MA Business Success 55: How to Create a Strong Brand Presence for Your Martial Arts School

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Phil: We've got another cracker for you today guys, it's all about how do you build great presence around your brand? I don't mean the presents that you get at Christmas time. I mean the presence that you have in your community, in your environment and more importantly it's about your brand. Like how do people see you? Are you blended in with the other Martial Arts schools or businesses or do you stand above? Graham?

Graham: Phil, let's talk about ourselves first and how we did it and then let's just share some of the strategy and things that you guys might want to just be aware of. I know, geez when we first started our company at WAIMA and we joined forces. We really wanted to make sure we stood out, because at the time there was a trillion different Martial Arts studios. Goodness! It's one of those things that you can get lost in the crowd very quickly. Plus, you've also got to make sure that...

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MA Business Success 54: How to Survive an Economic Downturn & Be Profitable in the Long-Term

 

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Graham: It's probably across the globe. I don't believe that anybody is sheltered from this, and it’s talking about the economic downturn.

Having spoken with quite a few friends in the industry, everybody's feeling the pinch. Whether they like to admit it or not, it's out there. So, what do we do to weather the storm? How do we get through this, how do we make sure that we keep our staff and our team motivated even when sometimes the numbers are lower coming to your business, or you might be losing people or again, there's your financial burdens put on you, and there's some challenges there. Let's tackle the first and foremost.

Phil: Yeah, I just think I'll mention to you also, when Graham and I first went into business together in 2008, there was a massive downturn. It's just circumstantial, I guess with the relationship we had, the business that we were trying to do, we actually grew...

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MA Business Success 53: How to Turn Your Martial Arts School Into the Apple of Its Industry

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Graham: Well, what is culture, Phil? You know? There's going to be a few guys listening that are just going to be thinking, "Well, it doesn't really make sense. What do you do?" It's your values, what you stand for, the image of your business. You, as the owner, what you like to have as your...I guess, how your staff operate. If you're just a one-man band, what do you stand for? I guess, something that we've really identified with us is, you know, how we like to treat our guys. And, again, the saying, "When the boss is away, the mice will play." Or in this sort of case, if you are looking to step away from business, you want to make sure that your team operate at the same level of professionalism when you're there to when you're not there.

So what we've done is to really gonna break it down into a few little parts first and foremost. So what we've done is, we have a mission statement, a vision statement, we...

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MA Business Success 52: How to Use Charisma to Stand Out from the Crowd & Beat the Competition

Watch the video below Listed to the podcast below Graham: Today, we've got a really exciting topic and it's all about charisma. Now first and foremost, we've got to identify, what is charisma? That's a really tough thing to try and bottle and try and summarize. It's all about the energy in your business and really what we've done is we've identified, Phil, that using the example...and we use this a lot when we talk about charisma and helping people to understand it...is imagine having two restaurants side by side, serving the exact same food with the exact number of staff. One is absolutely packed with a waiting list for months and the other is just empty. What is the difference? Well, it's the energy I bring to it. So how do you summarize? How do you teach energy? And I know the part about teaching strategy is enthusiasm is caught, not taught. But there are certain things that we have distilled down on our journey and reflecting back on our own business that we've identified....

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MA Business Success 51: How to Introduce a New Martial Arts Program to Your School

Watch the video below Listed to the podcast below Phil: And today our topic is on how, when and should you start a new program within your school. Graham, what have you got, man? Graham: All right, a can of worms. We've had a couple of our coaching clients. A big shout out to John Donahue. This one's sort of targeted at you, mate. Plus, also, quite a few others that have asked the questions. Income streams in your school. You've got your primary system that you operate with, and that's your bread and butter, the one that you've grown with through your entire history. But you're looking to potentially attract a new client, or a new type of group to your school. Should you do it? When's the right time and how do you go about it and all the rest of it. So, I know that in particular, John was talking about adding in kids curriculum. And that was something that they haven't had in their program before so, there were lots of questions in and around that. Plus I've got a couple of my...

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MA Business Success 50: Paid Trials vs. Free Trials - The Pros and Cons of Offering Trial Periods

Watch the video below Listed to the podcast below Phil: And we're coming at you with another great topic to help you guys take your school from where it is to where you want it to be. So today's topic that we're going to be talking about is something that gets addressed a little bit with people who contact us, and even we at our school toy with both of these type of topics. And what we're talking about is paid trials versus free trials. Graham, what've you got, mate? Graham: You know, we've done full circle, Phil. We've done full circle and will continue to do that as the market changes and the climate and people's needs change. Free trials, you get every man women and dog, and volume, definitely. But then you talk about the pay trials. You're looking to qualify people a little bit more. You tend to have people probably a little bit more serious that come to those ones. But again then you're looking at, I guess your sales strategy. Better make sure that's locked down tight because...

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MA Business Success 49: Conventional vs. Modern Marketing Practices - How to Market Your Martial Arts School Effectively

Watch the video below Listed to the podcast below Graham: What are we looking at? Phil: I don't know, there are so many different options out there. Like you said, you can run a competition, a likes and a shares competition. You can run a free membership competition. It could be just literally adverts of advertising your school, a special discount or offer that you're doing. So it's all these. There are so many different opportunities out there to test and measure the market. I don't really have one that works better than anything else. The way I sort of see it, personally, is Facebook marketing is just like any other marketing. It's just another touch point. And as Graham mentioned, we don't put all our eggs in one basket. I think the statistic last time I heard is something about 16 times someone has to see your brand before they make a buying decision. That's why you've got to have at least 10 to 15, to 16 to 20 things going on at once. Which means internally in your school,...

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MA Business Success 48: How to Give Your Customers an Enriching & Engaging Experience

Watch the video below Listed to the podcast below Phil: Well, we've got another cracker of a topic today. Graham came up with this one in particular, because with some of our coaching clients, we've been discussing this recently. The topic actually is, "Has the consumer changed?" You know like, from 10, 20 years ago, to now, has the consumer changed? Are they easier now, or is it harder now? Are there certain things you have to do that is different, or is it the same? Graham? Graham: Look I definitely, personal opinion and you guys might have your own sort of chime on this. I feel that people have changed a hell of a lot. What they expect for their dollar, nowadays, is ten times more than what it used to be when times were good. Now, I'm speaking generically about the GFC - Global Financial Crisis, so for all of our listeners all around the world here, this may hit home to you, it may not, but certainly I know that in places where I speak to clients, in America, on the East Coast...

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MA Business Success 47: How to Create an Engaging, Compelling & Concise Rotating Curriculum

Watch the video below Listen to the podcast below Phil: We're coming at you with another podcast with great tips, tools, and strategies on how you can transform not just your business but your life also. Because, you know what? Isn't that why we're in business, Graham? Graham: Oh yeah. Phil: So we can get the results that we want. I nearly cut you off there. And getting the results that we want in business so we can have the life that we want. That's what we're here to help you with. Graham: Today's topic comes from one of our viewers, one of our listeners, Jack O'Valley, who actually we do some personal coaching with. He was wondering all about curriculum, creating curriculum and class plans, and how to do that. I know that we've had the pleasure of sharing with Jack a little bit on how we operate, but geez, what a monster of a task if you are looking to get what's in your head, get it out, and have your team be able to follow. The real reason behind it is to be able to start...

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MA Business Success 46: How to Host a Martial Arts Event & Increase Student Numbers

Watch the video below Listen to the podcast below Phil: And we're coming at you once again with another amazing podcast, helping you guys get to the next level of business and personal life. Graham, I believe you got a pretty cool topic for us tonight? Graham: Already, this one's quite a big one, Phil, events and marketing. Now, chatting with lots of the different clients over the many months and years that we've been involved with them, they're talking about marketing for the future, what's changing. The old traditional market from years ago is definitely still valid, but you've got to innovate. And I guess what we're looking at is events and marketing - we would find out at our WAIMA schools they both go hand in hand - and understanding what are they for. Really, what is the event for, and how do you market that? Is it for a retention of students? Because, again, that's something that is really, really important. If you are starting new people up, but you're losing just as many,...

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