Though such marketing tactics as social media campaigns, producing tournaments, and using other traditional methods may help create opportunities for growth, it’s always important to keep things fresh. One prospect for martial arts school promotions, for some, can be offering discounted prices for memberships or drop-in classes. However, this isn’t necessarily a method that’s fit for every dojo. Here are some pros and cons to lowering pricing for your martial arts classes.

To Discount

Simply put, most people like a good deal. It gives students, especially prospective ones, an incentive to visit your martial arts school and experience what it has to offer. Though you may be grossing a smaller amount per class, the aim here is to acquire a number of new students. With a higher rate of class and membership sales, the small percentage that you lose out on from offering a discount should be inconsequential. Keep in mind that discounts should not last for an extended period of time and your new students should help sustain and grow your business.

Third-party services like Groupon (which is a daily deal provider that helps you promote your business to a large market and work to sell your services,) can be a great option for some martial arts schools. They are generally profitable for membership-based businesses, even though Groupon takes a percentage cut.

No Discounts Needed

Shopping culture has evolved over the past decade and discounting has become one of the most popular practices. Attracting new customers, of course, is the main focus, but offering discounts may not actually be effective for all businesses. Offering discounts may give off the impression that you lack confidence in your school, set a bad precedent (as people may just wait for another discount to come around), and lower the perceived value of your classes. At the end of the day, your profits are also reduced, which means you may have to work harder or cut costs elsewhere, in order to hit the same revenue goals.

It’s important to focus on the value of what you offer and what your classes and services are providing for your potential new students. Knowing your target audience can also go a long way, helping you better position yourself in such a way that makes martial arts classes more attractive. What you offer should be so appealing – such as safety, protection, discipline, and self-defense – that price is no longer an issue.

There are considerations on both sides of whether or not your dojo should discount. To help you better decide whether or not your martial arts business should offer discounts, it’s important to know where your finances stand. Xplor Recreation’s martial arts management software offers integrated marketing and built-in reporting, allowing you to create, run, and export reports that detail financial performance and much more. Learn more about our management software here.