Surprising ways to increase pool attendance
Property managers are familiar with the struggles of catering to a range of audiences. If your property is having trouble marketing amenities, pool management companies know some surprising ways to increase pool attendance and word-of-mouth.
If the amenities are not attracting enough attention, property managers and committee board members may have to rethink their strategies. Recreation Management magazine published an article on a Las Vegas YMCA pool that had little patronage until the facility redecorated to appeal to younger children with bright colors, rental hours for preschools and pool toys.
Assess your success and your competition
This winter is the perfect time to revisit your peak season performance. If attendance wasn’t as high last year in comparison to previous years, it may be worthwhile to analyze the reasons. Has another facility opened up nearby that’s been a hit with the community? If so, what does its site offer that yours doesn’t, and how can you adjust your pool to compete with that of the new location?
Rethink your target audience
If attendance decreased for seemingly no reason, it may be time to reassess your target audience. Depending on the community, you may have more success with a specific demographic, rather than trying to market to everyone. As seen with the Las Vegas YMCA, this could mean shifting your facility’s decor, equipment and specifically working toward increased patronage with one group.
Create a conversation starter
Though it may seem counterintuitive to cater to just one audience, remember that the point of doing so is to expand your site’s popularity. The reality is, whatever demographic you’re primarily working with interacts with other people of various ages and backgrounds. You’re depending on word-of-mouth to help expand the community’s knowledge of your location. If you make a splash, people will hear about it.
If you’ve established a target audience, think about the group that they would have the most interaction with. Prechoolers are likely to have siblings who are a little older and may be looking for swimming lessons. So, once you have swimming lessons for young children figured out, increase the age ranges and offer more courses.
When you’re considering honing in on patron groups, don’t think of it as taking a step back and staying there. It’s a matter of taking a step back to make strides forward later on. Preparing these plans before peak season will allow you and staff members to assess the pros and cons of this technique.
