Are you in the right catchment area for karate lessons or would you be better off in a community hall a mile down the road? Do you understand your customer base and what are your credentials?
Reputation is key. Have you considered approaching local mother and toddler groups, as they may have older children who would like to learn in after-school clubs? Otherwise universities, church groups and schools — make a list of the buildings in the area that have a ready audience and approach them with a trial package in lessons or an in-house demo. Could your local newspaper run a story on you? Get out there and make your presence known.
Some friends of ours started Knightsbridge Fencing Club five years ago with a handful of students. They worked endlessly and tirelessly to build a business and now have a thriving school teaching children and adults. It took a lot of time, patience and creative thinking but this is when your reputation is vital.
Once you have a larger following consider entering competitions and always remember to brand everything so when your team wins and the photos are printed your logo is visible.
My friend Nicky Gumbel gave me some very wise advice: “Remember a river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but its persistence.”
Jo asks..
Max Henderson, co-founder and managing director of Hot Pod Yoga, says: “Paid promotion and advertising on social media can be a very cost-effective way to reach targeted audiences quickly, cheaply and with minimal legwork.
“If you can then find a way of tracking who you attracted from the promotions you can understand your return on investment and establish whether it’s worth spending more."
“Engage with and incentivise your customers to bring along friends in return for a deal of some sort (a free session, for example). Tapping into local networks can be really helpful. Rather than having to reach every potential customer yourself, engaging with local networks may enable them to do it for you."
“Can you get a local school to include an offer in a mailer? Is there a university you can communicate through? Is there a football club?"
“If you can get one person in any of those networks excited about what you’re doing, they may well encourage the rest of their network to get involved.”
