How to Successfully Run a Back to School Campaign for Your Martial Arts Dojo

The back to school season is one of the best times of the year to run a specifically targeted marketing campaign for your dojo.
As a new school year looms ever closer and the summer comes to a close, many kids, of all ages and grades levels, are looking for extracurricular activities to keep themselves busy. In recent years, there has been an explosion in interest in the area of Martial Arts. People of all ages have shown a strong desire to learn them and with this has come an increase in the number of Martial Arts dojos offering lessons.

With that said, it is essential you set your school apart from the rest by running a successful marketing campaign. By showing off your best side to potential students, you greatly increase the likelihood that they will choose you for their lessons rather than someone else.

While anytime of the year is great to run a marketing campaign, the back to school season is especially important because it can lead well into Halloween, the winter holidays, and the New Year. Generally, students that start to attend Martial Arts schools at the beginning of their academic school years tend to continue their lessons throughout the entirety of the year (and often on into summer).

Below is a discussion on how to best run a back to school campaign for your Martial Arts dojo. Do a great job and you’ll no doubt have a successful year. Slack off and there is a good chance a large portion of your potential business will find somewhere else for their Martial Arts training.

Running a Successful Back to School Marketing Campaign
The back to school season is a particularly hot time for businesses of all types to start running special deals and offering new promotions. Even though your Martial Arts business does not directly relate to school supplies, you’ll find that the same customer spirit of investing in new products will correlate to investing in new activities.

Around the start of a new school year, parents are that much more likely to invest money in activities for their children. At the same time, children generally show more interest in getting involved with new hobbies and in continuing ones they have already started to pursue.

These are just a few of the reasons why the back to school season is so hot for Martial Arts dojos. Here are a few tips on how you can run the best back to school marketing campaign possible:

• Start Planning Early – Too many people wait until the last minute to begin planning seasonal marketing campaigns. It is essential that you start planning early if you want the best results possible for your Martial Arts dojo. Better yet, launch your campaign early. Mid-July should be the latest date that you start advertising your new offers. This will allow you to gain valuable momentum as the summer progresses.
• Provide Value – Advertising for the back to school season will do little to improve business at your dojo if you don’t add value to your offers. This means that you need to include a limited time deal or price reduction for lessons at your Martial Arts school. Reduced rates and deals will capture your audience’s attention, bringing them into your business and hopefully transforming them into long-term customers.
• Keep Things Simple – A simple marketing campaign is the most effective one. Rather than trying to reach every market, invest in a few primary promotional products. For instance, send a “back to school discount” direct mailer to potential customers, update your website, and print new flyers out to post around town.
• Focus on the Long Term – Back to school marketing is all about the long term. Of course, you want to get new students into your dojo as soon as possible, but you also want to make sure they stick with you throughout the entire year. Take the data you receive from your back to school marketing efforts and apply it through the year. Back to school is a great time to learn what your customers are looking for before beginning your holiday season advertising.

Additional Marketing Tips for the Back to School Season

Running a back to school marketing campaign – or any marketing campaign for that matter – is all about connecting with old students as well as bringing in new students.

Simply put, finding new students is much more difficult than encouraging former students to return. And it costs a heck of a lot more money. This is why it is so important to focus on reconnecting with old students in addition to reaching out to potential new students.

A great first step is talking with parents of your current students. Mention that you are looking for new students for the upcoming school year. Parents are great at getting leads on other kids that might be interested in learning Martial Arts from you.

Better yet, establish a referral system. Every time a current student/parent refers a new student, they are rewarded. If you implement such a system (and you definitely should), there is little doubt you will find it to be one of your best sources of income-generating advertising.

Another marketing tip for the back to school season is to call each of your former students on the phone where appropriate. Mention that you are offering a special promotion for all old students. Provide a small discount coupon (alternatively, you can mail this to them) and you are sure to find a few old faces back in your dojo in no time.

Select printingdojo.com for Your Back to School Promotional Needs

Even the best thought out marketing campaign will fall short if you do not invest in high-quality promotional materials.
Fortunately, printingdojo.com has you covered. The Printing Dojo is always the obvious choice for anything regarding Martial Arts printing. We have been creating top-of-the-line marketing and promotional materials for Martial Arts schools for years. In fact, we were the first company to specialize in marketing specifically for Martial Arts dojos. And everyone knows the original is always best.

By investing in the highest-quality promotional materials possible and using the marketing tips discussed above, there is little doubt that your back to school campaign for your Martial Arts dojo will be a success.