Running a successful business long-term is no simple task and martial arts schools, big or small, are certainly no exception. How do you know if your martial arts school is successful? Here are the top 6 signs that your martial arts school is a success - or well on it's way to becoming one!
1. You Have a Solid Business Roadmap
Many who attempt to open a martial arts school for the first time underestimate the importance of a solid business and marketing plan. A well-thought-out and executed business plan can be the difference between your business making it past the two-year mark or barely scraping by. By working out your plan, you’ll know how you’re going to take your initial set of resources to a point in the future where your school’s resources and assets grow exponentially.
Plan ahead by knowing all the martial arts industry trends:
Get your FREE 5-year Martial Arts Industry Outlook Guide
A good marketing plan is also crucial for ensuring you’re getting the most out of your advertising dollars. This plan should break down the demographics around who your prospective students really are, how you will get them to join, and how to keep them coming back. You should be referring to the plan on a regular basis while, adjusting it as needed. It’s important to note that the more business savvy schools understand that these are living documents; your original plan will need to adapt to many changes, from the evolution of local culture and changes in tax laws to the availability of new instructors.
2. Your School Sees Consistent Growth
Just like any good martial artist in a fight, you always need to be thinking ahead. Consistent, long-term growth is the ultimate goal of a successful martial arts school; the rate at which you are gaining students needs to be exceeding your overall attrition rates. By doing whatever you can to help reduce student drop-off – while also optimizing your marketing programs that will help bring in new students – you can grow your school fairly quickly. Once it’s at full capacity, you can then think about opening a second location or even moving into a bigger one.
Plan ahead by knowing all the martial arts industry trends:
Get your FREE 5-year Martial Arts Industry Outlook Guide
The way schools approach this kind of growth differs, as not every business owner will want to grow to the point of opening more locations. While some expand to different cities and states or sell franchises, others want to build and sustain one quality environment with a close-knit team. At the end of the day, you should be working towards reaching capacity, while continuing to delivery quality instruction.
RELATED: Click here for 5 affordable martial arts school marketing ideas
3. You Have a Solid Reputation
The reputation of your martial arts school does volumes for your overall success in attracting new students. Building a good reputation starts at the core of your leadership team and your business. Well-run schools will realize that trying your best to improve your public perception isn’t always as effective as working to directly improve your school and your methods for running.
Plan ahead by knowing all the martial arts industry trends:
Get your FREE 5-year Martial Arts Industry Outlook Guide
Doing business with integrity, teaching with care and passion, and providing high-quality classes are some of the things you need to do on a regular basis, in order to build an excellent reputation. Build up your reputation by communicating your values and your standards of excellence, through your events, digital marketing and other communications outlets, wherever appropriate.
4. You Have a Digital Marketing Strategy
In this digital era, the marketing and communications focus for martial arts schools is often in online marketing. Do you have a website for your martial arts school? A strong lead capture and nurture program? With the decline of traditional forms of marketing, successful small businesses are investing in different forms of digital marketing.
Plan ahead by knowing all the martial arts industry trends:
Get your FREE 5-year Martial Arts Industry Outlook Guide
The best marketing plans now have an active, broad approach to digital marketing as it provides the best value and highest returns on investment, especially when utilizing a lot of the free platforms out there like Twitter, Instagram and many aspects of Facebook. Digital marketing also allows you to reach a wider audience for a lot less money than traditional marketing. Remember to take advantage of platform analytics, so that you can create an effective quantitative analysis of your results, in order to better inform your marketing strategy.
Plan ahead by knowing all the martial arts industry trends:
Get your FREE 5-year Martial Arts Industry Outlook Guide
5. You've Kept True to the Principles
We can’t forget the history of the martial arts we practice and our duty to pay respect to their foundations, especially the positive philosophical influence. Teaching from your heart and staying true to the principles and tenets of your martial art will keep your students disciplined and respectful, while also ensuring that your reputation with your community remains high. Leading by example is key; get your senior instructors and students on board, to uphold the traditional aspects of martial arts.
6. You Have the Right Tools & Software
Successful martial arts schools usually have some type of member management software in place to help keep track of their current students. A good management software should also help you streamline your business by automating a lot of the manual operations in your school, such as billing, follow-ups, attendance tracking, and even belt and rank management! Having automated processes in place means you and your instructors have more time to spend on the mat.
With the right strategy and software, martial arts masters can learn what it takes to run a successful martial arts business. Business plans are essential, along with a solid digital marketing plan that leads to continual growth. Maintaining a significant presence online and doing business with integrity will build an excellent reputation for your school; something that will also help drive prospective students to your dojo.