Posted by Mike Massie on December 9, 2009
A Fall Enrollment Season Like No Other?
If the recession has gotten you to tighten your belt, perhaps you should consider sticking to those habits once things improve
It looks like consumer confidence may be picking up, based on what I’ve been hearing from school owners around the country.
After a relatively flat October, enrollments increased sharply in November and the upswing is continuing into December… all factors that point to this being a highly unusual fall season for many schools around the nation.
However, it also could indicate that consumers are feeling more confident about the economy and are becoming more willing to spend money on luxury services again, in spite of the holiday season.
And, although the consumer confidence index has only seen a slight uptick since September (although it has increased dramatically after it hit near record lows earlier this year), it bears mentioning that at least in our industry there are plenty of schools that are going great guns despite the recession.
(Note: My take on this is that people are looking for something to take their minds off everything going on in the world, and activities like martial arts and fitness classes are a great way for them to do so. So, make sure your ads are focused on how fun and enjoyable your programs are – many people are more than willing to pay for escapism during difficult times. – MM)
If You’ve Tightened Your Belt A Notch Or Two, Don’t Start Loosening It Yet…
What this all means to those who have survived this recession is that you’ve developed some really good business habits in order to keep your martial arts businesses going.
That means you’ve been…
- Creating and following a marketing plan each month that includes multiple marketing methods, instead of cutting back on marketing to save money (this is so backwards, I can’t believe it when people tell me they’re planning to cut back on marketing to save money – that’s like saying you’re going to quit your job to cut back on your fuel bill)…
- Doing online marketing on a daily basis (blogging, articles, press releases, etc.)…
- Keeping your overhead costs as low as possible without sacrificing customer service or comfort…
- And, working your hardest to keep the students you have through showing them that they are valued members of your school!
Good Business Practices Should Be Adhered To In Every Economy
The fact is, the economy goes through regular cycles of highs and lows. Remember when the dot-com bubble burst back in 2000? How about the unusually harsh recession in the early eighties?
Knowing this, it only makes sense to stick to sound financial practices in your school during both strong financial times and lean.
So once this recession blows over, don’t do what most school owners will do and start to coast… or worse yet, to bog your business down with excess spending and overhead bloat. Instead, stick to those good habits so they become second nature… and then sock that extra money you make during the “good times” away so you are ready for the next low period.
By doing so, you’ll be protecting your business against any future economic dips… and at the same time you’ll be maximizing your profits while decreasing your liabilities.
Sounds like the smart way to go to me.
Until next time,
Posted by Mike Massie on November 5, 2009
Know Thy Image
I fully expect some clown to start offering martial arts for pets or some such nonsense at some point - which would be an extreme case of trying to offer something for everyone... or every-pet, in this case.
Trying to be all things to all people is a sure-fire way to become nothing to no one. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t diversify into having multiple programs for multiple age demographics. Not at all… in fact, for most school owners and in most locations I think it’s a mistake to just go after a single demographic.
Know What Pays Thy Bills
However, I do think you need to know what pays the bills, and be practical about pursuing that demographic and making it the priority in your school. For example…
In my first school, I built the entire school on kids programs. That was my whole image, and even though I taught adult classes, fitness classes, and so on, my entire image was tied up in being a kid-friendly school.
But in my most recent school, I focused more on presenting the message that we had programs for the whole family. Still, I wanted to teach more adults, so I focused more on that.
The thing is, getting kids in your school is usually the easiest task. It’s the adults that are much harder to attract. That’s why I always go for the kid’s market first, then go after the adults once the kid’s programs are paying the bills.
Know Thy Demographic
What’s that have to do with image?
Well, all my ads are pretty much middle of the road as far as raciness goes. The raciest thing I’ve ever run was for my boot camp, and that’s because the model showed midriff and had a belly piercing (it looked good, though – the ads performed well).
Mostly, I’ve stuck with mom-friendly stuff, because in the areas I operated in most of my clients and decision-makers were moms.
Know Thy Target Market
Here’s something to consider, though…
Say you run a gym that’s MMA oriented, and your enrollment is mostly made up of the 20- and 30-something, tatted up, Affiliction-wearing guys.
Chances are good that your kids classes are going to be made up of kids from those households.
So, you’ll still get some “contact” enrollments just by virtue of farming your existing clientele – it’s just going to fall out that way.
But, that “bad boy” image isn’t going to go over well with families who just walk in off the street. Your average soccer mom is going to be turned off by it, and she’ll take her kids down the street to the plain-vanilla-typical-suburban-family-image school down the street.
This is just one example, and I think you can see the converse also applies. If your school is viewed as a “kiddie” school, chances are good that will work against you if you are marketing hard core MMA or adult self-defense programs.
Know Thy Image As It Applies To Thy Demographic
This is why it’s important to understand the demographics of your area… so you can make sure you don’t have an image disconnect between the image your marketing projects and your local market.
In more densely populated urban areas, it may be possible to pick and choose your ideal student by targeting a particular demographic. This is what you see advertisers doing in mass media marketing – the audience is broad enough to allow the advertiser’s to pick and choose their market to a certain extent.
However, your market reach is effectively only 5-10 miles from your location (ten being on the extreme edges of your market).
So, the demographic found in that geographical area absolutely dictates what your marketing image should be.
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Questions? Comments?
Let Mike know! Post your comments below…
Posted by Mike Massie on September 23, 2009
A person's level of success is often a direct correlation to their internal state
Your job (as it relates to your students) is making people feel good.
I know that some of you would disagree…
But your ability to encourage referrals and retain students is a direct result of how good you are at making people feel good.
The problem is, you can’t give someone something you don’t already have.
So, if you go into work feeling miserable – that’s what you’re giving your students.
It’s easy to dismiss this as trite psycho-babble…
And believe me, I know how hard it is to be Mr. Chipper when your inquiries and enrollments are down and you feel like you’re bleeding money everywhere.
“…your ability to ENCOURAGE REFERRALS and RETAIN STUDENTS is a direct result of how good you are at MAKING PEOPLE FEEL GOOD.”
But, choosing unhappiness is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you CHOOSE to focus on the negatives, pretty soon NEGATIVES are ALL you see.
Your internal world cannot be out of synch with your external world for long… and the other half of that equation is that the mind controls the body (thoughts control actions).
Thus, your mind soon starts to synch your actions with your thoughts and feelings. When those thoughts and feelings are negative, here’s what happens:
- You start gravitating toward negative people (and attracting them in droves).
- You start to self-sabotage (often, you can’t see this, but other people do).
- You second-guess things.
- You damage relationships.
- You give a less-than-your-best effort at work (teaching class).
…and so on.
This isn’t some feel-good-secret-law-of-attraction-mumbo-jumbo. It’s natural law, the way God wrote the rules to the universe.
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”
“A man reaps what he sows.”
“According to your faith will it be done to you…”
It’s inescapable… so instead of fighting universal law, abide by the rules in place and use them to your advantage.
Here’s how:
- Give 100% to your students – they deserve it.
- Be that person you’ve always looked up to and admired – deep inside, you are that person.
- Focus on the positives – it’s the only way you’ll get through challenges with your sanity intact.
- Focus first on how you can help others – your attitude is what will bring people in. People are attracted to that which makes them feel good. If you’re happy and energetic, it will really make you stand out as an instructor and people will be drawn to that.
At all times keep in mind that your job is MAKING PEOPLE FEEL GOOD.
As a prerequisite, you have to CHOOSE to feel GOOD.
Flip that internal switch, turn a corner, transform your business, and change your life.
