KGTKD
Yellow Belt
AoG sent me the following message, and with his permission I am copying it to a new thread to get other ideas as well.
"Hello.
I saw your posting where you mentioned that in 7 months, you have hit 70 students.
How did you do that? We would love to hear hints and tips on succesfull enrollment promotions.
I would love for you to reply to me or to post your ideas at the board.
I personally run a school and would like to hear new ideas.
AoG"
We started in August 2008. The first month we had a special of 48.95 including a uniform for one month of classes. This includes classes twice a week with an optional sparring class on Fridays. A week before their promotion month was over, we showed them our different plans - 12 month contract, 6 month contract, month to month (no contract) and Lifetime membership.
We made over 800 copies of our flyer and dropped them off at houses (predominately high socioeconomic areas). We left them stuck in the doors so people had to look at them to open their door.
We also advertised in the newspaper (no one responded to that form $600 down drain lol).
We believe in Families working out together, so our family membership is as follows: pay 2 full memberships and everyone in your immediate family comes for free. So if you have 6 brothers, your family is in luck! Our presumption was correct that people don't value free memberships and although we had some families of four that would all sign up, only 2 ended up staying (better for us) and the other two (usually the parents) would just come and watch.
Although we broke even by December, we had lost 2 students to financial reasons, and so we decided to keep our promotion until we were full. First month 48.95 (not including the uniform) and then decide if TKD if for you. They do have to pay for uniforms though (at $30).
If you refer a friend and they sign up past the promotional month, you get $50 credit towards tuition. We accept all major credit cards, cash, and checks.
In February, we were able to get a nice deal with the NBC affiliate tv station for a commercial spot right after the morning and evening news the first three weeks of each month for 600 a month. We made sure our phone book ad was a bit bigger than every other one in the page.
We do host birthday parties which kids love and we reach about 25 families at one time. The kids get a mini TKD class, and the birthday boy/girl gets to break a board in front of their friends and demonstrate their form. Last birthday party, the parents showed off their form as well!
In November we changed our sign from a multi colored banner to a HUGE black and white canvas banner that is visible from about 2 blocks. It has our logo, our name, phone number, and website. Thats it. It has paid itself over and over again.
We vacuum and clean twice a day, and are pretty obsessive about cleanliness. Our dojang number is our cell phone, so we can be reached at all times. When we receive a phone call we will call back within 2 days at the most. We charge very little for belt tests, and have pretty high standards.
AoG, I hope this helps.
I just checked my roster, and we are at 75 paid members, we have two after school programs (with 30 kids total), and have started two self defense classes at the local community college. We offered demos at the private schools, and received bids for after school programs. We are also involved in Red Ribbon Week, and give our stickers to volunteers.
We once read that it takes someone to have contact with your school name 27 times before they decide to come in. That means they have to see your banner, hear the name, see the banner again, and so on. After 27 times, they will come in. Thats taken from Guerilla Marketing (great book!!!!)
"Hello.
I saw your posting where you mentioned that in 7 months, you have hit 70 students.
How did you do that? We would love to hear hints and tips on succesfull enrollment promotions.
I would love for you to reply to me or to post your ideas at the board.
I personally run a school and would like to hear new ideas.
AoG"
We started in August 2008. The first month we had a special of 48.95 including a uniform for one month of classes. This includes classes twice a week with an optional sparring class on Fridays. A week before their promotion month was over, we showed them our different plans - 12 month contract, 6 month contract, month to month (no contract) and Lifetime membership.
We made over 800 copies of our flyer and dropped them off at houses (predominately high socioeconomic areas). We left them stuck in the doors so people had to look at them to open their door.
We also advertised in the newspaper (no one responded to that form $600 down drain lol).
We believe in Families working out together, so our family membership is as follows: pay 2 full memberships and everyone in your immediate family comes for free. So if you have 6 brothers, your family is in luck! Our presumption was correct that people don't value free memberships and although we had some families of four that would all sign up, only 2 ended up staying (better for us) and the other two (usually the parents) would just come and watch.
Although we broke even by December, we had lost 2 students to financial reasons, and so we decided to keep our promotion until we were full. First month 48.95 (not including the uniform) and then decide if TKD if for you. They do have to pay for uniforms though (at $30).
If you refer a friend and they sign up past the promotional month, you get $50 credit towards tuition. We accept all major credit cards, cash, and checks.
In February, we were able to get a nice deal with the NBC affiliate tv station for a commercial spot right after the morning and evening news the first three weeks of each month for 600 a month. We made sure our phone book ad was a bit bigger than every other one in the page.
We do host birthday parties which kids love and we reach about 25 families at one time. The kids get a mini TKD class, and the birthday boy/girl gets to break a board in front of their friends and demonstrate their form. Last birthday party, the parents showed off their form as well!
In November we changed our sign from a multi colored banner to a HUGE black and white canvas banner that is visible from about 2 blocks. It has our logo, our name, phone number, and website. Thats it. It has paid itself over and over again.
We vacuum and clean twice a day, and are pretty obsessive about cleanliness. Our dojang number is our cell phone, so we can be reached at all times. When we receive a phone call we will call back within 2 days at the most. We charge very little for belt tests, and have pretty high standards.
AoG, I hope this helps.
I just checked my roster, and we are at 75 paid members, we have two after school programs (with 30 kids total), and have started two self defense classes at the local community college. We offered demos at the private schools, and received bids for after school programs. We are also involved in Red Ribbon Week, and give our stickers to volunteers.We once read that it takes someone to have contact with your school name 27 times before they decide to come in. That means they have to see your banner, hear the name, see the banner again, and so on. After 27 times, they will come in. Thats taken from Guerilla Marketing (great book!!!!)
