If you run a camp for kids, you know that families take a lot into consideration when they make the decision to book a session for their child. The price, type of camp, dates, reviews, counselor bios, and more all go into this considered purchase. With the right marketing strategy and offers, you can make your kids camp stand out from the competition.

At Sawyer, our goal is to help camp providers run their businesses more smoothly so that they can spend more time changing the lives of their campers. In this article, we’ll outline early bird marketing strategies, including discounts, referral programs, and more so you can get these bookings in before the rush.

Early Bird Offers

What Are Early Bird Offers?

You know the phrase, the early bird gets the worm. It’s time to put that old adage to use and increase your revenue at the same time.

Early bird offers are limited-time discounts for people who book far enough in advance. Early bird offers work because the “pain of paying,” a behavioral science term, is removed from the fun of the event. In terms of camp, families also get the chance to spread out their large purchases so they are not all at the same time. 

How Are Early Bird Offers Beneficial for Camps and Customers?

Early bird offers are beneficial for the customer, of course, because they get a discount. However, it is also very useful for the business owner because they get the income from the purchase long before the camp season starts. Business owners can use these funds to run marketing campaigns, buy supplies, and get ready for camp.

Camp owners can also learn which of their programs are the most popular and where they should direct more marketing efforts based on the early bird purchases. Early bookings, and eventual waitlists, are important for program planning and business growth.

Best Practices for Early Bird Offers

When you make these early bird offers, there are few best practices to follow in order to make them as successful as possible.

• Timebox your discounts. One of the best ways to make your early bird offers and discounts as fruitful as possible is to limit the time they are available. 
• Lean into urgency. Limited time offers are successful because of FOMO (fear of missing out). When you market these early bird offers, really lean into the urgency so your customers know that these offers won’t last for a long time.
• Lead with the offer. In your email and social media marketing, don’t bury the lede. Highlight the discount in the subject line and keep the rest of it short. Focus on showcasing the offer and encouraging customers to make the decision.

Additional Early Camp Marketing Strategies

Referral Programs

Your current customers are your best marketers. When you open up a referral program, you incentivize your customers to share their love of your camp with their friends. You can run a referral special with a larger reward in the fall or winter to encourage early bookings and then return to your regular referral program as it gets closer to the summer.

Customer Reviews

Ask families why they loved your camp and then share the love! Research done by Power Reviews found that 98 percent of consumers feel that reviews are an essential resource when deciding what to purchase. When you gather and showcase reviews, you make it easier for prospective customers to choose your camp over another.

Gift cards

The holidays are almost here and offering gift cards can be a great way to get families to book with you for summer camp. Millennial parents report being more interested in providing experiences rather than physical items for their children. Camp gift cards are a great option for gifts from grandparents and other family members for both new and returning customers.

Don’t just take it from us. A Sawyer provider who offers music classes and camps to children in Chicago says, "We’ve found that using a multi-channel approach makes a real difference in driving registrations. At Mr. Dave Music, we combine email announcements, widget banners, and discount codes to reach both new and returning families. Returning families respond well to early bird pricing via email, while widget banners help us engage website visitors who may not be on our list. Since the banner links directly to the registration page, it makes taking action quick and easy.”

Remember, it’s better to get a head start when it comes to planning, scheduling, and registration. Summer will be here before we know it!

This article was sponsored by Sawyer. Sawyer is an all-in-one camp registration and management software that helps camp owners and children’s activity providers efficiently run their businesses so they can spend more time doing what they love. Looking for ways to supercharge your camp? Speak with one of our camp experts.

Lizzie is the content marketing manager for Sawyer. She helps connect camp owners and educators with the resources they need so they can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time working with children. A lifelong lover of camp as both a camper and counselor, Lizzie is thrilled that she gets to spend her days helping providers discover and use Sawyer to make camp more accessible.

Periodically, the American Camp Association (ACA) makes timely and relevant information about products and services available to its members so they can make informed decisions for their camps. However, the ACA does not endorse products, services, or companies