Filling the Emotional Bank Account Last month, we talked about building relationships with our clients and creating more value in our program than we sold in the initial enrollment.To re-cap, the essential keys to locking the back door for long-term student retention are: Over delivering on the customer expectations, clearly communicating the benefits the program for the student and the family, creating a positive community within your martial arts school, and offering exciting, productive classes that the client perceives to be valuable.

This month, I want to discuss some powerful, proven strategies for making deposits in a student and parent’s emotional bank account.

Each time you do something unexpected that adds value to your program, or the relationship with the client, you are making a deposit. For example, the “good job” note that the instructor sends to the student is something that both the student and his or her parents would see as a value-added service. This is a simple strategy and has a powerful result. At the end of each class, the head instructor and any assistant instructors should jot down the names of students who improved that day. Address the notes to those students and mail them. Your students and their parents will love it.

Of course, these emotional deposits must be made in the classroom as well. When you spotlight a student in a positive way in class, calling attention to his or her strengths or accomplishments, or give him or her a “high five,” you are making a small deposit. Each instructor must call out at least 3 to 5 students in each class in a positive way. Either have them demonstrate a technique they are really good at, point out a skill where they’ve made an improvement, or showcase how respectful that student was to the new guy in the class. Value-added events at your martial arts school are another way to exceed expectations and make that all important emotional deposit. Think from your clients’ perspective and identify what is of high value to them.

I had the opportunity recently to test drive some exotic cars. I’m a big car fan, so it was a real treat for me. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved the Lamborghini. So, I went to the driver’s fair, one with all sorts of exotic cars: Ferrari, Bentley, Bugatti, Rolls Royce, Porsche, and of course, the big Lambo! I was giddy with excitement! I slowly made my way around the facility, closely examining the cars that I’ve drooled over for most of my life, each a mechanical masterpiece.

The Rolls was solid, refined, with a sparse interior. The Porsche Elise was quick, light and stripped to the bone to increase its acceleration. The seats in the Bentley were like sitting on a cloud, and at about 135 mph you could hear a pin drop. And then…there they were…the Lamborghinis. There were several models, but I gravitated to the V12 Murcielago, and the V10 Gallardo.

Now, I’m coming to my point, stay with me. My expectations were that the Murcielago, which I’ve panted after for as long as it has existed, proved to be absolutely unmanageable. I don’t think I would take one if they gave it to me. On the other hand, the Gallardo proved to be an absolute dream! It was fast, powerful, but relatively smooth. I could actually drive it on a daily basis. While the Murcielago is more expensive, powerful, and many people would consider it to be more valuable, I did not. To me, the value was in the Gallardo and to feel that I could drive the car daily and be comfortable. The martial arts school owners have to put themselves in the shoes of the client. Teaching the next cool kick or the next weapon may excite you, but what is important is what the clients see as valuable. Are they interested in becoming more fi t? Then perhaps a special fi tness related event might be valuable to them. Are they interested in their child becoming more focused? Then perhaps a special session is where the value lies. It’s very easy and a common mistake to let your personal affinities and preferences distract you from understanding what your customers really want, need and desire. The more in-sync you are with their perception of value, the more effectively you can give them what they really want, need and could benefit from.

Next month, we’ll move to some tools and systems to clearly communicate the value of training in your martial arts school on a consistent and ongoing basis.

Toby Milroy is a 4th-Degree Black Belt, school owner, Mile High Karate Regional Director and NAPMA’s Director of Sales and Marketing. He can be contacted through MileHighFranchise.com or NAPMA.com.

It’s an unfortunate reality in our martial arts business that, despite our best intentions, students quit, for good or bad reasons.

It is an even more unfortunate reality that many schools do very little to prevent attrition. I remember buying a car once. At that time, I did not have a very sophisticated understanding of the sales process. Needless to say, I probably overpaid for the car by at least 10%.

In retrospect, I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. I didn’t do enough research to define clearly the exact worth of my car, the current loan payoff, and the current wholesale value of the car that I wanted to buy. In addition, the floor salesperson made a statement that stuck with me.

He said, “I can do a lot of things to make the deal happen, but I can’t change the laws of math.”

In many karate schools, very much the same situation exists. You cannot change the economics of marketing.

Without explaining all of the dry details, the following statement is almost always true: As a martial arts school becomes more successful, profitable and sophisticated, the more that school owner is willing to spend to acquire each new student. Some NAPMA member schools are willing to pay $500 to $700 per new student acquisition. This indicates a very sophisticated understanding of the concept of return-on-investment.

Even if your cost-per-new-student acquisition is considerably less than $500 to $700, then it’s easy to understand that it is much more cost effective to keep an existing student than to find a new one. You should certainly focus just as much effort on increasing student retention as your marketing activity.

Do the “math.” Divide all of your martial arts marketing expenses for last year by the number of students that you enrolled, and the answer is your cost-per-student acquisition. Once you calculate this average, it’s VERY easy to understand that it’s MUCH less expensive to do whatever you can to keep as many of your current students as possible.

The Essential Keys to “Locking the Back Door” for Long- Term Student Retention

1. Over-delivering on customers’ expectations at every turn.
2. Clearly communicating the benefits of continuous training at your school, not only to the student, but also the entire family unit.
3. Creating a positive “community” within your martial arts school.
4. Exciting, valuable and productive classes (Classes that clients perceive to be valuable).

#1 – Over-Delivering Customers’ Expectations: The Emotional “Bank Account”
The balance in your “Emotional Bank Account” is the level of “relationship” you have with your customers. This is very difficult to measure, but it’s VERY easy to “see” in a client and your school. Are your customers annoyed when they come to your school, knowing that something will go wrong, or are they excited to see you, and enthusiastic to “help” in any way they can?

Now, of course, there will always be those 10% of your students who will NOT be happy, no matter WHAT you do, and the 10% who would live in the school if you let them; and frankly, there isn’t much you can do about either group. What does your “average” client relationship “feel” like?

The key is always to make many, many more deposits into your “Emotional Bank Account” than withdrawals. When your client “bought” your services and enrolled in your school, you made him or her a “Promise”. You said that in exchange for X (tuition), you would provide Y (classes). The VERY MINIMUM you absolutely MUST do is to fulfill Y. Every time you fail to fulfill Y, as perceived by the client, you damage the relationship. (Keep in mind that your client may not share your perception of adequate service.) EVERY time you end a class 15 minutes late, little Johnny is overlooked in class, you ask your customers for money, or, in some way, violate your clients’ trust in you, you make a small withdrawal from that account. (Now, I’m not suggesting that you can never ask your clients for money, but you must always be delivering MUCH more value than they are “paying;” no one likes to be “nickeled” and “dimed” to death.)

Next month, we’ll tackle making deposits in the account and more!