03/16/2022

11 Ways to Revitalize Your Business Operations This Spring

With nearly three months in the rearview mirror, you likely have a good grasp of what’s working for your business this year — and what’s not.

And…at this point…you know what goals have been accomplished 🙌, and which goals are on the back burner…collecting dust 😕.

While no business should wait until the start of a season to evaluate their current plan, processes, and systems, if you need a starting point, Spring is a great time to assess your progress — and hit the reset button, if needed.

Use these simple steps to give your business a boost this season:

1. Spring clean your website

Maybe one section of your business website looks completely outdated. Maybe another section could stand an image or two. Maybe the messaging in one area doesn’t exactly align with your business’ current brand.

Fixing the little details adds up.

Set aside a half an hour each day this week to review one of your website pages and tidy it up.

(P.S. Make it a practice to “spring clean” your website throughout the year.)

2. Refresh your marketing


If there’s one thing that’s certain about marketing, it’s that it’s always changing. There’s no better time than Springtime to take a step back and breathe some new life into your marketing strategies.

Research new trends. Invest in social media. Analyze your current efforts and campaigns.

Determine what’s effective. Figure out what’s not. Then…do more of what’s working. Table what’s not.

3. Clear the inbox

Digital clutter has been said to lead to anxiety and distraction. So, if you find your email inbox full of emails, it may be time for decluttering.

Take a couple hours one day this week to purge the contents of your email inbox.

Create folders to organize the emails you need to save for reference.

Get rid of the emails you no longer need.

Have daily or weekly newsletters sitting in your inbox that you‘ve never read or even opened? Unsubscribe. 

4. Go “all-in” on digital


Keep the declutter momentum going. Digitize systems where you can.

Start by taking stock of all your business systems: sales, marketing, membership, finances.

Which areas still have paper trails? Start there.

Set a goal of taking at least one document or function this week and turning it into an online document or function.

5. Get your studio “white-glove clean”

This handy tip comes from Action Karate Leader, Michael St. John. It’s one Action Karate schools follow all year round, not just Springtime. 

“The idea of white-glove clean is: If you had a white glove on and you touched a surface at your school, would the glove still be white?”

“At Action Karate, we start at the outside. Make sure our doors are clean, the front area is clean, and walk through.

Restaurants have their staff sit at their tables to see what the customers see.

Do the same thing.

Go sit in your parent area, where the parents are watching and see what they see.

Go into the bathroom that your students use and see what they’re seeing.

Sometimes we only see with instructor eyes or really because we’re there every day, we can be desensitized to the dust.”

6. Survey your members

Maybe your members would prefer a fitness kickboxing class on Tuesday nights as opposed to Wednesdays. Maybe a group of your students would be interested in a black belt club. Or becoming an instructor. You don’t know until you ask.

Gather feedback from your members by sending out a brief survey via email. Review the feedback and implement the improvements and program changes that make sense for your business. Discuss the changes with your team. Add the improvement items to your business plan.

(PRO TIP! Member Solutions clients: the MemberAssist app includes a built-in feedback form to gather input from your members. Post a sign at your front desk to let members know about the form and encourage feedback.)

7. Scrub your lead lists

Start by identifying those email addresses that have not engaged with an email within the past year. Place the disengaged email addresses in a separate list. Consider sending this list a special discount offer or message.

If the list remains unresponsive, mark the list as inactive.

Making a lead list cleanse a quarterly practice will help keep your email engagement rates high and your unsubscribe and spam rates low.  

8. Prep for Spring events


As the weather gets warmer, opportunities to grow your business MULTIPLY!

Connect with local businesses and organizations to find out what events are being held this Spring and Summer — and get involved.

Consider hosting your own outdoor boot camp, running a member appreciation week at your facility, or partnering with a local business at a community fair to get the word out about your business and generate new leads.

9. Turn old inventory into event registration gifts


Look at your inventory to see what hasn’t been moving. Maybe you have leftover T-shirts or another giveaway item from a previous marketing campaign or event lying around. Offer these items as gifts to people who register for your next event.

Use the gift to incentivize early registration. Announce that the first x number of sign-ups gets the special gift. Adding this incentive will create urgency and provide extra motivation to register. Plus, you can get rid of that box of T-shirts you forgot you had.

10. Block off a half hour on your schedule this week to pick up new business-growing tips


Set aside a half hour this week and give this webinar with Dave Kovar, Solomon Brenner, and Michael St. John a watch 👉 Getting Your School Ready to Scale.

As you reset for the Spring, you’ll be reminded how to develop a growth mindset and how to take meaningful measures to put yourself in the best position for growth and greatness this Spring season and beyond.

11. Evaluate and reset goals

 

Every three months (ideally every month), make it a point to review your goals and the actual outcome for each area in your business: marketing, member enrollment, member retention, staff training, instructor development, and finance.

You’ll likely find that you need to adjust your goals based on your past performance — and that’s OK! 

Goal evaluation and setting is an ongoing activity and a means to guide your business throughout the year.

The key is to make SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound), get the goals in writing, make an action plan around each goal, and stick with it. (and celebrate all progress — even the small wins!)

Spring to it!

 

While tidying up your business may not be your idea of fun, you’ll thank yourself later. Use that extra burst of motivation that kicks in during the Spring to your advantage. Take a few of these steps or all 11 to get your martial arts business ready and set for the coming months.

 

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