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Still not open for camp registration?
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40% of camps haven’t opened registration for next summer. Let me repeat that number a little louder for those in the back. 40% of camps haven’t opened registration for next summer. That’s what’s coming out of a Day Camp Community survey we’re running right now. With the fall leaves changing colors, two out of five camps haven’t opened literal or figurative or online doors yet. I was shocked at this number, considering trick-or-treaters are about to knock on doors and winter holiday gear is already in display cases. Now, this is not me casting any mean glances at anyone. No way. Never. Not me. There are a variety of reasons this number is the reality for some camps. It could be some internal bureaucracy as a bit of a bottleneck. Other places are waiting on pricing to get set. And some are simply still coming out of post-summer mode. But I have to say, this number is more than a little concerning. Every week registration is open and rolling is a week of info, of families telling you things, either in action or in silence. Which weeks are a full skip. Which weeks they are clamoring for. How they feel about this year’s pricing. Where there might be a little pushback on something that was no big deal last year. By the start of winter, every week you’ve been open for registration business is a week of solid info (on both sides of the coin) to work with when next year’s budget is very much front of mind. No numbers? Well, then future decisions might be being made just on vibes. And then we get another number from the survey which seems to stand in stark contrast (though might be highly correlated) to the one above. 50% of camps said they are not confident in reaching their enrollment goals this year. Is there overlap between the 40% no registration folks and the 50% worried about reaching goals group? It seems like there would be. How can a camp make budget calls when there are no cash inflows yet to look at? If you are stuck somewhere in the middle of this, I get it. But it’s also worth getting a move on. Start the pricing work now. I know, it might feel crazy to think about summer prices while the leaves are still falling. But set the price based on what your families can actually afford, not based on what the budget tells you to charge. Work it that way, and you’ll do fine. Already open for business and the first few weeks have been slow? You are not alone. I’m hearing that across the board this fall. Keep going. The key is to take action, make decisions, collect data, monitor, and adjust. But none of that can happen when registration still isn’t open for the summer. Sincerely, Senior Consultant at Immersive1st PS - Want to talk this out for your camp? Or want to see the results of our latest survey? Hit reply and I’ll make sure you get them. Learn more about Immersive1st's Approach |
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