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Savannah Boiano, July 2009 Savannah
Boiano, Education Director, Sequoia Field Institute eagerly
anticipates summertime activities and looks forward to the
successful execution of the Sequoia Field Institute’s EdVenture
(Educational Adventure) courses and the positive feedback from
participants and instructors. So, you can imagine how disappointed
she is when a course that she was convinced would sell, doesn’t. In
this first of a two-part article, she shares what she has learned –
just because you think a course will be interesting to folks,
doesn’t mean people will pay to have the experience in a National
Park. The following are questions Savannah asks before going forward
with a proposed course:
- Is this course going to meet the mission of the agency and
of your organization?
- What is the motivation for offering a particular course?
Sequoia Field Institute’s motivation is to offer in-depth
courses to anyone who is interested in deepening their
experience in these National Parks. While most people do want to
deepen their experience of nature and wilderness, and they all
have different ways of doing so. The key is to respect those
different ways and to offer something for those people.
- Is the course going to be fun? What “fun” is depends on the
age groups, family demographics, and knowledge of our Parks.
- Is the instructor appropriate for the public? Just because
someone is thoroughly versed in their subject matter doesn’t
make them a good interpreter. Are the instructors able to design
and create courses for different age groups, family
demographics, and knowledge of the place?
- Is the price structure meeting the needs of the various age
groups, family demographics, and experience in the area? Try
different pricing structures that work for your intended
audience.
- What makes you think that your intended audience will take
the course? There’s the expression, “know your audience” but
that can be very difficult to do if they don’t participate. Keep
trying different types of courses, different angles to reach
your intended audience, and different topics. Get in contact
with other organizations to learn more about the demographic you
are interested in reaching.
- Have you developed a simple evaluation for the participants
and instructor? Learning what the advantages of taking this
course in the National Park (or wherever the course was held)
are, if it was fairly priced, what participants thought of the
instruction, is useful information.
After some flops, the Institute has
experienced some surprising successes. Boiano gives full credit to
one dinky sentence in their employee handbook. The sentence reads,
“SNHA’s best chance for future success and growth is not in thinking
outside the box, but in getting out of the box.” They decided to
take the challenge and they’ve tried the following:
- They offered a series of two-hour courses with stated kid
and family friendly topics. The fees were also structured to be
family friendly: $5 per person or $20 for a family. These
courses attracted LOTS of families and NPS folks because they
did not require a long time commitment, they were inexpensive,
and the subjects were very interesting: bats and tarantulas.
They even had a hairy leg contest for the tarantula course! They
price tiered a two-day course this year to see if people would
rather pay for and attend one day or both days of a course.
Participants paid for both, and for the first time in some
years, the course completely sold out.
- SNHA partnered with their local US Army Corps of Engineers
at the local reservoir to give some special floating
interpretive tours on special days: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day,
and two astronomy tours on the Lake at night. These are very
popular. The price structure, again, is very pocketbook
friendly.
- People are looking for the unusual. People really ARE still
interested in the same topics as the traditional walks (flora,
fauna, etc.) but how they learn about it is different than the
traditional outlet. A nature walk about trees will attract 10
people (SNHA calls that ‘preaching to the saved’), but if you
give a walk under a full moon when Jupiter is at it’s closest to
the Earth you’ll have to turn people away.
- They’ve considered trying a multi-sport course to entice
thrill seekers. Please, don’t tell them they’ll be learning
something or SNHA’s cover is blown!
- A good marketing team and editor are very important. Right
behind them is your honest co-worker who will tell you if a
course really won’t sell, no matter how attached you are to it.
- Partner, partner, partner. Consider partnering with local
lodgings or other businesses to provide fun courses or events
that will meet visitors where they are at, literally and
figuratively. The most important partnership is with your local
land steward, in our case, it’s the National Park Service.
If you have a hunch about a course or a direction
for your field institute, the APPL’s Field Institute affinity group
is wonderfully dynamic and full of help. Common topics include
budgeting, choosing courses, risk management, outreach and
publicity, instructors (how to get them and keep them), and much
more. Contact appl@appl.org to
learn how to subscribe to the Field Institute group’s list serv.
So, for the sake of all those smiles, praise, and life-changing
experiences you are creating in our public lands, your success lies
in not just thinking outside the box, but getting outside the box
and hosting a great experience from another perspective.
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Rich Weideman, July 2009 Rich
Weideman reports that Volunteer management in the National Park
Service has taken a leap forward into the Digital Age. The Design
Volunteers In Parks (DVIP) program is a new innovative program that
works in collaboration with students from the Academy of Art
University (AAU), Ex’pression College, and R/GA. Originally
developed by George Su, alumni to the AAU and Media Specialist for
the Golden Gate National Parks, and Bob Rigel, Director of New Media
at the AAU in 2007, the program started with the 100th Anniversary
of Muir Woods National Monument. The project sparked the interests
of the students and allowed them to reconnect with nature and their
national parks. Eight promotional packages were developed and
presented to the public in January 2008. Comments from the public
were well received; one visitor even asked if they could purchase a
copy of the posters at the visitor center. In 2008 over 9,980 hours
of volunteer hours were recorded through the DVIP program of the 66
students who participated in the program. “The students gain
experience working with a client, thus making their experiences in
the classroom much more active,” says Volunteer Manager, George Su.
Since its inception, the program has expanded to include designs
from students from Ex’pression College in Emeryville, CA and R/GA’s
Greenhouse - Miami School of Advertising. Other national parks in
the San Francisco Bay Area have also taken noticed and have asked to
participate in the program. This year Port Chicago National
Memorial, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, and the
Presidio Trust took part in the development of their programs.
Student Kelli Graham from Richmond, California who took part in
Earth Day project last year also was interested in designing the
Port Chicago story. “Prior to taking the class this semester, I was
unsure what I wanted to do when I graduated as a designer,” said
Kelli Graham, “now that this opportunity has become available, I’d
like to work for the National Park Service.”
Learn more about the DVIP at
www.nps.gov/goga/supportyourpark/dvip.htm.
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Debbie Ketel, May 2009
Question: We’re a small association, should we try to
publish our own book?
Answer: In an economy like we are in, you might be asking
whether you should be publishing your own books or not. I feel that
the answer to that is “yes,” because the organizations that are a
part of APPL have some real advantages.
- We all have a MISSION, and we are deeply committed to the
themes that we want to communicate to the visitor. Not all
vendors are as committed to the theme as to the profit margin,
so a vendor might not publish the very product that you need to
serve your visitors.
- That said, you can make a greater PROFIT by publishing your
own books. For example, one of our children’s books has become
one of our top ten sellers. Even though the development was
expensive, we paid for that after the first print run and are
now reaping the benefits (and profits) of a book that is well
done and popular among our visitors.
- Publishing your own products builds your WHOLESALE business
which can supplement your sales at your outlets.
- We have it very good in comparison to other publishers, in
that we have our own SALES OUTLETS tied to our publishing
departments. Other publishers struggle with how retailers might
buy or market their books to the public. In contrast, we have
our own sales outlets and can merchandise our published products
in such a way that makes the visitor know they would really be
missing something if they didn’t buy that book!
- We have the EXPERTS who are our agency partners as part of
our team to make sure that our products/publications are the
most accurate on the market.
Please consider the ideas
above when considering your own publications plan. If you have
questions, please contact Debbie at
debbie_ketel@mtrushmore.org.
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Andra Adamson, May 2009
This is the time of year is when many of us in public land stores
are gearing up for a busy summer season. Other than great
merchandise, the most important thing in our stores is our
employees. Hiring great people who are enthusiastic about our
mission will be the people who provide great customer service and
build advocacy for our partners. Building on that enthusiasm, by
providing exceptional training is the best way to accomplish this
goal and retain your staff. Thoroughly training new, current or past
employees is very time consuming but well worth the investment in
the long run. Employees will feel more empowered and part of your
organization.
Two significant things to focus on this year in the training
process are customer service and controlling inventory. Customer
service is more important than ever in this year of economic
uncertainty and should be a focus for constant, ongoing training. A
good reference book is Exceptional Customer Service: Going Beyond
Your Good Service to Exceed the Customers Expectation by Lisa,
Ford, David McNair and Bill Perry. Keeping visitors happy and in
your store through good customer service is sure to increase
sales.Tracking and staying on top of inventory, the second focus,
should be paid attention to on the sales floor as well as customers.
Employees help alert you to customers product needs, stocking
levels, and frequent items sold at the register. Training your staff
on how to stay on top of these things will help your organization’s
successful summer.
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Kimberlee Riley, April 2009
Enewsletters are a great communication tool for reaching a
variety of audiences at an affordable price. However, because e-mail
marketing is growing and is so popular it is a challenge to get
recipients to open your enewsletters. Here are10 tips to help you
create effective enewsletters and engage loyal readers:
1. Be Familiar – Incorporate elements of your own brand (name,
colors, marks, taglines) so that recipients recognize who is sending
the e-mail. Use the same layout and design for each issue.
2. Be Timely – Choose the appropriate frequency for the content in
your enewsletter and be consistent. Create an editorial calendar
which plans content appropriate to the time of year.
3. Be Clear/Transparent – Subject lines should advise recipients who
is sending the e-mail and why the email is being sent. Trusted
e-mail sources are opened.
4. Be Newsworthy – Content should inform and educate the reader as
well as relate why it’s relevant to them or how they are involved.
5. Be Scannable – People scan information online before they read
it. Break up the text into scannable chunks. Use headers and lead
paragraphs to begin your stories and then link to a page with the
rest of the story on your Web site.
6. Be Entertaining - Use compelling headers to lead into the stories
you want to tell.
7. Be Generous – Offer something of value in each issue – tips,
downloads, discounts, recipes, etc… Beyond your own means there are
industry resources which can help you provide some of these values.
A good example is APPL’s travel site – let your enewsletter readers
know they can do more with their travel as well as save money by
using www.ytbtravel.com/appl.
That’s an insider tip that can go a long way.
8. Be Specific – In addition to providing information and education
include action items for your readers. Include links that help them
share the news, donate, join, shop, etc…
9. Be Technical – Behind the scene in the administration area of
your enewsletter use keywords to improve your search engine
optimization. Links to your Web site pages and others can also help
with search engine optimization. Also view your e-mail in different
browsers to ensure your recipients are able to see what you want
them to see.
10.Be Grateful – Thank your loyal readers from time to time and be
responsive to those who take action and/or contact you. The holidays
are always a good time to feature content to show your gratitude for
those who take interest in your mission.
These tips on how to build your enewsletter reputation were provided
by APPL Training Corps member Kimberlee Riley, Director of
Programs/COO at Jefferson National Parks Association. For more
information you may reach her at
riley@jnpa.com.
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Laurel Rematore, April 2009
Will you be inviting your store customers to become members of
your organization this summer? Here are some best practices for your
in-store member acquisition program. The four components to a solid
program are:
- collateral (brochures, signage, and displays)
- a special on-site promotion (if you join today, you’ll get
this water bottle/book/three extra months of membership - but
only if you join while you’re here in the park!)
- store staff training
- staff recognition and incentives.
Your training curriculum should include: a discussion about the
positive force of philanthropy in the USA; how the staff fits
in—that is, they are not begging…they are presenting customers with
the opportunity to save on their purchase while making a difference
at your public land site; what membership will do for the new
member; what membership will do for the park and your organization;
your organization’s membership program goals; the benefits of
membership; instructions for signing up new members; staff
incentives - anything from cash bonuses to a pizza party if you hit
your goal; and a practice session where the staff sells each other
memberships.
Often the most uncomfortable part for store staff is “making the
ask,” so get them to practice on each other and perfect their offer
in a comfortable environment. An hour spent training your incoming
staff, periodic visits by your membership staff to the stores to
answer staff questions, restock membership supplies, and show you
are interested in their progress, some timely e-mail status reports
on the organization’s progress, and hand-written thank-you notes or
a quick phone call to your star front-line performers can make all
the difference in growing your park’s constituency and diversifying
your revenue stream! Do you have questions, or do you have your own
best practices to share? Please contact Laurel Rematore, MVMA
Executive Director and APPL Training Corps member, at 970-529-4642
or
laurel_rematore@partner.nps.gov.
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