In the last news letter I commented on the economic climate and the fantastic ability of our industry to be resilient in the face of the difficulties other industries and professions are suffering. Having now seen the like for like agreement figures for schools for the first two months of 2011 I am even more convinced of this resilience as we have seen a 4.9% average increase in gross annualised values across all schools. And a number of fantastic increases of 10%, 20% and even 45% in some businesses.
It is too early to fully analyse the contribution made by the NEST Bakugan promotion which hit in January, but we have heard great success stories from many schools who took the decision to fully engage with this initiative.
Much is still to play for this year as opportunities will continue to be available; but it is crucial that all school owners do everything possible to achieve a great first half year without relying on the September upturn in the market. It is surprising what a boost to your confidence it can be when you reach, or exceed, your goals for the first quarter as many will. But even if unforeseen circumstances, including weather, have not helped in this early period don’t let it depress you as demand is still there and you can still achieve great results if you focus on your marketing promotion and continue to give great service to your existing students.
At NEST we are investing significantly in major promotions to help you throughout the summer. In designing the promotional activity we acted on feedback from you when we were told that we should put more effort to acquiring adult students as well as children this year. This has resulted in our link with Lucozade Sport in addition to the work on Kung Fu Panda and the ASDA connection and full details of these promotions are included later in this news letter. We will also provide a full customer briefing of the promotions at our next network meeting on the 13th April.
Finally, we have a number of new computer aids to help you with both getting and keeping students. These include this month’s release of a new prospect system, and our mobile phone attendance system which will be showcased at the Martial Arts Show in May.
I wish everyone all the very best for success and I look forward to seeing you at the network meeting and the Martial Arts Show. In the meantime, if you need any help or guidance in any areas of your business please do not hesitate to call us.
Very best wishes,
NEST, martial arts membership software
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