Your Culture Will Define Your Brand
The analogy I hear often from traditional martial arts (TMA) practitioners is that their school consists of individuals that combined feel like an extended family. I too, have experienced this and am grateful for the community TMA fosters. If you are a school owner though, there is a balance that must be struck between the customer/client, and student/family member. The branding of a school is reinforced by culture, and that is ultimately what people will be subscribing to. Even rural areas like where I live in New England there is access to multiple training locations, so it’s important to stand out, and even more so to retain your students. In the end, we do have competition for dollars, but letting that become your focus can seriously change your culture.
Where do Contract Cultures Come From?
Some schools have multi-month contracts they make you sign so that they can “guarantee” income. Often justifying this with statements like “well we have to pay rent” or “we still have a business to run.” For other businesses that function primarily on contracts (think telecom, construction, etc.) they do this so that they have something reliable and quantifiable to plan for their month, who they can hire, etc. In those industries this business model makes sense, but people aren’t just commodities. From my observations, I would posit that the Martial Arts Community generally treats humans with more humanity because of our understanding of the strength and fragility of human bodies. The contract culture is a trend that carries over from a by-gone era of TMA, and something that has outlived its usefulness. The way we treat people as customers will directly affect their views and experience of the culture we are trying to attach to our brands. Having a clearly defined mission, expected outcomes of fulfilling that mission, and methods for measuring those outcomes, can be clear measures of success for your school. Whether your goal is to make piles of money, or if your goal is community development, or helping people challenge themselves. You can make a mission that supports your goal. One case to consider is how Professor Brannon Beliso, a martial arts school owner in the San Francisco Bay area has enjoyed great cultural and financial success at his two school locations.
What can we do Differently Professor?
I had the opportunity to talk with Professor Beliso on the phone about some of his strategies and cultural values that they put into practice on a daily basis. Beliso is a strong advocate for establishing a culture focused on service. One of their cultural goals is to “treat every student like it is their first day.” (Beliso, 2018) The goal of this behavior is proactive service that ultimately leads to higher retention. He runs two school locations with nearly 1,000 students, and no contracts. His retention mechanism is focusing on his product first, and marketing second. That’s not to say marketing isn’t an important and powerful tool in establishing your brand, but nothing compares to the way you can make someone feel the culture of your brand. In regards to retention and people quitting, Beliso shared that when someone leaves your school that, “the day they quit isn’t really the day they quit, they’ve broken up with you way before that.” (Beliso, 2018) The other part that cements their culture is what happens when a student does decide they are going to leave the school. It is Beliso’s belief that “their exit should be as amazing as their entrance,” (Beliso, 2018) meaning he doesn’t sit them down in an office and give them the third degree on why they shouldn’t quit, or guilt parents of a student who doesn’t want to go. Instead, he meets them with gratitude and thankfulness.
A Culture Based on Strong Values Will Sell Itself
Now Professor Beliso isn’t in the mainstream press, but within martial arts circles, he’s quite the disruptor within the industry. He understands how his culture will actively display the values and mission. I knew about Professor Beliso first, because his instructor (Rick Alemany) is also my primary instructor’s teacher. So if Rick Alemany is my Grandfather in the Martial Arts, then Brannon Beliso is like an Uncle or a Great Uncle. Rick has produced hundreds of black belts in his many many decades of instruction. While I know a number of his other students too, I remember and maintain a professional connection with Beliso because of his dedication to innovation within the industry. So how is he doing with those 1000 students? He’s very transparent about his school’s income and often shares their earnings publicly. At the time of this writing, his two schools have grossed about $1.5M so far this fiscal year, with projections of hitting 2.1M by year end. With no contracts.
I’m not here to pad Professor Beliso’s ego or promote him in any way, because he’s too humble and doesn’t need his ego padded. His commitment to service sells itself. We can deliver traditional martial arts, within a modern delivery system, that is focused on our students and it will come back around to us. Same content, same forms, same punches, kicks, and locks; but delivered in a way that meets today’s students where they are at. For those of you out there that are instructors, I urge you to think about how your actions set the tone of the culture you’re creating. All the branding in the world can’t outshine the way someone sees you behave or not behave. If you’re losing students at your school (regardless of rank) perhaps it is time for you to take a look at how you are or aren’t reaching your students on a day to day basis, not just as a reactionary measure to them leaving.
People will Still Leave, Regardless of What you do.
Sometimes people also just leave, and no measures you take will stop them. They need a break, they need a change of scenery, or whatever led the decision. Contractually obliging individuals who need a break will only cause further negative impact on their departure which could possibly mean a short break becomes more permanent because they didn’t feel supported. They have their free will and can make their own decisions about their life. Some of the best product designers and forward-thinkers became successful, not for their short-sighted view, but for their focus and values for creating something great, and anticipating the future needs of consumers who would want their product. Culture is an essential component of the product martial arts schools are delivering, and we need to deliver a culture that is congruent with our values.
References:
Beliso, Professor Brannon. (2018, July 24). (D. Hartz, Interviewer)
- Martial Arts Business: How Culture and Contracts Affect Branding - August 14, 2018
- Ego in the Martial Arts - January 10, 2018
- Mysticism in the Martial Arts: Separating Fiction from Reality - September 28, 2017
Great article. I’m not a big fan of contracts, the benefits seem to go to the instructors, not the the students. Another hot topic in martial arts business right now is schools requiring students to wear their branded uniforms and equipment, which they markup.