Why Christmas Is A Great Opportunity To Sell Martial Arts Memberships

Every year, I hear the same thing from martial arts instructors and school owners:

• “It’s Christmas, so no one is spending any money.” (Um, have you seen the stores?)
• “Things are going to slow down after Thanksgiving, so I’m cutting back on my marketing.” (That one always gives me a heart attack…)
• “I’m focusing on January, because of all the New Year’s resolutions people will be making.” (Better, but shouldn’t you be marketing now?)

Here’s the thing – regardless of what you may believe right now, Christmas is good, not bad for your business.

I know what you’re thinking – people are spending money this season alright, just not at your school…

But why exactly is that? Have you ever stopped to think it may be because you simply aren’t giving them a good enough reason to do so?

How To Get Christmas Spending To Work In Your Favor

Look, you shouldn’t let what people say about the supposed scarcity of money influence your marketing and business decisions. Those same people who claim they’re “broke” are going to spend hundreds and sometimes even thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on Christmas gifts this year…

So, why shouldn’t it be at your school?

Now, think about the lifetime value of getting some crappy schlock from the department store, versus losing stubborn pounds, feeling safe and confident, and having happier, more well-adjusted kids.

Crappy schlock on this hand, happiness and peace of mind on the other.

There’s no comparison.

So, that’s what you need to sell in your ads and marketing if you want to get people to spend their money at your school over the holidays. And, you have to give them an easy way to do it.

Step One, The Offer…

Step one in any marketing plan is always coming up with an offer. As I’ve said before, the offer is the most important part of your marketing, so make it a good one.

Don’t settle for what you’ve always done, especially if what you’ve always done has resulted in a lackluster response. Instead, tune your offer up so it immediately catches the attention of your reader.

Step Two, Get Your Offer Seen…

No one is going to buy if they don’t see your offer. So, advertise your offer everywhere you can think of:

• On your website (on the home page at the top, not on some obscure internal page)
• On your social media accounts (post about it every day!)
• On your storefront using banner signs, painting an ad on your windows with colored shoe polish, etc.
• In the local paper or parenting magazines
• In your email newsletter

And so on… just get the offer out there in front of as many eyeballs as you can.

Step Three, Make It Easy To Buy…

Don’t make it difficult for people to gift lessons from you for Christmas. Instead, make it as easy as possible.

• Sell gift certificates, both on your website, over the phone, and in person at your studio.
• Offer to mail the gift certificate for the buyer if they like, at no additional charge, with a nice card and cheerfully colored envelope, addressed to the recipient and “signed” by the customer.
• And, offer multiple forms of payment – cash, check, credit card, etc.

Always, always, always make it easy to buy from you. The easier and more convenient it is, the more likely that you’ll get some impulse buyers.

Step Four, Follow Up After The Sale…

Don’t just sell a gift certificate and be done with it. Follow-up with both the purchaser, and the person they gifted it to, and make sure they were satisfied with their purchase.

Also, make sure you help that person redeem their gift certificate. Sure, if they never show up and use it, and the thing expires, you just made $100 bucks or so for doing nothing.

Their loss, right? Wrong!

Never try to weasel out of serving a paying customer. Ever. Instead, you should be thinking about how you can get that customer for life. For life!

That means serving them in every way you can to ensure they realize the full value of their purchase. And, the value for you in doing so is the back end, meaning that should they become a regular member they are worth far more than just $100.

Repeat After Me: “I”m Going To Enjoy A Profitable Christmas Season!”

Yes, Christmas can be a profitable time of year for you as a martial art school owner, if you approach it with the proper plan and mindset. So, start today by following the simple steps I’ve outlined above, and make this your best Christmas season ever.