Choosing a martial arts software for your business can feel overwhelming. With so many options to choose from, how do you know you are picking a martial arts software that will fit all your needs? Software tools help manage everything from communication, scheduling, member attendance, retail, and more, but does it truly provide you with all you need to make sure your martial arts business runs smoothly?
Here are a few must-haves a martial arts business owner should expect when choosing a martial arts software:
Having a martial arts software that has the tools in place to build your business and bring in leads is crucial to the growth of your business. Choose a software system that captures leads through your website that is simple and straightforward. Martial arts software that has a biz-builder website lead integration is ideal.
Many software companies fail to do anything more than having a unique widget/form capability. Leads get added from the website, but nothing else happens and you as the business owner are expected to follow up immediately or the lead is lost. Make sure to find a software that helps you manage your leads with automation and segmentation.
Choose a martial arts software that helps automate and segment your leads that come in through forms on your website. A software that sends a confirmation message, automated follow up email, and custom series of automated messages to prospects through email or text will set you up for success. By utilizing a software with a lead management feature, you have the ability to create a personalized, relevant message to prospects to help them reach a decision to join your school or BJJ gym.
Profit Center is a software tool that gives you the ability to let prospects sign up for a trial membership, sign a liability waiver form, and follow social media pages. Having a profit center tool is a great way to earn revenue before a prospect has even walked into your studio. It gives you the ability to create a trial membership template where they can purchase their membership through your website.
Finding software that also provides a fully integrated website is like icing on the cake. Do you need a website built by your software system? No, but it is definitely a plus! If you do decide to integrate a new website with your software, make sure to ask your potential software provider if the integrated website will have engaging content and branded fonts and images, if it will be secure and responsive, and if it will provide website analytics reporting. To learn more, read this blog post about what you need in a martial arts website.
Make sure to do your research on martial art software companies and how they provide customer service. The last thing you want is a software provider that gives you their software and that's it. They leave you to figure it out on your own. Choose a martial arts software that includes complimentary on-boarding and easily accessible customer service. A team that offers on-boarding training sessions, a point of contact for all software questions, and someone to help you successfully set up your business will help you grow your business smoothly and efficiently.
Another positive aspect to look for in a software company is one that actually specializes in martial arts. This guarantees your software will fit your niche needs and the company will know exactly what you need set up. Many software companies provide services for all different industries like fitness, yoga, martial arts, or Crossfit. This can pose long-term problems for martial arts businesses because the company may not make software updates that fit the industry. Choose a software company that is invested in the martial arts community and are experts in the industry.
When deciding on a software, always choose a software company that does a free live demo request so you can see how it is built, if it is user-friendly, and if it is easy to navigate. The last thing you want is a software that you can’t use.
Finding a martial arts software that helps to easily communicate with members/students is critical to your school’s operation. Make sure your software provides the following communication tools:
Setting up message flows for communication with students is a functional way to easily reach your students about announcements, class schedules, belt testing, and more.
Having a software system with a library feature is beneficial for your school because it provides an area where students can engage in your resources. An interactive area to provide your students with crucial resources will help your students learn martial arts on their own. Resources can include technique videos, testing forms, tournament recordings, training sessions, private lessons etc. Allowing them access to these videos on their member portal will increase engagement with your students.
Look for a software choice that has a check-in system that is easy to use for all ages. With a simple, professional check-in system, you can wow your members when they enter your martial arts school for class each week. This check-in screen should monitor attendance and allow students to see their attendance records. A software system that accurately tracks attendance is crucial to understanding the health of your school or gym. Upon a student’s arrival to class, the software should engage your student to smoothly check-in. And if for some reason your student doesn’t have time to check in, find a software solution that lets you come back later and check boxes of students that were in attendance.
Deciding on software for your business is not an easy task. Our goal is to help you in that decision-making process with what we believe to be absolute must-haves in your martial arts software system. If you consider these points, you’ll be on track to finding software that will help your business succeed. To learn more about Kicksite and our software features, visit our features page.