You’ve heard the phrase, “We need results yesterday!”—maybe a boss uttered those words, or maybe you’ve said them yourself. But you must have also heard that success is when preparation meets opportunity, right? It’s a great saying and too often overlooked in the business world… I’m here to tell you that the latter, preparation, is really the only true route to sustainable success in anything—and you can tell the boss I said so!
Preparation and Planning – Your Key to Sustainable Success
Preparation, strategy, and planning in your marketing endeavors have never been more important than they are today. With multiple channels, rising ad costs, and more adventures vying for a share of the wallet, it is critical that you know how to reliably and profitably put new prospects into your pipeline.
We are going to give you a tool that you and your marketing staff can use to identify and target more of the right people for your products and services. With nearly an infinite variety of interested and demographics to target on Facebook marketing and paid social (to name a few), this worksheet will help you stay on point, reduce ad costs, and convert more of the right customers.
And yes… I get it; you believe you already know your ideal prospect. I mean, you’ve been in the adventure space for a long time. You see the customers passing through every day. You know their names, their stories. I say all the better! Effective marketing is to emanate from the core, and that “insider knowledge” will help you not only grow the bottom line, but ideate new markets of people that you may have never thought about before, too.
Your Adventure Prospect Prep Sheet
Whenever targeting an audience on ANY channel it is really important to be able to enter into the conversation your prospects are already having in their head. This lends you IMMEDIATE credibility. What is it they desire? Where are they now? Where do they wish they were?
See the example prep sheet below:
Speak to YOUR customer and stand out!
With so many brands talking about themselves in ads and content, you can stand out quickly by appealing to the true needs of your target audience. This allows you to sell on value rather than commodity pricing and discounts.
Let’s break down the Who is My Adventure Prospect prep sheet to get a better sense of how this works:
1. Customer Demographics: How often is the answer “everyone” or “anyone who can pay me.” Really, the majority of the ads and content I look at (and I see a lot of them) are so general that they appeal to no one. Maybe you have a huge customer base of scouts, or you would like a huge customer base of scouts…. then speak to them. Maybe the major cities you draw your customers from are doctors, lawyers, and overstressed professionals… then speak to them. Dig into your current database of customers. Who are they? What do they do? Current customer demographics leave clues.
2. Customer Interests and Aspirations: Come skiing, we have a deal for the whole family to have fun. Buy one pass get your next pass free! We see a ton of ads that read that way. To the consumer, there is nothing that differentiates you as a business. There is nothing that puts me (the reader) into the experience. Nothing that gets me… dreaming of skiing fresh powder and hanging with my family by the fire, sipping a local red wine while reminiscing about the day of adventure together. See what I did there? Use this section to step into the shoes of your customer and give them something to aspire towards.
Pro tip: Prior testimonials have usually done the work for you here.
3. Fitness Level and Ability: This is such an overlooked factor. Are you fishing in the right pool? Can the audience you are targeting even engage? Are you assuming that because two people in the family are double-black diamond level, the whole family is? Are you assuming because Mom is a passionate skier that Mom always joins on the slopes? Maybe you have an activity that has a perceived need for athleticism but is better suited for the tame novice beginner. These are all important factors to consider when putting out content and writing copy. Be considerate when needed, offer options for non-participants, and educate when you have to.
4. Pain Points: This one is both simple and difficult. It may also require some research ahead of time. However, if your adventure program solves a pain point the prospect has, then you are infinitely closer to converting a new customer. Maybe you have unique handicapped accessibility. Maybe you fix flats on your bike tours when your competition doesn’t. Make sure these small differentiators are known, as they will provide an edge and speak to your customers’ needs, fears and pain points.
5. Desired End State: This gets to the heart of your offering. How do your customers feel during—and at the end of—their experience? Can we distill it into a few words, video, or images that really paint the picture for your ideal prospect? A GoPro or similar camera can go a long way in capturing key moments. Identify what you can before the experience, and be sure to capture them in the crux of the fun! This builds your arsenal of content while demonstrating the desired end state of your customers.
Download your Adventure Prospect Prep Sheet
Here is a free download of the example prep sheet we shared above. Give it a test drive next time you have an important campaign you want to knock out of the park. Use it with employees or marketing staff to help them properly plan and share with you the targets for their next campaign. If you have any questions, know that we love to talk marketing. Feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to help!
