With new students certain to flood in this January, excited to try something new as part of their New Year’s resolutions, it’s your dojo’s time to shine.
But let’s be honest: without the right preparation, that rush can quickly descend into chaos for you and your team.
The good news? With a few smart adjustments, you can easily handle the January surge, impress your new students, and set the stage for long-term growth and retention. From simplifying sign-ups to running taster sessions, let’s dive into how you can prepare your club for the busiest month of the year.
Streamline Your Club’s Sign-Up Process
When potential students walk through your doors or land on your website, the sign-up process should be seamless. Any obstacles could mean lost revenue.
Start by evaluating how easy it is to join your dojo. Do you offer online registration? If not, you could be missing out on a significant number of sign-ups, as many potential students prefer the convenience of joining and paying online. Invest in club management software that enables online sign-ups, provides mobile-friendly forms, and allows instant payment processing.
For walk-ins, ensure your instructors are prepared to handle the January influx. Use a fast and efficient system to process new memberships, high numbers of class bookings and answer questions from new joiners. A well-trained team backed by user-friendly dojo management software can make all the difference in converting interested prospects into loyal students.
Make Taster Sessions a Priority
There’s an argument to say that taster sessions are a lost art. Traditionally, they’re treated as a quick tour of the dojo and a skim over the house rules. If that’s how you run taster sessions, you’re sleeping on a huge retention opportunity.
Taster sessions should help students feel confident and supported from day one, reducing the intimidation that some may feel when stepping into a dojo for the first time. Focus on personalisation: ask each student about their goals and comfort levels. Introduce them to beginner techniques and suggest other classes that align with their goals.
This approach not only builds trust and helps students see the value of what your club offers beyond just martial arts instruction, but also sets them up for success in those early days.
Use club management software to track who’s booked a taster session and assign instructors to make sure new students are being invited to book one. You can even automate the scheduling of taster sessions, track attendance, and even collect feedback. This data can help you continuously improve the experience while freeing up your time to focus on running the club.
Empower Your Team to Handle the Rush
Your staff will be the front line of your club during January’s busy season, so make sure you give them the tools they need to deliver an exceptional level of service.
Students new and old will have questions about sessions and curriculum, so your team should be on hand with helpful answers. Hold refresher staff training sessions to review customer service best practices and ensure everyone is up to date on policies, promotions, and management tools.
Additionally, use historical data from your dojo software to anticipate busy sessions and schedule staff accordingly. Ensure you have enough team members to handle demand; consider amending class sizes based on instructor availability. If you can increase the number of classes and reduce class size, you’ll be able to deliver better instruction.
Leverage Technology to Improve Retention
While January is a fantastic time to attract new students, your long-term success depends on retaining those new starters for as long as possible. The key to keeping students coming back for more is creating a positive, supportive environment where they feel motivated to stick with their martial arts goals.
Stay in touch with students through automated emails, texts or app notifications, whether it’s to welcome them to the club, remind them about new sessions, or encourage them to book classes. Track activity and reach out to those who may need a little encouragement to return. A simple “We’ve missed you!” email can go a long way in building loyalty. Personalised communication shows students you value their experience and keeps them engaged during those vital first few weeks.
By streamlining sign-ups, perfecting your taster sessions and making sure your team is ready to handle the rush, you’ll create an experience that keeps students coming back long after their new year’s resolutions fade. The right club management software can help you stay organised, and connected with your students, and keep everything running like clockwork. Get your processes in place now, and you won’t just survive January, you’ll thrive!
ClubRight is the go-to management software for martial arts clubs, taking care of everything from membership management and billing to class bookings and online joining—plus a whole lot more. Give us a call today on +44 (0)203 884 977 or book a free online demo with one of our product experts to find out why we’re trusted by more than 1000+ fitness businesses across the UK.
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