Robert Wolfe
21st June 2001, 17:10
We employ a variety of advertising methods to let people know that our dojo exists, including:
• Yellow Pages — For the 2001 directory (which in this area was published last month) we upgraded our listing to a small display ad with photos. To date in 2001, the Yellow Pages ads have produced 42% of contacts and 23% of enrollments. Given the cost of the new ad, I’m certainly expecting both the percentage of contacts and the rate of resulting enrollments to improve considerably…
• Brochure — We use a professionally designed, four-panel brochure, which we place virtually anywhere a member of the dojo can think of. (7% of contacts; 15% of enrollments.)
• Bookmarks — Bookstores will often allow us to place “free” bookmarks in the books in the martial arts section. (Also 7% of contacts; 15% of enrollments.)
• Internet — The dojo maintains an extensive web site, with an online journal. (10% of contacts; 8% of enrollments.)
• Referrals — As is usually the case, word-of-mouth advertising is best. (27% of contacts; 31% of enrollments.)
• Newspaper — The local Sunday paper includes a “For the Participant” page in the sports section, which runs free listings for area sports and activities. (7% of contacts; 8% of enrollments.)
So far this year, we’ve had 67 contacts and 13 enrollments, with another six people among the current crop of contacts likely to enroll. If those candidates come through, we will have converted about 25% of contacts to students. Average attrition is two people per month, so we’ve been holding steady at about 50 members overall. My goal is to reach an active enrollment of 75 by the end of the year, at which point I will breathe a big sigh of relief knowing that the long-term survival of the dojo is assured.
The Internet continues to play an increasingly important role in recruiting. Since the URL of our web site appears in all our print advertising, nearly everyone who has web access checks the site at some point in their consideration of the dojo. But something very unusual happened in the fourth quarter of 2000: people finding the dojo via a keyword search of the web comprised 25% of all contacts and 40% of actual enrollments. I had (up until that point) assumed the Internet would always play a supporting role, but in that period the website was our most productive and effective means of advertising. And it’s by far the most efficient — the website costs about $15 per month for hosting, compared to $130 per month for the new Yellow Pages ad.
• Yellow Pages — For the 2001 directory (which in this area was published last month) we upgraded our listing to a small display ad with photos. To date in 2001, the Yellow Pages ads have produced 42% of contacts and 23% of enrollments. Given the cost of the new ad, I’m certainly expecting both the percentage of contacts and the rate of resulting enrollments to improve considerably…
• Brochure — We use a professionally designed, four-panel brochure, which we place virtually anywhere a member of the dojo can think of. (7% of contacts; 15% of enrollments.)
• Bookmarks — Bookstores will often allow us to place “free” bookmarks in the books in the martial arts section. (Also 7% of contacts; 15% of enrollments.)
• Internet — The dojo maintains an extensive web site, with an online journal. (10% of contacts; 8% of enrollments.)
• Referrals — As is usually the case, word-of-mouth advertising is best. (27% of contacts; 31% of enrollments.)
• Newspaper — The local Sunday paper includes a “For the Participant” page in the sports section, which runs free listings for area sports and activities. (7% of contacts; 8% of enrollments.)
So far this year, we’ve had 67 contacts and 13 enrollments, with another six people among the current crop of contacts likely to enroll. If those candidates come through, we will have converted about 25% of contacts to students. Average attrition is two people per month, so we’ve been holding steady at about 50 members overall. My goal is to reach an active enrollment of 75 by the end of the year, at which point I will breathe a big sigh of relief knowing that the long-term survival of the dojo is assured.
The Internet continues to play an increasingly important role in recruiting. Since the URL of our web site appears in all our print advertising, nearly everyone who has web access checks the site at some point in their consideration of the dojo. But something very unusual happened in the fourth quarter of 2000: people finding the dojo via a keyword search of the web comprised 25% of all contacts and 40% of actual enrollments. I had (up until that point) assumed the Internet would always play a supporting role, but in that period the website was our most productive and effective means of advertising. And it’s by far the most efficient — the website costs about $15 per month for hosting, compared to $130 per month for the new Yellow Pages ad.