Your Half Term Preparation…
It’s not long before the kids are going to be breaking up for half term again, giving you chance to get something planned. Last week we spoke about how starting something early can not only be beneficial, but improve your chances of success as well. There is still plenty of time for you to start planning, so what will you do?
Improve Retention
One of the first and probably the easiest things you can do is look to improve your retention with current students. This can be done in numerous ways such as offering additional classes during the half term, providing extra one-to-one private lessons or hosting an event such as a party after one of your lessons.
You could also take a bit of extra time to go through your grading list (on myMA) and see who is due to grade soon. You could then look to provide some additional lessons specifically for these students aimed to help them prepare. This kind of approach shows you care and encourages them not only to give their best, but also to see you as a supportive figure.
Encourage Sign-ups
If you’re looking to get more students, half term can be a great time for you to do this. Parents will be looking to try and find something for their children to do and keep them busy, so why not make this one of your martial arts lessons?
You can also look to promote your classes through your current students by having them bring a friend to a trial class. This helps promote your school and classes by word of mouth, which is a great way to earn an element of trust from the beginning with the prospect. We have previously run some ‘bring a friend’ campaign materials which you may wish to utilise, or you could look to produce your own using these as inspiration.
Get the message out
When you have an idea of the kind of approach you want to take, be this retention, recruitment or both, you need to inform people about it. Of course there are quite a few ways you can go about doing this, so have a think about which is right for you.
For promoting your retention events, why not consider using the communication tools within myMA to send out an email or text informing students. You could also look to place posters up at your school and mention any additional classes you are running during your other lessons. These are nice cost effective ways to try and make your students aware.
For sign-ups, you approach can vary by what type of approach you are taking, so it is worth using the time to think about how to go about this. As an example, if you are opting for to promote a ‘bring-a-friend’ offer, it may be more beneficial to print some flyers and hand them out to students during lessons. If you are looking to promote a half term camp for new and existing students, you may wish to try advertising this through Facebook as this gives you some flexibility in terms of reach.
If you want some help with getting some of your ideas off the ground, advice on the best approach or some artwork ideas. Drop the marketing team at NEST an email or a call us on 0115 945 5030 and we will be happy to help.
