In their fantastic book, “The Go Giver”, by Bob Burg and John David Mann, the authors define your worth in the world of work with this question, “How much more can you give in value than you can take in payment?” Answer this question well, and you will be on your way to operating a highly successful martial arts school.

Value added services are complimentary offerings that add to the core value of your programs.  Teaching great classes in a clean and modern facility is a great start, but if you want to increase the value you represent to your students, then you are going to have to come up with some extras that don’t necessarily cost you money, and more importantly, leverage the relationship you already have with your students.

Here is a list of questions you can ask yourself to get started on some value added service ideas. While you go over this list, remember the platinum rule, “Treat your customers the way they want to be treated.”

1. What media can I create that will help my students learn faster or encourage them to practice at home.
2. What media can I put on my website that my students could access when they can’t get in to see me in the school?
3. How can I leverage my website and email to increase communication with my students.
4. What other types of communication can I use to help my students feel like I am listening to their needs and wants?
5. Are there any extra classes that I can offer to increase the skill and knowledge, or interest of my students?
6. What guest speakers from the community can I invite to talk to students or their families on a topic they might be interested in?
7. What additional training can I offer my employees (my most valuable customers) that would help them feel more confident and excited about their relationship with my school?

There are countless questions that you can ask. Asking is the starting point, and if you don’t look for value added services that you can offer to your members for free and that are of great interest to them, then your school will never be as good as it can be. After the questions are answered, get to work immediately on creating something and implementing it in through your operating plan.

Here are some examples of value added services that we have created and use with great success. It is only a starting point, and you should always be asking these questions and adding or refreshing your list of offerings

• Student handbook
• Belt tying video on our website, and one page belt tying instructions hanging in every hallway and classroom, and available from an instructor or the front desk.
• Instructional DVDs
• Member’s only website
• Instructional videos on our member’s only website
• Testing procedure guidelines for Black Belts
• Black Belt testing journals
• Simple, index card size promotion reports for students to receive feedback from their instructor

There are a lot more and many are proprietary. The best ones are those that you will come up with on your own after talking to your parents and thinking about what they need and want. Grab a pencil and a piece of paper and take a few minutes to work on your business.

Matt Pasquinilli is the Executive Director of the non-profit Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdayton.com
Learn more about “The Go-Giver” here: www.thegogiver.com

by Dennis Schaefer

At our martial arts school every day presents a new opportunity for customer service. With our student population approaching 300 students and our parent population approaching 600- assuming most students have at least 2 adults involved most of the time- my job as school manager keeps me hopping.

Our philosophy involves parent investment and participation in assuring that their children/students are practicing the behavior and habits that true martial artists practice at home and school as well as here at the dojang. My communication with parent begins the first day the student comes to try class and continues as long as the student continues to study. That initial meeting also begins the process of customer service that keeps our retention rate at about 80%.

In that first parent conference, I give the parent a chance to speak first, to tell me how they heard about our school and what prompted them to give us a try. That way I can immediately respond to their needs by addressing how our school can meet them, rather than throwing out a bunch of information that may or may not be important to them. It personalizes the process from the beginning and starts the vital parent investment.

I do try to narrow the conversation to avoid comparisons to other schools or martial arts programs. It is much safer to explain our expertise than to get into judgments about other schools or programs. I prefer to let our school’s success – enrollment numbers and retention rate-speak for itself.

Parents are invited to take a tour of our school, to see what’s happening in other classrooms, then to watch their child’s class. Watching is encouraged, once again to start the process of investment in the program.

Our instructors are trained to spend the valuable time immediately before and after class to chat with the parents about their student’s progress and possible challenges. This includes their performance at home and school. It is also an excellent time to work with individual students on their forms. We try to maximize the number of times we recognize individual students by name.

Customer service continues with a space on each student’s test form for parent comments on both what we are doing right and areas they feel could be improved. We also do a yearly survey of parent’s satisfaction.

Communication is facilitated by a monthly online newsletter and a number of bulletin boards throughout the school. We have designated employees who handle questions on specific topics such as fees, schedules and student progress.

Each potential student who starts our 2 week free trial receives a hand written post card in the mail with an individualized message, welcoming them back. We also try to recognize birthdays. Students who have been missing from class for more than a couple of weeks receive a phone call or e-mail to check up on their status.

Keeping our facilities clean and comfortable, equipment repaired and up-to-date and staff well trained are also a vital part of our customer service mission.

There is no substitute for immediate and continuing communication with both parent and student. The sooner they realize the benefits on both levels, the more likely that you will continue a long and fruitful relationship.

Dennis Shaefer is the Operations Manager at the non profit Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio. www.aacdaton.com