A 'HINT' of New Year's Resolution - Joanna Warren Smith

Travis Allison January 2, 2014

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/)

A "HINT" To Avoid: "BUT, IT'S THE WAY WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IT!"

Travis Allison October 31, 2013

Effective Summer Camp Marketing from Joanna Warren Smith

Can anyone recommend a great summer camp?

I hear this too often from day, resident, travel, private and not-for-profit camps ... especially regarding marketing and promotion. Even if efforts have not proven productive, Directors repeat the same routines expecting different results in spite of Einstein's definition of insanity.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

MAP OUT YOUR YEAR-ROUND MARKETING PLAN. Yes, put it all on paper and be deliberate to maximize efforts during promotional seasons. Right after camp is the optimal time to communicate with parents and campers about reasons to return while May is the perfect time to invite not-enrolled inquiries to tour during the summer to see camp in action. Complement efforts with Social Networking, but realize that those platforms do not provide total saturation.
FOCUS ON MONTH-BY-MONTH EFFORTS. Targeted, personal outreaches are essential to 4 different networks ... 2013 Parents, 2013 Campers, New Acquisitions and 2014 Families. Many camps have actually separated the 2014 group into Parents and Campers with measurable results in the subsequent year's retention rate.
CREATE A VISUAL CHRONOLOGY. Utilize a binder to maintain all communications in a chronological order. This is very different than storing items in folders on your computer. The visual presents a powerful picture of what you are doing, what is missing and how you can refine efforts to increase enrollments.
TRACK RESULTS. Compare marketing efforts to enrollment patterns to secure indicators of positive and negative responses.

It is still early enough in the recruitment year to capture all of your efforts since camp ended. Take the time now to organize your marketing plan to increase 2014 enrollments and set the stage for a more strategic, cohesive promotional effort in the future.

Joanna

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

An Urgent Heads-Up "HINT" - Joanna Warren Smith

Travis Allison July 9, 2013

Summer Camp TV Show Gives Negative View

Camp - Television series Photo credit - promotional material

NBC is launching a new series on Wednesday, July 10 which features lots of "Rivals, Activities & Hook Ups" called - you guessed it ... CAMP.

According to tv.com, the show "promises to satisfy all the nostalgia we might have for summer camp without the teary-eyed phone calls to mom begging her to pick us up. The series stars Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under) as a recently divorced camp director who's back on the job and back on the hunt for loooooove, and the setting allows for plenty of raging teen hormones, mean girl cliques, and poison ivy-masturbating jokes."

Certainly, our industry has weathered other questionable portrayals of the camp experience; however, they may not have been quite so suggestive.

Most parents and even kids will likely recognize the exaggerated portrayal, but it still would be wise to have some conversations with those who answer the phones and staff who will talk with parents on opening/closing and visiting days.

Help your representatives be intentional about reactions and responses to joking or serious comments that the show could encourage.

Joanna

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

A "HINT" to Avoid Cancellations - Joanna Warren Smith

Travis Allison June 5, 2013

Summer camps are reporting last-minute cancellations

They do happen because of illness or summer school, but the cancellation without justification can be avoided if you nurture your relationships with campers and their parents right before camp.

Even though you are in high gear now, it's worth the effort to ...

TAKE ACTION NOW!

hints for summer camps from camp consultant Joanna Warren Smith

SEND A 'CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU AT CAMP' NOTE. Campers love getting snail mail, but if that's not possible, send a camper email to parents requesting that 'they print it out for their camper.' Age-specific comments about the great times ahead with a terrific visual or two can help campers feel more comfortable about their approaching adventure. The language of the first-time camper note should be different from the one sent to returning campers.
PRIORITIZE 2013 PARENT CALLS & EMAILS. Go on heightened alert to respond immediately to each communication from a current family. If their concerns or questions are not addressed instantaneously, they may get 'cold feet'.
REMIND FAMILIES OF ACCESS. Even though you have said it repeatedly, it is comforting to parents when you send a focused email that gives details of how to communicate with you during the summer. Send this just before their child comes to camp, be certain to give an emergency number and define a truly urgent situation.

Please do what you can to avoid the possibility of developing a cancellation trend.

Have a great, safe summer...

Joanna

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

A "HINT" to Increase Retaining Campers - Joanna Warren Smith

Travis Allison May 20, 2013

Training Your Summer Camp Staff to Help You Keep Campers Coming Back

hint for retaining summer campers from Joanna Warren Smith.

Imagine if you will ...

A camper is walking down a path with a favorite counselor. They are laughing, talking and bonding in such a special way that when you see them, you smile because these relationships are what camp is all about.

The lively, engaging conversation continues; the camper looks up fondly at the best role model in the world and eagerly asks, "Are you coming back to camp next summer?" And the counselor quickly responds "No, I'm going to grad school."

Please know that the camper who asked the question will likely not be back because in that response, the counselor took away a "personal" reason for the child to return.

Now, I don't advocate lying to campers but we must encourage counselors to realize their impact on children. It's essential for them to see how the ramifications of a response to a tough question can be mitigated.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

RUN A SHORT INTERACTIVE SESSION FOR ALL STAFF. Act out the above scenario and let counselors come to their own conclusions about the impact on the camper. If they see it, rather than get lectured about it, they are more likely to understand your intention.
PROVIDE EASY RESPONSES. Encourage counselors to anticipate the question and be ready with authentic responses like "I love camp so much, I want to come back every year." Or "Camp is the best place, I always want to be here, don't you?" And remind counselors that if they do have negative reactions about camp, they should be shared with leadership ... not with campers or their parents.
FOCUS BACK ON THE CAMPER. Guide the counselor to move the child to thinking about what can be accomplished in the next summer. "You'll be a Pathfinder next year ... I bet you're looking forward to that canoe trip!" Or "You'll get your third year pin next year, right?"
PRACTICE. Give leadership and staff the opportunity to role play a number of times to let everyone become comfortable with the question and their responses.

Retention can be increased with this one simple focus. Give it a try!

Want some other last-minute retention techniques?

Give Joanna a call at 310-451-1876 or email campconsulting@verizon.net