| MARKETING
AND OPERATING A MARTIAL ARTS CLUB
INTRODUCTION
The martial arts, with
its history, traditions, reputation and practices has always demanded
that that students approach it and change. Marketing dictates that an
activity, especially one being run as a business should provide what the
student wants, and that it should change in the face of student demands.
Can these opposing view points ever be reconciled? This guide is an
attempt to do just that and more.
WHO
SHOULD READ THIS GUIDE.
For many martial
artists, attempts to market and "sell" their cherished
activities meets with deep resistance. They point to traditions of
historical times when select individuals were chosen to train, often
after some test of character. They feel even in this modern age that
study of a martial art is the result of a highly personal choice, made
after numerous attempts at finding a system that suits an individual’s
build, temperament and inclinations. The harder the club is to find, the
more effort is required by the student, and this may say something about
their determination to the potential instructor. Marketing and selling
are seen as "flash" or inherently dishonest and contrary to
the philosophical and spiritual teachings that underpin the various
arts.
For those teachers who
are operating in such a manner, perhaps in some hard-to-find church hall
or pub room (or from home), accepting by invitation only an occasional
new recruit, this guide may well be of no use.
There is a second
group of martial artists who might view this guide with some suspicion.
They might concur with the views in the previous paragraph but are less
purist. They are the serious hobbyist running two or three classes per
week, sometimes in leisure centre venues. Occasionally they struggle to
meet the costs of rooms. They will resort to poster campaigns at times
of reduced attendances. I feel its worth pointing out:
That poster in the
foyer, the card in the newsagents window, shows that you have already
been marketing from time to time - you appear to want students!
Marketing is a
democratic process, it is very fair and honest, (in the hands of a fair
and honest teacher!), because it attempts to give the prospective
student exactly what they want. Thus by implication you get the students
you want, with less time wasters, dreamers, and wannabees.
You start to become
adequately rewarded for your time and effort. You will not be fleecing
students, (which I know is a criticism of more overtly commercial
martial arts schools), but using the principles in this guide you will
feel more inclined to ask for a fair price in return for the
"professional" teaching that you have long been providing.
Moreover, you will get the fees you demand, willingly. How you spend
this extra income is up to you. If your inclination is to replace worn
out kit or pay for a visit from a master rather than line your pockets
then I respect and admire you.
The money and effort
wasted on amateur promotional methods in the past will be wasted no
more.
If you operate
according to the principles in this guide you can deliver meaningful
messages about the art you practice and move away from hoping that what
you do is like by sufficient others.
The third group of
teachers for whom this guide is designed should need no persuading that
marketing and is important. They are the professional teachers for whom
the running of classes is either their sole means of making a living or
a means of generating a substantial second income. They may or may not
have their own premises or a network of clubs, but no matter what their
mode of operation they may not have had any training in marketing and
selling. As such they may be likened to a three legged stool,
technically excellent, but their knowledge of marketing and of financial
control may be hazy. A stool with such unequal legs may wobble or
topple.
So:
- If you are "doing good but not
doing great" (as an advert for the Department of Trade and
Industry used to say)
- If you are making a living but not
a profit
- If you don`t want to work harder,
but smarter
- Are thinking of starting a full
time centre
Then this guide may
well be of use to you.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
WHO SHOULD READ THIS
GUIDE.
FOREWORD
WHAT IS MARKETING?
THE FOUR P`s
PRODUCT -
The Martial Art Concerned
PLACE
PRICING
PROMOTION
ADVERTISING AND
PUBLICITY
SOURCES OF
PUBLICITY
SOURCES OF ADVERTISING
DEALING WITH
ENQUIRIES (SELLING)
THE MARTIAL ARTS
STUDIO
LOCATION
PLANNING PERMISSION
RENT, LEASE OR BUY
DESIGN ASPECTS
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE
HEALTH AND SAFETY
RECORD KEEPING
DATA PROTECTION
OBTAINING INSURANCE
PROGRAMMING
RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION OF STAFF
FORMING AND RUNNING
AN ASSOCIATION
MARKETING AND
BILLING COMPANIES
USEFUL NAMES AND
ADDRESSES?
MARTIAL ARTS PRESS
BILLING AND MARKETING COMPANIES & SIMILAR
EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS
INSURANCE
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