There is a famous quote attributed to a well-known marketer, it goes like this; "I know that only half of my marketing dollars work, the problem is I don't know which half!" A funny quote, but unfortunately very true at the time. Back "in the day" it was impossible to track the performance of marketing efforts. That's not the case in today's world, which is a contributing factor to the challenges that the newspaper, radio and TV industries are facing. The buzz words of today's savvy marketers is ROI, return on investment. In today's tough economy every dollar counts. This is especially important for small business like martial arts schools. As small businesses, we simply can't afford to spend money if we don't know what our return will be. Plus, we must add in other factors. We all understand marketing is a very important part of our business. It is also important to remember it is only one of the cylinders that drive our engine of success. It's not going to do us any good to enroll 20 new students per month if they all quit in the first 30 days.

So as we go through our marketing plan, remember to keep in mind that everything we do in our school will affect how well our marketing plan works(see MASOU'S Success Engine). That being said, let's talk about our marketing philosophy. One of the biggest mistakes school owners make is to operate without a plan. Most owners have a tendency to react instead of having a plan. At MASOU we believe in the five P's; prior planning prevents poor performance. We have developed a plan that allows us to be fully prepared for all aspects of our marketing. We're going to accomplish this by instituting the MASOU "System 7."

The "System 7" is based on a wheel with spokes that drives leads back to the hub. Although relatively simple, like the wheel itself, it is in the preparation, planning and execution that make the wheel work. "System 7" is much like martial arts itself. In our training it is our first goal to master the basics. Once you have mastered "System 7," then we can proceed to more advanced techniques and programs. As a member of MASOU you will receive weekly and monthly reminders, plus materials that will allow you to stay on track and be fully prepared to execute the monthly marketing plan.

And through our "members only" discussion forum, you can receive answers to any questions you may have regarding implementation. The forum also gives you the ability to network with other owners and discuss strategies and implementation plans. "System 7" is a complete marketing plan; all you need to do is follow the system and execute the plan. "System 7" is designed to give you maximum impact for the time and effort you invest. A consultant once said "I don't know one way to get 40 students, but I know 40 ways to get one student." Well, that's fine if you want to run around like a ferret on cappuccino trying to juggle 40 things, but I would rather have plan that allows me to be efficient in the use of my time and energy. Listen fellow school owners; master the basics of MASOU's System 7 and you're going to have 90% of marketing done for you.