Recruiting adult students in tough economic times

We are hearing from our clients across Australia and New Zealand that, in general, they are seeing a drop-off in the recruitment rate of new adult students. However, these schools that train children still see reasonable recruitment rates.

It is no secret that times are tough now. We have higher mortgage rates than we have seen for over a decade or more, and everything is going up in price. With less discretionary income, people are putting their children first.

So, how do you attract more adult students or position yourself for an upsurge in new adult students when things get better, as they invariably will?

Hold your membership fees

Keep your membership fees the same for the moment. We know that running your martial arts school costs are increasing whether you own your school or rent. But holding your prices when everybody else is increasing theirs is an excellent signal and may help retain some struggling members. Also, holding your membership fees helps families budget with more certainty when deciding if one of their additional family members (typically a parent) can also afford to join.

Offer a family discount

Most martial arts schools offer some form of family discount to immediate family groups. This is typically in the 25% - 50% off range for second and subsequent family members. In the scheme of things, this discount does not significantly impact your revenue and having family groups is good for building a great school culture.

Run a family class

While running separate Adult and Children's classes is good, a family class is a great way for family groups to train in the same class. But more importantly, it allows you to 'soft sell' to parents of other children in the class. Typically, many parents will sit and watch their children during class. If you get them involved in the warmup and any pad work and then give them some self-defence training, they will be primed to formally join once circumstances allow them to.

Target your marketing to different adult groups

Adult students are not a single market but are a diverse group of markets, each with its own needs.

Self-defence is at the top of many people's minds, so you could look at running self-defence classes for women and girls. You could also hold classes for older adults and retirees. These classes would be typically shorter than your regular class, and you can modify them to suit those with limited mobility and flexibility better.

The over-60s are one of the fastest-growing demographics, and many are looking for things to do to live longer with a good quality of life and find a new community to replace the workplace community that they left when they retired.