Camper engagement is the key to high retention rates

Travis Allison May 19, 2014

This is your most productive & creative time at Summer Camp

The days are flying by and camp is almost here. There are so many details to address and you are at the top of your game. That is why I am sending three short 'HINTS' this week to enhance the work you are doing to create an even better camper experience. ~JWS

Directors all over the country know that camper engagement is the key to high retention rates, but they complain that their counselors and staff do not naturally connect with kids. What can you expect from those who would rather sit beside each other and text their conversation rather than speaking with each other?

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Start at the top. Prep your leadership team about your focus on engagement. Define precise steps that you and they can take to create a culture of engagement and establish it the minute that staff arrive.

Role model engagement during orientation. Use people's names, encourage eye contact and expect friendly acknowledgements when individuals pass each other.
Script out a 'perfect' activity. Detail how the program should start when the first camper arrives and how staff should be leading, coaching and engaging campers in the fun until the period ends. Focus on athletic as well as creative environments and plan for all staff at the venue to be involved.
Run engagement workshops. Show staff PRECISELY how you want activities, bunk time, meals and events to run.
Monitor performance. In focus groups, counselors are unanimous. Most realize how important their work with kids is ... and they want to be mentored so that they can increase their impact.

Camps that have worked on engagement in this way have increased their retention rates by 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/)

5 Important Concepts for the Next 5 Years of the Summer Camp Industry

Travis Allison April 16, 2014

A CampHacker's Vision of Important Camp Ideas for the Near Future

There can be no arguing that summer camp is on the edge of massive change (or, at least, that those who change their marketing massively have the greatest chance of survival).

The Midwest Association of Independent Camps asked me to speak at their luncheon at the Mid-States Conference in April 2014. I decided to think about what I consider to be 5 essential skills of a modern camp director.

5 Summer Camp Concepts for the Next 5 Years from Travis Allison

I think you need to be considering:

It's all about the VISUALS (any piece of communication that you begin to write... you should figure out who to say it visually).
Get comfortable with TECHNOLOGY. Even if, like me, you believe that campers need a break from Technology, you still need to have a basic knowledge of and comfort level with technology in order to keep doing your job.
Learn to RELAX. Take up meditation, go for walks, play games with the campers - anything you can do to relax during every day will be essential to manage the stresses of managing a camp business.
Make your marketing ABOUT THEM. Stop talking about you on your camp marketing; start talking about them and what they get out of camp.
Make BOLD STATEMENTS. Be prepared to clearly state the WHY of your camp... and to find more of the right families because of that!

My Bold Statement for 2014

I want to help the summer camp industry be so good that you feel like you fail as a parent if your kids don't go to camp.

What bold statement are you making at your camp?
Leave it in the comments below this post.

A "HINT" About Camp Rituals from Joanna Warren Smith

Travis Allison March 13, 2014

The Best Times at Summer Camp

According to campers, these memorable moments are when silence pervades, all eyes are focused and a song or a chant emerges. These are the times at resident and day camps when everyone belongs to the family and the collective 'doing' validates each individual.

These are the RITUALS of camp which bring campers back year after year ... but they must be tended to and treated with reverence by ALL campers, counsellors and staff or they quickly become perfunctory and meaningless.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Identify your signature rituals. Evaluate each, eliminate those that miss the mark and commit to those that further your mission, strengthen community connections and increase camper outcomes. Confirm that each session contains ritual content.

What happens in a four-week session is likely to be more intense than rituals for a shorter session; however, rituals should be included in all sessions. Script out the 'perfect' scenario for each ritual.

Don't go to the place of how staff have been executing the event, focus on how you want it done and maximize the impact with timing, props, specific language and songs. Teach rituals during orientation. Establish the model, help counsellors see the value of the ritual and set expectations for performance. Monitor performance for compliance.

After each ritual, take time to mentor those who performed and establish expectations for the next team.

When you tend to your rituals, you give campers emotional connections that will make them tell their parents that they 'must' come back to camp.

Joanna

Want some other great camp marketing ideas? Give me a call at 310-451-1876 or email campconsulting@verizon.net

(Note from Travis: C amp consultant Joanna Warren Smith nails it every time with her HINTS! 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 Kid-Friendly HINT from Joanna Warren Smith

Travis Allison February 28, 2014

Can you answer this tough question about your summer camp?

Singing and dancing at Camp Kintail, Goderich, ON.

Since the last day of each session last summer, which could have been in June, July or August ... how many times have you connected with individual campers?

Postings on social media do not count while birthday cards matter, unless the camper's birthday is in the summer when cards are not sent.

If you have had five or more connections with campers, you are way ahead of most of your colleagues. If you have had less and perhaps even none ... think about it.

You have two clients. One pays for camp and one has the experience.

In order to keep kids talking about camp and communicating to parents that they want to return, you must proactively nurture the relationships. One connection each month with every camper is optimal, but camp is only 3 months away, so...

TAKE ACTION NOW

Get an MP3 or video clip of the best song that you sing at camp. If you have to generate it now rather than using material from the summer, get your craziest local staff members together to do an animated, exciting and silly version that will make kids laugh.
Create a fun postcard that has a few musical notes and all of the words. Be certain to add special notes like 'clap/clap' and even hand/body motions if they are part of the song.
Target three different groups of kids with intentional messages. For first time campers, welcome them and encourage them to learn the song so that they will know it when they get to camp. For returning campers in 2014, suggest that they make sure that they practice before they come to camp so they can help new campers learn the song. And finally, for 2013 campers who are not yet enrolled, encourage them to come back to camp so that we can all sing together again.
Send the card with a link to the song on your website. Place the link in a predominant position on your home page so that kids can easily find it.

And finally, track enrolments after the card goes out to see if there is a bump in registrations that may be directly attributable to connecting with kids.

Joanna

Want some other kid-connector ideas? Give me a call at 310-451-1876 or email campconsulting@verizon.net

A Visual "Hint" for Reaching New Parents

Travis Allison January 7, 2014

You Must Be Objective When

It's very difficult because you love camp, the people, the place and the work that you do. But we all know that if you want to move your total camp experience to consistent excellence, you must be willing to critically assess all aspects of your business.

During the New Year, I am going to ask you to focus on one element a month that will help you heighten your marketing and programmatic performance to increase retention and referrals. Are you ready for the challenge?

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Look at your brochure and website photos. Ignore the usually verbose, accompanying copy and focus on the visuals. What do they communicate to parents and moms especially? What do they say to kids? How do they tell the story of what you do at camp and how valuable the experience is for each camper? According to parents in focus groups, pictures of smiling, posing kids are a 'waste of space'. Moms want visuals into which they can place their kids and envision accomplishment, social connections and confidence. Check out the attached pics of Sammy and Jenna courtesy of YSSC and SHDC. These two photographs are consistently selected by parents who say they make the camp experience come alive through Sammy's pride of accomplishment and Jenna's total engagement. (For more, read the attached article by Gary Forster.)

Replace pics or make plans to get better ones. Identify your weakest visuals and at least on your website, swap them out with more resonating options. If you just don't have better ones now, plan for a professional photographer to be with you this summer in addition to activating talented staff to help capture the essence of your camp experience. If you are going to work with a professional, study their portfolio to confirm their ability to secure the type of visuals that you're seeking and arrange for options to rainy/cloudy days. Staff photographers need to have the time to focus on the task. They can't be expected to just snap pics as they do their other business. For both professionals and amateurs, have a game plan before the summer and review visuals on a regular basis to confirm that you have the quality and subject coverage that you want.

Do you need encouragement to go through this visual assessment? If so, realize that the photographs you select are what intrigues unaffiliated parents to give you a call or to continue their journey through your website.