| Friend,
We've been discussing class scheduling and structuring classes for peak efficiency in running and growing your martial art school. Yesterday we discussed scalability, and we looked at the three major limiting factors in scaling a martial art school.
Today, I'm going to talk about how to screw up a perfectly good schedule. Namely, the reasons why instructors make things harder on themselves than they have to be when they are writing their class schedule, and how to avoid making those mistakes.
How To Screw Up Your Class Schedule
Martial artists are creatures of ego. Anyone who denies this hasn't spent a whole lot of time at martial arts seminars and competitions lately... or they have a huge ego themselves and they're in denial about it.
I'm not immune to the ego monkey, and I've made some pretty silly mistakes over the years due to letting my ego get in the way of my business instincts.
Well, as in most things related to the business of running a martial art school, we martial arts instructors tend to let our egos dictate how we're going to run our business, instead of looking at things first from the perspective of the consumer.
Keeping Customers Happy
We are in a service business. We offer a service (martial arts instruction) in exchange for compensation (hopefully, not fresh chicken eggs and $10 off coupons at the local auto service center, but monthly tuition payments). And that means we are in the business of serving our customers.
Yes, I know... I've told you many times that you offer a service, but you shouldn't "serve" anyone (that's something one of the Tracy brothers said long ago that made sense to me). However, it is undeniable that, in order to attract and keep business, you have to keep your customers happy.
Generally, keeping customers happy involves looking at three factors: - What they want -
- How they want it -
- How much they want to pay for it -
So how does this factor into our creating a schedule for our dojo? Allow me to explain...
What The Consumer Wants
The first step in creating a schedule for your dojo is determining what the consumer wants. It seems obvious, but it's an integral step in setting up a class schedule that will allow your school to succeed financially.
Remember, what we think the consumer wants is often the exact opposite of what they really want. You need to stuff your ego when determining what the consumer wants. Why?
Because your ego will tell you that you need to teach hard core classes that will take a lump of coal (a student with zero MA experience) and turn them into a diamond (a badass black belt) in record time, so you can impress your instructors and fellow black belts.
That kind of thinking will lead you to the poor house. The truth is, most people don't want hard core, rugged training, at least not at first. A few will, but most won't.
So, you have to create a class schedule and curriculum that will funnel the average consumer into your school, that allows the "recreationists" to continue to train at a low level of intensity, while also letting the more serious students raise their hands and volunteer to go to the next level of training and intensity.
Knowing Demographics
Funneling the average consumer into your school first requires knowing who the average consumer in your area is... understanding who they are and what they're looking for in a martial arts or fitness program.
First, you have to look at your market and ask, who are you serving? In other words, who are the people in your local area who are most likely to have the leisure time and disposable income to afford and take martial arts lessons?
Once you determine that, then you need to ask yourself what those people want. I'll save you a few weeks of market research and tell you what people in major market segments are looking for: - Families with children ages 3 to 13: Parents want children's martial arts programs that involve character development, self-defense/safety/bully prevention skills, and fun. Remember that kids aren't your real client here; their parents are your actual client. Also, parents often want a separate class where they get some "me time" that involves recreation and fitness. Self-defense is often an afterthought, except in areas or periods where crime is on the rise (think "local crime spree").
- Single adult females, ages 16 to 45: Fitness and self-defense classes. Very few single adult females are attracted to traditional martial arts classes. If you doubt me on this, take a look at any traditional adult martial arts class (if the students wear pajamas, that class qualifies) and look at the demographics. Nine times in ten, it will be dominated by males. Then, look at any krav maga or fitness-oriented kickboxing class. Nine times in ten, it will be mostly females.
- Single adult males, ages 16 to 45: Hard core martial arts and self-defense classes, but not necessarily a class where the risk of injury is high. Consider that men in this age bracket who actually have money to pay for your services need to work to earn a living and continue paying for your classes. That's hard to do when you get injured. This is why BJJ and MMA schools where safety is high on the instructor's list of priorities thrive, while those that operate as shark tanks often struggle to survive. Also, men in this age group want to have fun and look at their training as a recreational activity. So, the atmosphere in the class needs to be light, and the camaraderie strong.
- Females ages 45 to 65: Lower impact fitness classes, and self-defense training that doesn't involve the risk of injury.
- Males ages 45 to 65: Martial arts, fitness, and self-defense classes that offer real self-defense training and a good workout with a low risk of injury.
- Teens - Anything trendy, cool, social, and fun. Extreme martial arts seems to do well with this market, as does MMA training. Teens tend to shy away from traditional martial arts training if it's taught in a strict, harsh environment. If you want to attract teens, you have to offer mental and physical challenges that pique and maintain their interest, in an environment that is motivating, encouraging, and fun without being cheesy or staid. And, you have to let them interact socially, otherwise they won't stick.
So, if you want to have a successful dojo, first figure out which demographic you are serving, and make sure there are enough people in that demographic locally to support a martial art school. Then schedule classes and programs that will appeal to those key demographics you have selected.
Coming Tomorrow...
Tomorrow I'm going to talk about the next two factors in keeping customers happy: how they want what they want, and how much they're willing to pay for it. Stay tuned.
Until next time,
Mike Massie MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com
Quick-start Guide to My Books and Resources: - Looking for a list of books and resources I've written? Click here! - Looking for low-cost business coaching to grow your dojo? Click here…
P.S. - Some will read what I've written above and assume that I'm telling you to water down your training to attract and keep students. I'm not. What I am saying is that you need to make training safe and fun, and you need to let people decide the training intensity they are willing to participate at... because if you turn up the heat on people who aren't ready for it or don't want it, you'll lose them, almost every time.
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