Fall time is the best time: Back to School Marketing Strategies
Part III
By Darren A. Gaitan
I've been talking a lot about using the upcoming school year to your
advantage by putting most of your energy into student enrollments.
Even though this is important, it is not the only area that requires
the same amount of energy and focus. The "back to school" period
means only one thing for major clothing retailers: REVENUE! The fall
retail season, in addition to Christmas, is the best time to receive
the largest discounts from retail stores. Even though I graduated
five years ago, I still wait until the fall season to do my major
shopping. As a consumer, it is well worth the wait. People perceive
your pro shop in the same way, so why not take advantage? The two
most successful retailers during this time are clothing and supply
stores. Both of which can be offered through your pro shop.
Clothing apparel is very important for any business to have.
T-shirts are big sellers, however you should consider it pennies in
the grand scheme of things. Every person who wears one of your
t-shirts is a walking, talking billboard for your school. For about
$5.00 a shirt, you get constant exposure for your school. If someone
asks a person about their shirt they have now referred someone to
your school. This is the best kind of lead you could ask for. When
someone looks at a billboard, it is a one person process; a person
reads the information, thinks about it, then makes an evaluation all
by themselves. Now, if they look at the same type of billboard on a
person, they can interact with a person and a two person process
occurs. Your success rate of lead generation is now a lot higher.
Why do you think major revenue-producing sales representatives call
prospects on the phone and speak to them in person, rather than
sending them information about their product? I'll tell you why;
telling is not selling! You have a better chance of enrolling a lead
into your school if a two way process occurs, which leads back to
the importance of selling a back to school t-shirt.
Design a shirt with a back to school design on the front with the
names and ranks of every student on the back. What kid wouldn't walk
around with a t-shirt that had their name on it? They will talk
about your school to all of their friends, and they will in turn,
inquire about your school. I can't tell you how many times parents
have been waiting in line at the store and are asked by other
parents standing behind them what rank their children are. Once the
parents start to talk to someone about your program, they are now
selling your program. This is why every student in the school has
their own school business cards. What's the business card? I'll tell
you in a future article. You can now see why putting out a t-shirt
in August/September is so important for the pro shop and the school.
Put them on sale and sell as many as possible. Sensei Nick Dougherty
sells them for $14.95 or two for $20.00. He has already sold over
600 in just over a month. Every shirt that you don't sell will cost
you countless dollars in school exposure. Just a side note: learn
how to use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop because it will save you
money on the design costs. There are lots of books that teach you
the basics you'll need to know and many FREE online tutorials that I
have used in the past to learn the programs. Every time we design a
shirt we simply make small adjustments to the names on the back or
change the colors of the previous shirt. It will take a total of
about two hours. A designer will take around 10 hours and charge you
for it as well. Learn to do what you can, so you don't have to pay
others for it.
The other aspect of you pro shop you be taking a close look at is
whether you offer supplies with your school logo on it. Pencils,
backpacks, lunch pails, etc. are all small items that can be custom
made to include your school logo on it. Keep in mind that when it
comes time to use a service that a company provides, people are
psychologically programmed to use a company they have had the most
exposure to in the past. Translation: The more they see you, the
better the chance they will use you when they decide to look for a
martial arts school. This same concept is used by major companies
today. Any of their top employees will tell you that it isn't about
the one big advertisement campaign you do. It is about all the
little ones you do that lead to the big one. If they were wrong then
they wouldn't be as successful as they are today. Selling these
items to your students is a necessity and I'm even considering
giving all new students a school pack when they enroll. This pack
consists of pencils, erasers, a folder and a couple of other items.
It is worth it considering the long term commitment you receive on
such a small investment. Now your next question will probably be
"where do I get these items?" Century does offer this service, but
they are still a middle man company, which means the cost to you is
therefore increased. I have looked around on the internet and there
are plenty of companies that offer these services at a very
reasonable price. So look around and find a company to make these
products that suit your needs. You can always use this idea in many
different ways. Here's an example: one year I put together packages
of supplies the kids needed for school and gave them away as a
referral prize. "Sign up a friend, get a school package." Children
usually get lists of materials they need for school early enough for
you to be able to put an order together and have it in time for
school. If you look hard enough, you will find wholesale prices on
paper and other items that are not customizable, but they will sell
because people will buy them based on convenience even though it
might cost a little more. The funds spent on school clothes and
supplies are absolute, meaning it's not a question of how much
parents will spend, but where to spend it. Will your school be the
place they spend some of this?
September and October are two months that can make or break the last
business quarter of the year. Like anything in the martial arts
business, it's 5% creating the idea, 5% planning your strategy and
90% how well you execute it. Well all have the same tools and
information available to us, so why do others have better results
than we do? Well, it's the quality of effort you put into it. You
can build a box with a hammer and saw or you can build a house. It's
all based on your effort and desire to succeed. Be sure to check
your email for part IV of this series. If you have any questions
feel free to email me darren@championsway.com.
Darren A. Gaiten
Associate Consultant
ChampionsWay Inc.
877.774.5425
darren@championsway.com
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