A strong camp business is an important part of most athletic programs. Camps are a great way to build a following for your program, increase visibility for your school, and ultimately, a great way to bring in cash for your program or yourself.
So how can you grow your sport camp business?
Here are a few simple ways…
1) Know your best customers – If you’ve already run camps for a few years the chances are you’ve had some repeat customers (kids who have either come to your camps for multiple years, or families who have sent more than one kid to your camp over the years). These are your loyal customers, and as every marketer knows, loyalty rules. Obviously something you’re doing is working or these people wouldn’t keep coming back.
Talk to the parents of the kids that come back to your camp year after year. Ask them what they like most about the camp and ask them how they first heard about you. Chance are there are more people like your loyal customers out there who just haven’t found you yet. Talking to the parents and kids who like your product will help you understand what you should talk about in your brochure and where you should go to find new campers.
2) Market at your games – Guess what. Your games are entertainment just like any movie or TV show. And do you know what they have before movies and during TV shows? Commercials. Why shouldn’t you advertise your camp to fans who already know and like you and your team. Who could be an easier customer to win?
Will everyone in the stands want to attend your camp? No. Not even close. But that 53 year old parent of one of your current players might have a neighbor with a camp age kid who would be interested. And besides if you spend $100 dollars on flyers and you get just one extra camper, you’ve already made more profit than you would have if you didn’t hand out those flyers in the first place. Obviously, you’ll want to check with your school first to see if they’re okay with this type of marketing.
3) Run Single Day Camps or Clincs – Some people are interested in your product, but don’t want to commit to dropping $400 on a week long camp when they don’t know what they’ll be getting. And why shouldn’t they be skeptical? Would you buy a car without test driving it first?
For those customers who are hesitant to commit to a full week, you can offer a lower risk option. Run a day camp for $50-$75. The lower initial cost allows hesitant customers to sample a “lite” version of your camp before committing to the week-long version.
4) Talk to youth coaches – Youth coaches who support and trust you are almost as good as a sales staff. They have consistent access to the kids that you’re targeting for your camps and have an interest in their players getting better. Often times they are looking for camps to recommend to their players. Your only job is put the information in their hands.
5) Keep Records – Remember rule #1 about knowing your best customers? Well let’s drive that home. The easiest sale you’ll ever make is to the customer who already knows your product and likes it. They want to come back. Now quick, go get all the emails and addresses from last year’s campers and send them invitations to come back to this year’s camp. What? You don’t have the records? Well, when you threw away or lost last year’s records you threw away a set of sure-fire repeat sales. So accurate records! It’s the best marketing investment you can make.
The best way to keep clean and accurate records of the kids who attend your camps is with an online database like ARMS.
If you have more questions about how ARMS can help you market your camps, call John 202-425-5681
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