Climbing operators common pain points

Running a climbing wall business can be a challenging. From managing staff and customers, ensuring safety protocols are followed and getting the best ROI, operators face a variety struggles on a daily basis. In this section I will look at some of the most common struggles faced by climbing wall operators and an effective solution for each - tried and tested.

In this increasingly competitive market it pays to plan ahead. 

Sales and Marketing

• Who are your target market? 

• Are you promotions coordinated and strategised for coherence?

• Do you know your place in your local market? 

  
  

I have created Annual Service Plans for centres ranging from grossing £2m to those turning over less than £100k. Key to the success of this tool is understanding your target market, your brand personality and your market position. The result of which is demonstratable at wall 1 that resulted in an industry leading promotion that grossed over £1.2 in the last decade without detriment on any other income line and negligible marketing spend.

Can I harness an ASP to help me Drive revenue with effective sales and marketing?

Understanding the Target Market

1.Segmentation: Identifying and categorising customer demographics, needs, and preferences.

2.Behavioural Analysis: Studying purchasing behaviour and service usage patterns.

3.Feedback Mechanisms: Implementing surveys and feedback forms to gather direct input from customers.

Defining Brand Personality

1.Brand Values: Establishing core values that resonate with the target audience.

2.Brand Voice: Consistent and relatable communication style across all marketing channels.

3.Brand Image: Creating a visual and emotional appeal through logos, colour schemes, and slogans.

Market Positioning

1.Competitive Analysis: Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors.

2.Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Highlighting what sets the service apart from others in the market.

3.Market Penetration: Strategies for entering and establishing a presence in new markets.

Case Study: Wall 1

1.Promotion Strategy: Development of an industry-leading promotion tailored to the target market’s needs and preferences. Using seasonal attitude considerations and some basic demographic communication preferences.

2.Revenue Impact: The promotion grossed over £1.2 million in the last decade., with an annual TO ~£120k and growing YoY with one sales period a year.

3.Cost Efficiency: Achieving success with negligible marketing spend and no adverse impact on other income lines.

Conclusion

The success of the Annual Service Plans underscores the importance of a thorough understanding of the target market, a well-defined brand personality, and strategic market positioning. By leveraging these elements, centres of varying revenue scales can achieve significant growth and sustained financial performance.

Operational efficiency

Are your safety systems able to to adapt up to changes in 

• Modern trends,

• Staff turnover, 

• or customer usage trends?

  
  

Leveraging over two decades of experience in the climbing wall industry (including a spotless track record), I have developed a comprehensive approach to improve the operational efficiency of climbing centres. This is achieved through the implementation of modular Normal Operating Procedures (NOP) documents, with a plug-in training syllabus which are customisable to meet the unique needs of each centre. Supported by an industry-leading Technical Team, these tools ensure safe and productive operations for centres of all sizes with staffing levels from 50+ to a handful.

Can I enhance my Operational Efficiencies with Modular NOPs to reduce my liabilities?

Modular NOPs

1.Customisation:

•Tailored to the specific requirements and resources of each centre. •Adaptable to different team sizes, from small groups to large teams of 50+ members.

2.Components:

•Control Measure: Detailed guidelines to ensure the safety of all participants.

•Operational Guidelines: Step-by-step procedures for daily operations. •Emergency Action Procedures (EAPs): Clear instructions for handling emergencies.

Plug-in Training Syllabi

1.Customised Training:

•Designed to address the unique needs of each centre.

•Flexible modules that can be easily integrated into existing training programs and updated to meet the growing national standards. •Whether running site specific schemes or using the National Governing Federation (NGF) pathways these can all be adapted to meet the needs of the centres programmes and operations.

2.Focus Areas:

•Safety Training: Ensuring all team members are well-versed and practiced in safety protocols.

•Operational Efficiency: Techniques to streamline operations and improve productivity.

•Customer Service: Training staff to provide excellent customer service balanced with core safety principles.

Conclusion

The implementation of modular Normal Operating Procedures and customised training syllabi has proven to be an effective strategy for enhancing the operational efficiency of climbing centres that I have managed. This includes Autobelay parks of all sizes, Climbing walls ranging from local school walls to national leading centres. These tools ensure that climbing centres can consistently operate safely and efficiently, providing a high-quality experience for all participants and controlling your business’ risks.

Coaching Programmes

• Is your coaching programme yielding similar to your casual income? 

• Are your coaching numbers consistent and match demand?

• Are conversion rates from courses positive? 

  
  

Placing coaching at the forefront of any roped wall offering involves strategic planning to balance the centre’s capacity across the spectrum of participants, grassroots to performance, and colleague functions, route setting to marketing. Effective coaching programs can generate significant income comparable to casual climbing. This case study will highlight successful strategies implemented at 2 Walls to improve coach retention and optimise income including pricing models for junior development programmes.

Can I implement a Strategic Coaching plan to help maximise my ROI?

Coaching as a Core Offering

1.Strategic Planning:

•Capacity Management: Ensuring the centre’s capacities are appropriately allocated between grassroots and performance coaching. This requires strong communication with colleagues as well customers to ensure the balance of your resource (coach face time) is effectively engaged.

•Program Development: Designing coaching programs that cater to different skill levels, objectives target markets and business strategies.

2.Income Potential:

•Revenue Balance: Coaching activities, although lower margin, should aim to achieve similar income levels as casual climbing.

•Long-term Growth: Developing a steady stream of income through loyal and progressing clients in the short term. In the long term you will build the full participation pyramid and generate coach utilisation consistency.

Case Study: Wall 3 - Coach Retention Framework that includes

1.Training Methods:

•Continuous Education: Regular training sessions and professional development opportunities for coaches.

•Skill Enhancement: Workshops and certifications to improve coaching techniques and knowledge.

2.Team Collaboration:

•Knowledge Sharing: Platforms for coaches to share experiences, strategies, and feedback.

•EDI: Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity principles should be at the core of your team in order to enhance Climbing’s naturally inclusive characteristics. If your team represents the community then engagement will be higher.

•Support System: Creating a supportive environment where coaches feel valued and heard.

3.Tiered Remuneration:

•Incentive Structure: Implementing a tiered pay system based on experience, performance, and client feedback.

•Motivation and Retention: Providing financial incentives to retain top talent and motivate continuous improvement.

Case Study: Wall 4 - Optimised Pricing Model for Junior Development Programme

1.Pricing Strategy:

•Value-Based Pricing: Setting prices based on the value delivered rather than simply increasing rates.

•Cost Analysis: Detailed analysis of costs to ensure profitability without price hikes.

2.Income Increase:

•Bottom Line Growth: Achieving a significant increase in year-on-year turnover by optimizing the pricing model without price hiking is possible.

3.Sustainable Growth has options

1.Balanced Approach: Maintaining affordability for clients while ensuring the centre’s financial health.

2.Customer Retention Approach: Building long-term relationships with clients through fair pricing and quality coaching.

Conclusion

Strategically placing coaching at the forefront of roped wall offerings can lead to substantial income and growth potential. The successful implementations at Wall 3 and Wall 4 demonstrate the effectiveness of tailored coaching strategies to ensure the best ROI for roped walls can be achieved. By focusing on continuous improvement, team collaboration and pricing, climbing centres can achieve sustainable growth, a strong competitive advantage, deliver high-quality coaching, retain top talent, and achieve financial stability while fostering a supportive and growth-oriented environment.

Customer retention

• Are you consistently converting new customers into loyal ones?

• Is your customer attrition rate higher than 6 months? 

• Do you have synergistic activities available to your customer base?

  
  

Whilst bouldering centres often excel at attracting new customers, they face challenges in maintaining long-term customer engagement and increasing lifetime spend compared to roped walls. Addressing this issue involves developing synergistic activities and enhancing the “3rd space” concept to foster a deeper brand connection and habitual activity patterns among users. These case study will explore successful strategies implemented at a number of walls to achieve these goals.

Can I enhance Customer Retention and Lifetime Spend at my Bouldering Centre?

Challenges in Bouldering Centres

1.High Recruitment Rates: Effective at attracting new customers. With the naturally lower barriers to entry comparable to roped climbing both financially and technically it comparably excels. But comparable to other leisure activities it doesn’t fare as well.

2.Shorter Customer Lifespan: Lower average lifetime engagement length compared to roped walls.

3.Lower Lifetime Spend: Less overall spend per customer during their tenure using the centre.

Strategies for Enhancing Customer Retention and Spend

1.Synergistic Activities:

•Complementary Services: To add value to membership options like yoga classes, fitness training, technique workshops, indoor skysdiving, the sky literally is the limit.

•Special Events: Hosting competitions, social events and themed climbing nights to increase engagement on a regular rotation.

2.Enhancing the “3rd Space” Concept:

•Comfortable Environment: Creating inviting and comfortable spaces where customers can relax, socialise and work to ensure your brand is ever present in their lives.

•Community Hub: Fostering a sense of community and belonging through well-designed common areas.

Case Study 1: Journey Touchpoint Strategies

1.In-Person Touchpoints:

•Personalised Greetings: Welcoming customers with personalised interactions at the front desk. Utilising tech to your advantage and making sure your customer facing staff are doing exactly that. •Instructor Engagement: Encouraging instructors to build rapport and offer tailored advice during sessions but also have defined customer sign posts to break down barriers to entry for all users.

2.Electronic Touchpoints:

•Email Campaigns: Regular newsletters with updates, tips, and personalised offers.

•Tech utilisation: Integrating new technologies and platforms to ease sessions payments, track climbing progress, engage with the community, share route setting information or whatever is going to make your users journey smoother.

3.Creating Brand Connection:

•Consistent Messaging: Ensuring all communications reflect the brand’s values and personality. A coherent message from first discovery through to habitual usage of the centre.

•Habitual Activity Patterns: Designing journeys that encourage regular visits and participation in various activities.

Case Study 2: Community Engagement Strategies

1.Diversifying User Base:

•Inclusive Programs: Offering programs that cater to different demographics and create a sense of connection with all who engage with the centre.

•Partnerships: Collaborating with local organisations, charities, youth groups, schools and clubs to reach a broader audience as possible. Utilising climbing inclusivity.

2.Solidifying Existing User Groups:

•Membership Benefits: Providing exclusive benefits and discounts for long-term members. These should focus on community build and encouraging stronger connections.

•Feedback Mechanisms: Implementing regular feedback sessions to understand and address the needs of existing users. Regular surveys that go beyond the die hard users. Understanding the disengaged is better for business than those that have already “bought” into the brand.

Conclusion

By implementing synergistic activities and enhancing the “3rd space” concept, bouldering centres can improve customer retention and increase lifetime spend. The success of journey touchpoint strategies and community engagement efforts in various clients centres demonstrates the potential for these approaches to create a deeper brand connection and foster habitual activity patterns. Often changing the way we view these “problems” to overcome can be done by changing the metric for different staffing groups - where you might view the result as more income, another person might see a new climber or a fun activity to put on or more meaningful connectivity for people to the sport (workshops).