Monthly Marketing Minimums


By Joe Brignoli

Over the years of martial arts school ownership, I came up with a list of low cost marketing strategies that I like to call “monthly minimums.” I am a strong believer in the KISS (Keep It Simple, Sir!) philosophy, and believe that sticking to the basics on a CONSISTENT basis is the best way to grow your school. Expensive ads are not always the best course of action, especially in the early stages of school ownership when sufficient capital is not in abundance for risky marketing. It is almost impossible not to enroll 10 to 20 new students each and every month when school owners follow these suggestions religiously. Veteran instructors may recognize many of these strategies, and will surely remember trying some of them at one time or another. But it only is when these suggestions are performed every single month in conjunction with each other without deviation, that their effectiveness becomes apparent. If you stick to these monthly minimums for 6-12 months, as many of MATA’s consulting clients have, you are sure to meet or exceed your reasonable enrollment goals.

These are in no particular order of importance. Once again, in order to work, they have to be done together, consistently. Skipping even one will drastically reduce the effectiveness of this whole marketing plan. I suggest you begin with what seems to be the easiest strategy to get the ball rolling and establish good habits, and then move on to the methods that you feel are more time consuming, given your skills and attributes as an entrepreneur.

DANGER: Don’t fall for the, “I tried that already” syndrome. I know you may have heard of, or tried many of these marketing strategies in the past. Trust me. Do them consistently with all the other monthly minimums combined, and you are sure to find favorable results.

# 1: Referral Strategy: One New and Different Strategy each month.
I am constantly asked during consulting sessions, “What is the best way to force referrals? VIP Cards? Free months to the referring student? Prizes? Buddy weeks?” I wish it were that simple. There is no one perfect method. One year, to get a persistent tele-marketer off my back, I bought a thousand pencils to have my students hand out to their classmates on the second day of a new school year. To my surprise, we enrolled 23 new students in 6 weeks, directly or indirectly from those cheap little pencils. I thought I found the ultimate “referral secret!” Each and every year since, I bought more and more pencils, and tried to duplicate the process. 10,000 pencils later, I never enrolled another student from that source. I was dumbfounded.
This is an example of how we can easily fall in love with, or despise a certain way to gain referrals. Why did the pencils work the first time? Because it was different for me, and new for my students. Next time any of you go to a department store, such as Sears or Macy’s, try to make a mental note of how the window displays are set up. I guarantee that if you return to the same store a week later, the display is changed. Why? To keep the appearance new, which keeps the human mind from becoming used to it, i.e.: complacent. In almost all areas of school operation, complacency is the enemy.
So, I recommend that you change your referral scheme each and every single month. For example, one month you can have a “Magic Bottle Contest” where all those who bring in a buddy get to enter their name into a drawing. At the end of the month have a raffle, and give away some good prizes. Another month you can have one single large buddy day, and let the kids teach their friends (even allow them to give their friends push-ups!) The next month you can have a whole buddy week, and give away first, second, and third prizes to the students who bring in the most buddies. Continue changing the rules and the prizes each month. Try not to duplicate the same exact referral strategy twice in one year.
For more ideas of how to change up your referral scheme, see the website department, “Low Risk Marketing,” especially the link “Monthly Promotions.” Once again, there is no perfect way, and it will take some experimentation on your part to find out what works best for you. But keep changing the referral scheme every month, even if you find a successful method. Remember my pencil story!
Never give away something that your students may buy from you anyway, like uniforms, or sparring equipment. For using a new referral scheme on kids, you must find some things that entice kids, or their parents (or both whenever possible). I have used enticing prizes such as bicycles, electric go-peds, or even the video game of a student’s choice, for kids, and financial incentives for parents and adults. Remember, one person’s trash is another one’s treasure. So you must change the incentives all the time to motivate everyone, and keep it fresh and exciting.
And just because you tried a certain method in the past, and the results were unfavorable doesn’t mean that it will never work. Speaking of Macy’s, R.H. Macy went out of business 6 times before his store in NY finally took off. The author John Creasy wrote 633 novels, but also received 814 rejection slips. Neither one of them changed their strategy after experiencing setbacks. They persevered.

#2: Demonstrations: 1-2 Proactive Demos Every Single Month.
I recommend you try to schedule at least one, and if possible, two proactive demos each and every month, including summer months and December. There are two types of demos, proactive and reactive. A reactive demo is for entertainment purposes only. It may woo the crowd, and raise the morale of your demo team, but a reactive approach will essentially ignore what should be the goal of every demo: to enroll new students.
Over the years, the schools I have owned and been a part of have put on some pretty outrageous demos, that spectators remember to this day. Although flashy, they would rarely produce enrollments. My assistant instructors and I would hand out flyers afterwards and wait for the phone to ring. At the time, I couldn’t understand why they weren’t enrolling, but now I realize this did not work because the demos were reactive. There was no audience participation. I did not have a table set up. I was not scheduling appointments right after the demo, or gathering leads. I had no strategy for motivating prospects to visit my school, like what I like to call the, “Break a Board for a Dollar” promotion. (For more info on that promotion, schedule a consulting session.)

So make sure your demos are proactive, rather than reactive. Whenever possible, have a booth or at least a small table next to your demos. Provide a financial incentive for parents to schedule the intro appointment right there at the demo. I used to charge $5 for the first intro lesson, but tell parents that if they schedule an appointment right then and there, it would be free. That's all it takes. Write down leads (do not let the prospect do it, if possible) for all those who do not schedule an appointment, when a child's parents are not present, or when someone is unsure of their spouses schedule. Call every single one of those leads within 48 hours of the demo. Also hand out flyers and brochures, but do not rely upon them to do all the work for you.

# 3: Internal Events: 1 or 2 Each Month.
Every month you want to have at least one internal special event, held within your school. This has a dual purpose. It raises the morale and excitement of your existing students, but mainly generates referrals by providing opportunities for your students to bring their friends/ family members/ business associates to your school. Some students who are reluctant to bring referrals in for a class may be inclined to bring them to a special event. Examples of some internal events are ninja nights (Fri. evening pizza parties with a movie), sleep ins, board breaking/ weapon seminars for kids, grappling or a rare style seminar for adults, high school field trips to your school, cub scout self defense class, halloween parties, 4th of July/ Labor Day picnics (even if held off your school premises), etc. etc. You are probably doing this already, but again consistency is the key.

# 4: External Events: At Least 1, but Preferably 2 Each Month.
Each month, you should get out of your school, in front of a group of non-students twice each month. The same pro-active approach that you should take for your demos (see #2, demos) should be demonstrated here. Examples of external events would include renting a booth at the local mall or flea market, speaking to 5th graders about non-violent conflict resolution, a speech in front of the Kiwanis Club about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, a meet and greet with the local Chamber of Commerce, teaching a situational awareness defense seminar at a health club, having a table set up in proximity to a demonstration you just performed at the local carnival, or air show, or even simply giving away door prizes and/ or promotional items at a Chuck-E-Cheese, Toys R Us, or Discovery Zone. Make sure you schedule appointments, take down leads, and follow up within 48 hours.

# 5: Press/ Media Releases: At least One Each Month to All contacts.
Media releases (commonly referred to as press releases) are very easy, but often perceived to be harder than they really are. It's not up to the school owner to write the story, nor is it up to you to find the certain "angle" that would make a story sensational to the public. That is the reporter's job. It is only necessary for you to let all the reporters, editors, producers, and radio personalities on your list of contacts know what is going on, where it will take place, and when it will be. If you are meeting the minimum amounts of demos, internal, and external events, as listed above, this should be fairly easy.
First, make a list of media contacts. Include their names, phone numbers, email addresses, and fax numbers. Each time you have an event coming up, which should be several times each month if you are doing the other monthly minimums, write a simple, one page description of what is going on. For example:
_______________________________________________________________________
MEDIA RELEASE:
Attention: (Sports/ Life Editor's name, or title)
Joe Smith's Karate School Puts on Demonstration at Baseball Stadium
Who: Joe Smith and his Martial Arts Demo Team
When: Saturday, April 2nd, 2005. Approx. 12 noon
Where: Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter, Florida
What: Joe's Martial Arts Demonstration team will put on a martial arts demonstration at the All Star Pitch and Play Event, around 12 noon in the outfield past first base. The demo team has practiced for months to put on a board breaking and technical display of their abilities. Demo team members range in age from 5 through 16, and have taken karate for at least a year.
The demo's finale will consist of a choreographed hypothetical skit to music, in which 2 brothers act out a real life self defense encounter. After losing a confrontation with the schoolyard bully, they turn to karate instructor Joe Smith for help. After training at Master Smith's school, the brothers are again confronted by the same troublemakers, but are able to defend themselves in a comical and entertaining, yet realistic manner.
Also attending the All Star Pitch and Play Event will be former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and several New York Mets baseball players. The expected attendance this year is over ten thousand.

We would like to invite you to cover our event. Please contact Joe Smith at 555-1212 for more information. ________________________________________________________________________
It's short, and to the point. You don't need to elaborate any further than this. In fact, this is an example of a longer media release. Write a release about every event you do, and then fax AND email it to everyone on your media contacts list. Some reporters prefer to have a physical copy on their desk, while others prefer an electronic version. It's very important to follow up with everyone you send a media release to. It's best to call, but some reporters may prefer email communication. Find out if they received the release, and if so, find out if they would like to cover the event. Some will simply say no, but all will be happy you contacted them, and ask you to inform them of future events. It's simply a numbers game. If you send out 10 media releases, you have to get at least one article or segment of air time.
If you have an event coming up that, in your opinion, is not newsworthy, send it anyway. Some consultants may differ on this issue, but I have found that reporters will find a way to make a story more interesting. And even if they don't, you are still receiving free advertising and building name recognition. One slow month, I sent out media releases on my next testing. There was nothing special about this testing, but one reporter from the Palm Beach Post did a half page story on it! The headline was, "Students Earn Belts with Skill, Attitude." When I opened my first in a chain of 7 schools, I faxed a media release about our grand opening. A reporter came to do a story, but not on the opening. The headline was "He Gets His Kicks Teaching Karate to Kids." She found a way to give the story mass appeal. In doing so, she inadvertently wrote the best advertisement I have ever read about a school. The full page article came out on the same day kids went back to school. That Wednesday, we had over one hundred telephone inquiries before noon, before I lost count. The gym that I ran my classes in had to call in another front desk employee to handle the huge volume of calls. That one media release put us on the map, and sparked a rapid growth that was previously unheard of in the health club industry. True story.

# 6: Columns. Write one column each month.
Many magazines, newspapers, or advertising publications use local business owners to write columns. Most of the time they do not pay the writers, but the exposure makes it a mutually beneficial situation. Some of you are better writers than others. On a scale of 1 through 10, if you rate yourself at 5 or below, you will need someone to help you edit your column each month. Ask your assistant instructors, adult students, and parents, and you are sure to find someone that could help you. Don't be afraid to ask for help if necessary. You do not want to put out a poorly written article with grammar mistakes and missing punctuation, for obvious reasons. If you find you are a decent writer, above a 6, always ask at least 2 people to proofread your work. John Graden and I are in the process of writing several sample columns that you can download from the site, and use for material or at least ideas.
Writing a monthly column will build name recognition, allow you to give your phone number at the end of each, and give you the opportunity to express your views on martial arts, fitness, health, or whatever other topic you are knowledgeable in. You can promote martial arts as a whole, your particular style and method of teaching, and of course, your school.
In past articles, I have used this to my advantage. In one article, I used an old Newsweek piece as the basis, in which "parents now prefer the discipline of the dojo, to the chaos of the soccer field," to promote martial arts over other sports.
In another article titled, "How to Find the Right Martial Arts Instructor for Your Child," I wrote that "parents should be weary of schools that teach private, or semi private only intro lessons. Instructors who will only teach the first class privately have something to hide, usually in the form of undisciplined students." I wrote this because I did all group privates, while all other local schools taught semi private intros.
In yet another article, I jumped on the bandwagon after Sept. 11th, and promoted my new "Airline Defense Class" by writing an article about whether or not it would have made a difference if one of the flights had several martial artists on them.
Since my style has grappling, but is primarily a stand up style, I wrote an article titled, "Grappling: Necessary to Learn, but Not Necessarily Superior."
Another good topic would include how "Martial Arts is an alternative to medication for kids with learning disabilities."
Even if 10 publications accept you as a monthly columnist, you can use the same column for all of them. So for the hour or two it takes to write one article each month, you can gain as many as 3-5 students each and every month.


Monthly Marketing Minimum Summary:
Once again, these are only designed to work in conjunction with all the others. If you decide to skip even one monthly minimum, it will not work anywhere near as well. If you decide to skip a month here and there or during the summer months, they will not work.
Remember, one event can be considered several monthly minimums. For example, if you do a demonstration at your church's annual carnival, and rent a booth, and write a press release, you are completing 3 monthly minimums at once (Demos, External Events, Media Release). If you have any other questions about these, or any other marketing strategy, you are welcome to schedule a consulting session, if you are an active MATA member.

Joe Brignoli
Senior Consultant
The Martial Arts Teachers Association
1-866-566-5426