Let us start by acknowledging that Covid-19 presents a real and serious medical challenge to many. And we must first ask ourselves, how might we leverage the power and resources of our organization to help assist in this global pandemic.
With that said, and without minimizing any of the real and present dangers that this novel coronavirus presents to many of our audience and staff, we will explore here a few suggestions that camps, conference centers, and outdoor adventure outfitters might do well to consider.
Communication
Help remove fear and doubt by communicating with your audiences with as much clarity and specificity as you are comfortable doing so.
- Include on your homepage (and maybe all pages) an easy to find link to your current status/response/plan.
- Adjust the attention/importance of this link as situations change. Drawing more attention to the link if either you find more of your audience looking for it, and/or if more urgent information is contained within.
- Communicate with your local county’s department of health for any specific wording that they want to be included within that communication.
- If canceling trips, also communicate plans for financial compensation. If reimbursement is not yet determined, communicate when you anticipate making those determinations.
Think about your audience
What is your audience going through?
Groups
If your audience includes Church Groups, Scout Groups, Corporate workplace/employer Groups, Family Reunions, Birthday Parties, School Groups, Class Reunions… then take a moment to consider what they are currently going through. As well as what they might be going through in the future.
If we make the (highly) unlikely assumption that this will “blow over” in a month or two…
- How will they promote their trip/camp in the meantime if they are not meeting together?
- Will the organization’s finances be taking a hit? If so, would they be more likely to cancel this trip, to cancel other events, or to layoff staff? More details
- Will the individual participant’s finances be taking a hit?
- Where in the priority of urgency does communication with you about their trip stand?
Guidance on Specific Groups
If your target audience includes Churches and Schools… here are some things they likely will be going through.
Churches
Significant reduction in weekly and Monthly Tithe. They will encourage online giving, but they are fighting an uphill battle. Not only will they suffer from “out of sight, out of mind”, but their individual donors will also likely be experiencing a reduction in their financial ability to give.
Schools
Yes, federal and state governments are waiving many educational requirements, so students most likely won’t need to make up lost days during the start of summer. However, schools would obviously prefer their students to meet basic educational objectives. Thus, when a school loses in-class time, the first things they typically cancel are the extracurricular activities and field trips.
Individuals
If your audience is primarily individuals, then take some time to consider what life is currently like for them. Are the norms for them going to change depending on different audiences and demographics?
If we make the (highly) unlikely assumption that this will “blow over” in a month or two…
- How will they promote their trip/camp in the meantime if they are not meeting together?
- Will the organization’s finances be taking a hit? If so, would they be more likely to cancel this trip, to cancel other events, or to layoff staff?
- Will the individual participant’s finances be taking a hit?
Marketing
During any emergency (or large social movement), it is easy to have good intentions to be interpreted in a less than optimal way. It is easy to fall prey to coming across as tone-deaf or uncaring (and maybe rightly so). But with caution and the larger picture squarely in mind, there is value to ask yourself and your team, “what marketing might be considered”.
- Consider promoting a significantly generous cancelation or reservation policy.
- For existing bookings, this can give them peace of mind to know that they don’t need to decide right away what to do. And, if done right, it will help to communicate that we are all in this together.
- For potential new groups, this can remove some of their hesitancy in reserving an event in a time of uncertainty.
- Communicate how you are caring for your staff. Especially if you plan to keep some of their deposit, it can go a long way to communicate how that deposit is going towards helping to financially support the front-line staff.
- Take some time to think through if there might be a specific program or offer that might meet a need of your audience, without coming across as (or worse yet actually) taking advantage of the situation.
- Review your ideas with a broad and diverse audience before committing to anything.
Realign with the Current Reality
When situations change, far too often we use the old rubrics and metrics to continue to make predictions and estimations regarding the future. If the situations are similar enough, that works out fine, but if the foundational assumptions have changed, then you risk being significantly surprised by a changing world.
Each situation is different, but taking all the above factors into account, what’s your best plan forward?
- Hope for the best – Implement minimal short-term changes based on an assumption that things will get better. Keep revising plans as situations change from week to week or even from day to day.
- Plan for a short-term disruption – Make some significant changes for the coming 2 months, but expect that life will quickly return to normal.
- Plan for a long-term disruption – Consider if the future outlook of your organization might be better served by assuming a significant summer long disruption, and implementing seriously painful cost-cutting measures to ensure that you emerge alive and well on the other side.
Closing Thoughts To Consider
What if you…
- Significantly pushed back the normal opening of your season. Could you reduce your costs by reductions in setup, training, supplies?
- Completely cancel a highly impacted program. Could you reschedule it for next year? Is there a way you could provide some assistance to staff that will now miss out? How will you recruit and rebuild after a gap-year?
- Take your program online. Seriously, could you and your team dream up a way to creatively meet the mission and purpose of your organization through remote videoconferencing and/or virtual reality technologies.
These days are full of sad news and fearful uncertainty. The only thing that seems certain is in fact, uncertainty. I can not promise which decisions will be best for you and your camp or business. But should you be interested in navigating these waters with a friend, I would love the opportunity to provide you with a fully personalized second perspective.
