Congratulations, you’re a tour operator in the outdoor industry. You’ve acted on your lifelong passion to make a living outside and not in a cubical. Now What?
Your market is growing but so is your competition. Over 50 percent or 141.9 million Americans participated in outdoor activities last year and trends suggest that number is only going to increase (OIA). As the outdoor recreation market becomes increasingly competitive, it’s essential to take a proactive and progressive approach to retaining and increasing your market share.
If you are reading this post, then you have probably thought of the following questions: How do I become a market leader? How do I grow my company in this competitive environment? How do I find time to work on my business rather than in my business?At The Flybook, we work with a depth of diverse tour operators throughout the outdoor industry. This affords us a unique perspective that provides insight into both growing and stagnant outdoor companies.
Summarized below are 6 key tactics growing enterprises have in common:
FOCUS. CLARIFY YOUR STRENGTHS
This might seem obvious but you will be surprised how many businesses struggle at this fundamental step. Keep it simple. Offer clarity to your customers in regards to your offerings, pricing, policies, etc. What does your business do? Who is your ideal customer? What is your core competence? These are primary questions that every outdoor company needs to readdress when your peak season subsides. Don’t do something this year only because you did it last year. Take time to evaluate what is working, what is making you money, what services are in demand, and what was a pain point for your operation. You need to have a solid understanding of whom you are trying to attract to your business. Once you do that you need to dig deeper, discover everything you can about them and why they choose you. Call it a vision, a mission statement, a culture, call it whatever you want but it needs to be crystal clear to your employees and customers.
ORGANIZED MANAGEMENT
Your staff is the greatest asset your company possesses, they are the face of your enterprise. Their appearance, professionalism, and engagement are what transform a first time customers into an evangelical client who wants to share your service with everyone they know. This customer transformation is the best organic marketing strategy your operation has in its arsenal. Hold your staff accountable; create a concise post trip reporting system where you can gather data on the performance of your staff. Praise your staff often, a positive review or comment from a customer must be screamed out loud at your next staff meeting. As the leader of these talented professionals you need to set a standard and constantly hold people to that standard, including yourself. Maintaining higher expectations are going to the let your All-Stars shine, just give them the opportunity. Finding a way to retain and develop these All-Star employees is an essential step in creating a growing enterprise.
LONG TERM GOALS & VISION
Margins are tight and overhead can be overwhelming as a tour operator in the outdoor industry. These circumstances cause managers to narrow in on the upcoming season to ensure survival. This brings up a major difference between growing companies and the stagnant ones. Growing companies have a plan beyond the upcoming season. They set goals, forecast growth and have a plan to achieve that growth. Remember that a goal without a plan is a wish not a goal. What do you want your company to look like in 2 years? 5 Years? Plan ahead, thinking in a 5-year window will free you up to make substantial positive changes. The tunnel vision perspective of survival just won’t permit these positive changes. Are things going to go exactly to your plan? Of course not, circumstances change and you will have to adapt to external conditions. That being said this long-term approach is not futile, this approach gives your company a direction and purpose, something that all growing companies have.
ABILITY TO CAPTURE CUSTOMERS & REVENUE ONLINE
"There are two kinds of businesses; those with an Internet presence, and those with no business at all." That gem of wisdom came from Bill Gates and the Outdoor Industry is no exception to his logic. Most of you already have a website and that’s great. But there is a big difference between having a website and having an Internet presence. Your customers and searching for you, they want that experience and service that you keeping telling everyone about. People are buying cars entirely online, they are booking travel online and they certainly want to research their next outdoor adventure online. More than likely, they also want to book it that way too. If you haven’t already, give them that option. Talented web designers are out there, find one and follow this advice: keep it clean, simple, and inspiring. Educate yourself on SEO; better yet hire a consultant that is an expert at getting companies like yours on the top of Google. Online booking can be a headache but think of it as lowering the barrier of entry for your prospects to be clients. It's not for everyone and not all-online booking systems are created equal, but if you do any volume-based trips you would be silly not to give a go. I happen to know of a great one you should look into.
BE AN EXPERT OF TRENDS & NEW MARKETS
The SUP (stand up paddleboard) movement is an interesting case study in the Outdoor Industry. There are two different types of perspectives when it comes to a new product or trend like SUP. There is the perspective that gets defensive, digs their heels in and scoffs at its trendiness, laughing it off as a passing fad. The second perspective is optimistic; it sees the trend as a new way to get people outside and a new way to get people to experience their amazing company. The owners that thought of opportunity first have been rewarded greatly as SUP has continued to grow with no end in sight. Maybe this SUP example doesn’t speak to the entirety of the outdoor industry as a whole but we are talking about something bigger here. It’s about keeping an open mind to opportunities; this is a paramount principle of a growing enterprise.
EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY FOR BUSINESS OPERATIONS
If you are still managing your business with a pad of paper and pencil then you are limiting your ability to grow as a business, and you are wasting a ton of your precious time and energy with inefficiencies. (And no, a 3 ring binder isn’t much better)
There is a reason that a majority of the developed world, including your competitors, has transitioned operations to software and technology. There are many benefits, from automating tasks that may take hours to complete, to managing finances and improving communication (and marketing) with customers. And, as intimidating as it might sound, it’s affordable and easy to make the move.
Every company is unique in their needs and operational pains. At the Flybook we earn our value by matching your company pains with a proven solution. Companies that make the leap into the embracing arms of technology and The Flybook don’t turn around and go back to way things were. They love how it opens their energy to growing the business, not just sustaining it.
Check out this previous post: 3 Easy Ideas to Make Partnering With Other Local Businesses Easy
