Martial arts clubs build confidence, instil discipline, and provide community. Many students walk away not just physically stronger but with their lives changed for the better.
These aspects of martial arts training make fantastic selling points for your dojo. Capturing and sharing these powerful experiences in the form of testimonials is a fantastic way to attract new students and showcase the impact of your dojo.
Let’s explore how you can gather meaningful testimonials and use them as social proof to grow your martial arts club.
How to Gather Testimonials From Your Students
Students often experience significant personal growth at certain stages of their martial arts journey, such as after earning a new belt, participating in competitions or even training anniversaries. These moments are great opportunities to capture testimonials because students will be feeling positive and proud of what they’ve achieved. Ask them how training at your dojo helped them reach their goals and the impact it’s had on their lives.
You can also run regular, structured surveys that are short, easy to fill out and encourage students to share specific details about their experiences. Focus on asking open questions that lead to more thoughtful responses, such as What have you learned about yourself since joining the dojo? How has martial arts impacted your life outside the dojo?
Another idea is to leverage the power of social media by encouraging students to tag your dojo when they post about their achievements or experiences. This will help you reach more people and add to your dojo’s credibility.
Using Testimonials to Grow Your Martial Arts Club
Once you’ve gathered plenty of genuine, authentic testimonials, it’s time to put them to good use.
Include testimonials on your website.
Remember to include testimonials on your website’s homepage, online joining page and class descriptions to show prospects the tangible benefits that students have experienced at your dojo. You can even create a dedicated ‘Success Stories’ page to celebrate achievements and document progress. Try to present your testimonials in a variety of formats: short quotes, longer written pieces or perhaps even videos to appeal to different types of visitors.
Post Dojo Testimonials on Social Media
Turn testimonials into regular features on your social media pages. Post short quotes with engaging images of the student in action, or post video clips where students talk about how martial arts has changed their lives. Always include a call to action or a joining link that enables new students to find out more information and sign up.
If you’re looking to drive serious growth at your dojo, run social media ads that highlight the most powerful testimonials, particularly on platforms like Instagram or Facebook where personal and story-driven content performs best.
Showcase Testimonials at the Dojo
Don’t forget to display testimonials in the dojo itself. Create an ‘Achievements Board’ featuring photos and stories from students. This not only builds credibility with new visitors but also inspires current students by celebrating the accomplishments of others and reminds students of how far they’ve come on their martial arts journey.
Testimonials are one of the most powerful tools you can use to grow your dojo. By gathering and showcasing the real-life stories of transformation that take place at your dojo, you can stand out from the competition by focusing on trust and authenticity in your marketing. These authentic stories will help potential students see the life-changing benefits of martial arts – and encourage them to become part of your growing community.
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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