Your unique selling proposition is the short answer to why a prospect should choose your school over every other use of their time and money. Most schools never define one because they try to be all things to all people. The clearer your appeal to a specific audience, the higher your marketing response will be, even though you will repel everyone outside that audience.
Key Takeaways
- A USP describes what you offer customers above and beyond your competitors.
- Many schools try to be all things to all people and never determine what audience they want to attract.
- My schools teach martial arts as a means to develop strength of character for kids and their families, and every ad reflects that.
- Build your USP from your current curriculum, the profile of your average student and what motivates you to be at your school early every day.
- A clear USP will alienate part of the market on purpose, and that is what raises response from the audience you want.
- Your real competition is whatever competes for a prospect’s time and money, not the martial arts school down the street.
What a Unique Selling Proposition Is
In an earlier column, I introduced an important concept that deserves additional thought.
If you operate your school in a very competitive market, then you must develop a unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP describes what you offer your customers above and beyond your competitors, and will enhance prospects’ experience.
Why Most Schools Try to Be All Things to All People
How does that concept apply to your martial arts school? First, many martial arts schools attempt to be “all things to all people;” and school owners never thoroughly define their school businesses and determine what audience they want to attract. For my schools, we teach martial arts as a means to develop strength of character for kids and their families.
What does that mean in practical terms? My ads never present the most effective self-defense strategies, fitness, weight loss, the sex appeal of cardiovascular conditioning, winning tournaments, etc. My ads feature confident-looking kids, with copy that explains some aspect of character development for kids.
The most important factor to position your school against the competition is to determine what competes for prospects’ time and money.
How to Define Your Own USP
What should your USP be? Start by looking at your current curriculum and student body. Assuming you are relatively happy with both, determine the components of your curriculum and the profile of your average student. Next, what is it about running a school that motivates you? In other words, what excites you about teaching that compels you to be at your school early every day?
Why Alienating Part of the Market Is the Point
Once you’ve evaluated your curriculum, profiled your students and determined your primary driver to run a school, you are then ready to position your school to be much more attractive to your target audience. In doing so, you will also alienate a segment of the market. Ultimately, the clearer your appeal to your target audience, the higher response your marketing will generate from your target audience. Those who don’t fit your profile will be repelled, or stated another way:
“You will not appeal to everyone. In fact, certain USPs are designed to appeal to only one segment of the market. There is a vast gulf between upscale clients and bargain seekers; and you probably can’t reach them both. Which do you want as your market niche?” said Jay Abraham.
Identify What Really Competes for Your Prospects’ Time and Money
The most important factor to position your school against the competition is to determine what competes for prospects’ time and money. That is your real competition. If you are focused on fitness, then you are competing with health clubs and weight loss centers.
My focus on character development for kids puts me in competition with alternative sports activities as well as schools, such as Sylvan Learning Centers®. For self-defense, you may be in direct competition with concealed weapons permits, mace and stun guns, among other self-defense alternatives in the minds of prospects.
It is important to position your form of martial arts training as being a better use of prospects’ time and money than competing activities.
We Are Not Fighting for Market Share
We are in a potentially expanding market for martial arts lessons. Unlike the battle between Coke® and Pepsi® or Coors® and Budweiser®, we are not battling for market share. We should be actively convincing a larger portion of our prospects to become interested in martial arts training. Less attention, therefore, must be paid to the martial arts school down the street and more attention should be paid to expanding the market for everyone’s benefit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a USP for a martial arts school?
A unique selling proposition describes what your school offers customers above and beyond your competitors. In a competitive market it is what separates you from every other school and activity a prospect could choose.
How do I figure out what my school’s USP should be?
Start with the components of your current curriculum and the profile of your average student, assuming you are relatively happy with both. Then identify what excites you about teaching and compels you to be at your school early every day, and build your positioning from those three answers.
Won’t a narrow USP cost me students?
Positioning your school for a specific target audience will alienate a segment of the market, and that is intended. The clearer your appeal, the higher the response your marketing generates from the people you actually want.
Who is my martial arts school really competing with?
Whatever competes for your prospects’ time and money. A fitness-focused school competes with health clubs and weight loss centers, a character development school competes with alternative sports and tutoring centers, and a self-defense school competes with concealed weapons permits, mace and stun guns.
Should I market against the school down the street?
Less attention should go to the martial arts school down the street and more to expanding the market. We are in a potentially expanding market and should be convincing a larger portion of prospects to become interested in martial arts training at all.
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Grand Master Stephen Oliver, MBA, is a 10th Degree Black Belt and the Founder and CEO of Mile High Karate and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, one of the martial arts industry’s leading coaching and consulting organizations for professional martial arts school owners, BJJ academies, and MMA gyms. A martial arts school owner since 1975 and business coach since 1985, Oliver has spent more than five decades building, operating, and advising successful martial arts schools. He also serves as CEO and Chairman of NAPMA (the National Association of Professional Martial Artists) and Publisher of Martial Arts Professional magazine. A Georgetown University cum laude graduate, he earned his Executive MBA through the Executive Program at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. He was promoted to 10th Degree Black Belt in April 2026 and inducted into the Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame in August 2026. Learn more at MartialArtsWealth.com and StephenCOliver.com.
