Your Job: Make other's lives easier - it will impress parents

Marketing Your Summer Camp is Easy When You Focus on Your Clients

Most camps find it very hard to stick out (among camps, let alone the other summer activities available).   There will always be another camp that is willing to run cheaper with better toys. 

{I heard a wise man once say: there will always be someone willing to go into bankruptcy faster than you.]

So How Do We Compete?

You be more useful. You strive to make families lives easier in everything you do.

In his amazing book Youtility, Jay Baer said there are 2 ways to stand out in a busy marketing place: 

  • be amazing (go viral) - you can do it once or twice but it's really not sustainable
  • be helpful.  This job you were born to do.

I found this scan on my computer today and it inspired my thinking.  This is a hand-drawn map of Huntsville, Ontario - the small town near our camp.    This map was handed down year to year from one summer administrator to the next.  This is a survival guide for the person responsible for all of the town runs each week. 

Cairn summer camp's town run map

What can you hand to your parents to show them that you know what they're going through?


Essential Tools: Canva.com for FAAAAST creation of posters, social media photos, etc.

Getting Things Done as a Camp Director is Easier with this Essential Tool

I haven't written about Canva.com on the blog yet.  I can't believe it!   I've shared this tip with tons of directors this summer.

Canva is a simple editing tool for creating great, beautiful posters, Facebook headers, Instagram pictures with text over them, Pinterest images.   Almost any thing you can think of! It's FAST.

Canva for Camp Pros

To start using Canva (once you've got your account set up) you pick the kind of design you need (see picture above). It will then show you a ton of designs that you can use as starting off points.   

Usually I pick the one that most suits what I'm looking for and then I put my own spin on it.  Those designs are really well done so you may choose one that will fit perfectly from the start. 

You can use the background image that has been provided or upload your own.  Some of those backgrounds are free but many are stock photos/designs that you can purchase when you finalize your poster. 

I usually upload my own images from the folder if great camp pictures that the CampHackers all share.  That means that the majority of my designs are free.

Check out some of the designs that we've made on Canva that have been featured on the CampHacker Instagram account.

What that parent is thinking could change your summer camp [HINT: finding out is easy]

5 Ways Mid-Week Survey's Can Help Your Day Camp

Marketing Camp Makes Veekay Happy

Do you look to your camp families for feedback through surveys? As consumers, we receive survey requests all the time - on our receipts, in email, on a postcard etc. As a day-camp, we've used customer feedback surveys in the past to insure that our camp families were completely satisfied with a their child's experience after a week at camp. Sending surveys at the end of the week offered us some very valuable feedback on staff, location, and other suggestions on how we could improve the program. This year at The Handwork Studio, we implemented a mid-week survey and we saw instantaneous, real-time feedback on our camp programs. Below I've listed 5 ways the mid-week parent feedback survey to parents can help improve your day camp program.

1. Create better experiences

While we work hard to make sure that every single child and their parents had the most amazing week at camp, sometimes this is isn't the case. Sending a survey late on Tuesday helped us identify areas where a camper might not have been having the best possible experience and we could come in and make their time with us better. Sometimes it could be as simple as identifying a certain skill that the child was excited about learning. Whatever the circumstance may be, sending the survey before the camper leaves camp for the week is a sure fire way to turn around a situation and create better experiences for your campers and their parents. Even in the event that the parent and camper are happy, by taking any input they have and letting them know they've been heard, we are creating a memorable customer service experience for the the parents.

2. Understand how your parents perceive your camp

With multiple locations, our Camp Director can't be everywhere at the same time. The surveys we sent out helped us gather important feedback on how our parents were interacting with the staff. We were able to identify what the parent's expectations of staff were, where we needed to make adjustment, and generally overall how well of a job our counselors were doing to deliver amazing experiences to our parents and campers. In addition to this, the surveys also helps us collect some amazing testimonials about our camp programs that we can use in for the next summer.

3. Develop deeper relationships with your camp families

As we get responses back from each of our surveys, we are reaching out to each family that submitted feedback to thank them for their input and acknowledge that we've heard them. With the responses where parents are not completely happy our team collaborates to resolve the issue at hand as quickly and effectively as possible. Surveys have helped us take a more personal approach with our families. We are reaching out to them more and developing long lasting relationships. Parents are grateful for the responses we give them and we've heard from them that they are more likely to recommend us to a colleague or friend based on our quick and timely responses. Camp is a very personal business, and mid-week surveys provide our team another touch point with parents. As we gather the responses and respond to the families we are also able to identify the sites that are doing amazing work and acknowledge those teams during the week. Our site directors and counselors love hearing the feedback as much as we do! Giving all types of feedback to counsellors  in real time can be invigorating after many weeks of camp and can give the Camp Director insight into problem counsellors.

4. Gather valuable suggestions on how to be better

At The Handwork Studio, we are always striving to be better, do better and create amazing experiences in camp. Our surveys have helped us better understand what is important to parents and their children. It also awards us the opportunity to respond to ideas that parents have suggested. Parents want to be heard. Their investment in our program is an investment in their child, and we want to provide them a place to share their thoughts. Our mid-week surveys are the most ideal avenue for this feedback. At the end of the camp season, we'll take all of the feedback and put it into one document to see where we can continue to improve our program.

5. Identify areas to adapt your staff training for the next year.

Staff training is at the core of how we launch our camp programs each year. While we might think we've covered everything, there might be a few areas where we can spend more time. The feedback from parents helps us better understand how we can tweak our staff training for next year or continue to supply training resources throughout the the summer. The surveys also give us real-life documented examples of parent feedback that we can incorporate into future camp training.

Sending customer feedback surveys early in the week has been a game-changer for our camp. We are much more connected to our parents and are able to resolve any issues in an effective and timely manner. We are collecting real-time feedback while simultaneously ensuring that both the camper and their parents are completely satisfied with their time at our camp!

Do you use summer camp surveys for your day camp? Share your experience with sending camp surveys in the comments below!

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[from Travis:   This article comes to us from Megan DiFeo, curriculum & marketing director at The Handwork Studio.  Thanks, Megan!

About The Handwork Studio

The Handwork Studio LLC is a kids' needle arts and fashion studio. Our purpose is to pass down the tradition of teaching practical arts such as knitting, crocheting, hand and machine sewing, embroidery, quilting, fashion and crafts in a fun and relaxed environment. Our staff is comprised of professional artists, instructors and skilled teachers, dedicated to making each student feel special. Headquartered just outside of Philadelphia in Narberth, PA, we operate summer camps in 30 locations in seven states, bringing our brand of needle arts fun to over 3,000 campers every year. Learn more at thehandworkstudio.com.]


Winner! Our #TwitPitch2014 Contest Has a Winner

Congratulations Camp Wightman!

CampHacker #twitpitch Contest 2014

This spring we announced a contest for the best #TwitPitch. We were looking for camps who could give parents enough information in 120 characters that they would take the next step: reach out for more info, click to see the website, request a brochure, etc.

The winning pitch was: We're not all bugs and dirt. Camp Wightman: where faith, friends, and fun collide. Building disciples since 1956.

Judging the Contest

I found a panel of experts (parents with kids that are the right age for summer camp) and asked them to rank the anonymized submissions.  These rankings were tabulated and Camp Wightman (in Connecticut) came out on top.

The judges came from lots of interesting professions (PR professional, insurance broker, banker, camp director who didn't submit for the contest) and life experiences.

What's this?

I must say #1 and #2 were very close! 

So close that we're going to offer a $750 CampHacker Playbook to the second place pitch: Your kid needs to be a kid. With role models, outdoors, growth, friends, and memories. Camp can help. This entry came from Camp Kitaki in Nebraska.

The next 3 pitches in ranking's were

  • S'mores, canoeing, swimming, and archery anyone?  Come on down to Camp Kateri, where memories are made one week at a time! 
  • Want the best for your child? So do we. Ask how Camp Takodah can set your child on a course for happiness and success.
  • Every boy is entitled to an experience that is magic. Camp Nebagamon.

It's interesting to me (a lesson that we'll be applying to CampHacker clients this winter!) that all of the top picks were about "kids being kids".  The middle picks seem to be ones that had a play on words and the ones that were ranked lowest seem to talk about a future state of the campers - what they will grow up to become.

This ranking is hardly statistically significant but it's fun to look for patterns. 

We had a lot of great entries - thank you to all the camps that submitted!   We look forward to seeing what you can come up with for #twitpitch2015

What do you think of the way things ranked?  Leave us your opinion in the comments!

Your Summer Camp's Opening Day is Critical

First impressions at your camp

Your staff are The Guardians of the Mission

Your staff are The Guardians of the Mission

Both sets of your clients will start making decisions about summer 2015 within minutes of arrival. Campers will feel more connected when the rigors of registration, swim tests, lice checks, nurse visits, orientation and tours are balanced with fun, engaging activities.  Parents will be impressed when your systems work smoothly, there are no lines and staff are welcoming, personable, knowledgeable and efficient.

That being said, I get the most push-back on suggestions to improve Opening Day.  For some reason, that day is so steeped in tradition, that the routines cannot be touched. 

Minor modifications can make a huge difference. 

TAKE ACTION NOW! 

  • Scrutinize Your Opening Day Script.  Separate the events into three tracks that run from entry to departure for the adults and arrival to bed time for kids.  One track should be for campers arriving with parents, a second for campers arriving by bus and the third for parents after their camper is absorbed into the group.
  • Ask the Tough Questions and Consider Better Options. Is each track element intentional and efficient?  Which elements can parents do on their own and which require camper involvement? Are staff members sufficiently trained to make the welcome process sincere, engaging and personalized?  If you have stations, can you avoid lines by having a Coordinator directing folks to the most open stations?  Can you stagger arrivals?  How much time do you allow parents to 'unpack' and watch their kids before they are expected to depart?  How do you say 'goodbye' to parents and what do you give them to explain your communication process during the session?
  • Focus on Three Items.   Can there be an express line for parents who submitted all their forms on time?  Camps that have done this have had more compliance about forms in subsequent years. How do you merge bus campers with campers who arrived with parents? How soon are campers really engaged in an exciting, fun activity for which swim tests and lice checks do not qualify?

There are at least two or three items from above that you can EASILY implement to make Opening Day a more positive experience for Parents and Campers.  Please don't put them off for next year, do it now, monitor the difference and then you can fine tune for 2015.

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/)