE newspapers like the Shopper.

Participation in distributed flyers

Make it easy for people to call you – use a name on your ads:

MAS-SAGE

It may sound corny but it leaves an impression and works.

MOTIVATING CUSTOMERS

1. You need to choose a clear image that quickly communicates who you are.

2. You must discover the relation between you and your customer.

3. You need to match the style of your name, logo, and slogans to your customers self image.

4. You need to bring these elements together in a convincing way.

a. Seven or eight words that describe what it is you do.

b. They have a need:

“ We motivate your child to be the very best”

c. Picture of a nice looking kid with a big smile will sell your ad every time.

d. This is America, land of the quick fix, fast food and I want it now.

A customer wants to know in an instant what it is your going to do by the name you use.

Recognizable:

Books Karate

Unrecognizable:

Musashi Goju-Ryu Karate Dojo

To a potential buyer it is confusing and they dismiss you right away.

GET SMART – GET WITH THE PROGRAM AND BECOME SOMETHING THEY CAN RELATE TO.

COMMUNICATING WITH THE CONSUMER

With the violence in our society, so vividly portrayed in the movies and on television, people look for leisure activities to wind down and release stress; this is where you as martial arts instructors come in.  If you demonstrate a hard abrasive exterior when they first meet you YOU LOSE!

1. Your need to create a non-threatening means of communication.

2. Convince people you are telling the truth.

3. Use electronic technology.

4. Create a cluster communication format.

5. Catch a look that sells.

6. Give your customers some fun.

NON-THREATENING

a. Message needs to be friendly

b. The customer needs to make a choice.

c. A connection need to be made with the customers.

TELLING THE TRUTH

a. Serving the community for over 15 years or since 1970.

b. Get rid of stress through participation.

USE OF ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY

a. Catalog for products

b. Videos

c. CD-ROM

d. The Internet

CLUSTERING COMMUNICATIONS

a. Sales brochures

b. Newsletters

c. Information sheets

 

CREATE A LOOK THAT SELLS

a. A uniform set of attire worn by all staff members when off the dojo floor.

1. Your sales take place in an office gi is inappropriate.

b. Sport shirt and slacks with the dojo name or just staff over the left breast pocket.

GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS SOME FUN.

a.         Contests, games, trivia questions and puzzles.

b.         Packaging things you sell in a bright or professional looking bag.

c.         Have a clean looking place.

d.         Humorous look to your ads.