Start the Summer Camp New Year Out Right

Be intentional on January 2 and increase your retention rates.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

• Run your cabin (group) lists from last year.  Highlight all of those campers who ARE registered for 2014.

• Identify the 'OMG' kids.  Work with your leadership team to identify the campers you expected to be first in line to return and yet, they have not enrolled for the upcoming summer.  Individually connect with each of those families and be very deliberate about getting them to register or determining their reason for hesitancy.
• Look for trends.  How many campers and camper weeks did you have at this time last year as compared to right now?  If you are ahead or behind, determine the reasons and proactively respond to continue the positive momentum or reverse the negative trend.  Is there a common complaint from the 'OMG' families?  If even a few families verbalized an area of concern, you must take their input seriously and address the issues.  Are there gender or age groups that are particularly soft?  If there were group or programmatic issues, resolve the problems and 'market' those changes to the involved families.

Do you want motivation to take this advice?  Then you should know that these very simple steps have helped clients increase retention from 3-5%.  Go for it!!!

Joanna

Need an objective perspective on any aspect of camp?  Give me a call at 310-451-1876 or email campconsulting@verizon.net

(Note from Travis:   We are so thrilled to be posting the always brilliant HINTS from camp consultant Joanna Warren Smith!  If you don't already you should sign up to receive theses HINTS in your email - in the right-hand column of Joanna's website: http://camp-consulting.com/)