CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INTERVIEWS GRACIE BARRA JIU-JITSU GYM
FIELD MARKETING PROJECT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY EMBA AUSTIN (MKT 5310) SPRING 2020
Interview #1: Brittany I am interested to hear about the good and bad experiences you’ve had while seeking the best place to take your child for martial arts type activities.
Child’s Age: 5 years old
Were there enough good places to go to? Yes, lots of options. Looking for cheap and one day a week only, most are multiple day programs.
Was there a waiting list? If yes, how long? Yes, 6 months. I totally forgot we were even on the waiting list when they called me.
First impressions? High turnover of kids, but the staff seem very professional and friendly. The master seems legit and professional and takes it seriously. You cannot go to the bathroom during class or you have to “make up for what you missed” like do pushups or something.
How long has your child been enrolled in the program? 5 weeks, his first belt test is next week.
Concerns with methods or techniques? No, he wears a helmet and he absolutely loves it! He has one kidney, so that’s always a concern, but they don’t hit each other, they are just learning respect and focus etc.
Pricing expectations? We pay $50 a month. Other programs were like $120 per month
Any disappointments? None
Additional comments? Better communications regarding the wait list. They never told me how long or anything, so I was surprised when I got a call from the YMCA 6 months later to enroll him in the program. I had completely forgot he was even on the waiting list.
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Interview #2: Mandy I am interested to hear about the good and bad experiences you’ve had while seeking the best place to take your child for martial arts type activities.
Child’s Age at Enrollment: 11 years old
Were there enough good places to go to? There are a ton of places, almost too many options and that makes it hard to pick. I picked the one that is owned by a friend of mine. He has multiple world championship titles, and he is very committed to martial arts. He has a progressive outlook and takes the program further by trying different things like different sparing techniques, kinds of tournaments, etc. He also offers dance and fitness classes at his gym.
Was there a waiting list? If yes, how long? No, we signed up and got in quick right when he opened new gym in Cedar Park.
How long has your child been enrolled in the program? 2.5 years
First impressions? Bare bones at first, because it was such a new place. He had a lot of big plans, and now everything is coming together years later.
Concerns with methods or techniques? No, not at all. It is really safe.
Pricing expectations? His prices are really great, but they have gone up a little since he opened. He kept us at the original price for a while, but just this year, he increased the rate. I think we pay around $20 to $30 more a month ($129 I think) but the new rate now includes more like uniforms and competitions etc. that we used to pay out of pocket for (separate from the monthly rate). Most places seemed to be around $100 per month, our current place is unlimited, so she can go whenever she wants and for as long as she wants. She usually goes to the gym for about 3 hours on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Any disappointments? No
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Additional comments? I have a friend who had a not so great experience with another martial arts place: - 3 kids, potentially a lot of money for place. - Went for a walkthrough tour to see the place; caught her eye because they were doing a free 2week promotion (Facebook Ad). - She went there for the tour and someone just handed her an iPad and asked her to fill out some forms. Ipad didn’t work well, nobody explained what she was filling out, why. No one greeted her and just shoved a form in her face. - Very young teenagers working the front desk that weren’t very helpful and wouldn’t answer any questions, just insisted on her filling out the forms. - The owner walked by and saw how frustrated she was, her and her husband were about to walk out…. The owner stopped and gave them a tour and a free month for all 3 kids.
*IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS: Location – trying to be central to a lot of schools and be in an area close to neighborhoods. Time of class vs. traffic… its nice to have a bunch of time slot options for classes and different types of classes Price – as a consumer, it’s easier to have a website that lists the one monthly rate and what’s included. Maybe have a sibling discount rate would be nice. Listing many different rates and options is confusing and hard to decide without fully understanding all the options, etc. Having a trial class option is great to try out the program first. Like a free class or free week (includes 2 classes). Also, you should offer tours and one-on-one interview with someone prior to enrollment. How the instructor interacts with the kids. Do they lose their temper (yell at the kids)? Do they not pay close enough attention to all of kids? Is my child getting enough attention or are they being ignored? How much patience does the instructor have with the kids as well as parents? You should be able to enroll online as well as in person. The forms seemed pretty standard for anything you fill out for your kids (emergency contact, medications, etc.) Reviews matter! I check reviews for everything I do. Class size matters! The most I’ve ever seen in a class is 8 to 10 kids. My ideal class size would be 5 to 10 depending on age. Smaller classes for smaller/younger children. Late fees are a concern, so you should offer parents a grace period (maybe like a week) before instituting any late fees and/or canceling their child’s enrollment in the program.
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Interview #3: Krista I am interested to hear about the good and bad experiences you’ve had while seeking the best place to take your child for martial arts type activities.
Child’s Age at Enrollment: 6 years old
Were there enough good places to go to? Yes. I live near downtown Round Rock, and it feels like we live at the hub of martial arts places; it seems like there’s pretty much one on every corner. I went to see a couple of places, but location was my biggest concern/issue. Another big part of my decision was based on the way the owners interacted with us. The place we chose is smaller, and more personal. The owner actually sat down with us and went over everything. He was the only one that followed up with me, because he wanted to set up an appointment with us. He offered him (child) a free uniform and 2 private trial lessons to show him what it was all about, to gage his interest and see if he was even really interested in martial arts, etc. When I went to other places, they just wanted me to fill out forms. They did not really seem to care, and it felt very impersonal. A student was at the front desk, not an actual worker or employee. There classes seemed very large and chaotic, unorganized and superficial.
Was there a waiting list? If yes, how long? No, each group had 3 different class times they could go to and its for twice a week.
First impressions? That the instructor was very serious. It wasn’t only about money; it was that he actually cared. My son had to memorize “the creed” as a hw assignment between the first and second session; and if he couldn’t memorize this creed, the instructor wouldn’t let him in. He really wanted and pushed my son to fully commit to the program… give him some accountability to see how serious he was about doing it. The kids get a hw assignment every 2 weeks. Before they get to do their stripe testing, they have to have their hw assignment turned in and a practice sheet has to be filled out and must be signed off by a parent. Each lesson or hw assignment is over a different life lesson or moral principle. Being proud of yourself, accountability, responsibility, REAL life skills!
How long has your child been enrolled in the program? It’s going on two months
Concerns with methods and/or techniques? No
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Pricing expectations? I’d say we pay about $175 per month give or take plus the one-time equipment cost, which was like $99. Most other places were around $100 to $150 per month (ish). This place was a little bit more expensive, but the way he gets special individual treatment, private lessons, and smaller classes… I was willing to pay more. We did have to buy all the gear the first time around which sucks, but you have to have the gear to do it either way. We ended up paying like $1,000 altogether for the first six months upfront with the gear and everything. He told us how much we would have to spend for the gear (out of pocket), and then we chose to purchase all 6 months upfront rather than in payments, because you get a little bit of a discount if you pay for it up front. The instructor warned us that he (child) may start wanting to stay at home and play video games and not come to practice. NO, he made a commitment and has to go. The instructor keeps up on him as well as the parents. It is a family commitment we all made and signed off on.
Any disappointments? Other places just seemed very superficial. It didn’t feel like they were really all that interested and didn’t take the time, you know? It wasn’t about the student coming in and learning, it felt more like they just wanted your money. It wasn’t very personalized. You sign up and all they want/care about is your money. So far, I haven’t had any disappointments at this current place. Everything is going really good so far. They are doing all kinds of stuff online like contests on Facebook. For example, if you are out and about driving and have the Premier Martial Arts logo sticker on the back your car and they “catch you” by taking a pic of it and post it on social media, you win like $100 off. Which is a lot! The place we go to is very personalized. The instructor finds out and records what he is really interested in and is good at, and what he needs to work on. For example, “He is really good at doing crunches, but he has to work on his kicks.” They help him improve and get better by tracking his progress etc. They even offer free private lessons if he is struggling on something, or if you want to asses where he is at that point in time. Most places, if you want a private lesson, you are paying premium for it.
Additional comments? Social media is so big these days, and the place we go to does a lot of cool marketing on social media. They provide helpful information about events, offer tutorials, post about awards or any kind of fun game they are playing that day… referrals, etc. on social media / Facebook They do A LOT! They have cool marketing strategies, like for Valentine’s Day they gave all the students cute valentines cards to hand out to their class (like at school). They gave the students these cards for free and with each card was a 1-week free martial arts coupon. All the kids passed them out to their classmates.
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