Last updated on November 17, 2022
The Fastest Way to Grow Camp Enrollment is Through Joint Ventures and Partnerships with Like-Organizations Who Share the Same Customer Base As You (Kids and Families), But Who Don’t Directly Compete with You. Here’s 26 Potential Partnership Ideas to Help You Get Started.
How do joint ventures and partnerships work? Imagine your local real estate agent (let’s call her “Sally”) happily refers all of her clients to your camp. In return, you send an email to your customer list endorsing Sally as someone your customer families will be very pleased with next time they need help buying or selling a home.
As you can see, there’s many potential benefits to setting up partnerships like this, but principally, it gives you instant access to new markets and potential customer bases you couldn’t otherwise reach.
Where to Find Joint Venture Partners
I’ve been writing this summer camp marketing blog for many years and have advocated establishing joint venture and partnership deals many times before. I am aware of several camp directors who’ve set up these types of arrangements based on ideas or advice I’ve given and have been quite successful. More often than not, however, I come across too many camp directors who are either too intimidated to jump into something like this or simply don’t know where to start.
If you are timid about getting started, don’t be! Just start. All you need to do is contact a few other businesses, schools, or organizations that serve kids and families to propose an affiliation. As long as your proposition has value, how could anyone say no?
With respect to finding joint venture or partnership contacts, here’s a list of places, people, groups and organizations in case you’re stuck finding a starting point to propose joint venture marketing partnerships with:
- ACT/SAT/Academic Subject Tutors
- Schools
- Teachers
- Sports coaches
- Fitness instructors/private trainers
- Physical therapists
- Pediatricians
- Pediatric dentists
- Eye doctors or eyeglass retailers
- Dermatologists
- Realtors and real estate agents
- Pool services
- Dry cleaners
- AC/Heating companies
- Car wash or auto detailers
- Vets and pet groomers
- Pest control companies
- Gardeners and landscapers
- Toy stores
- Kids’ clothing stores
- Bike sales and repair shops
- Sporting goods stores
- Your insurance agent
- Your bank
- Restaurants you frequent
- Frozen yogurt and ice cream stores
There you have it. That’s at least 26 ideas to help you get started. Everyone on this list has access to other people you want to reach.
January and February are ideal times to make your initial contacts and set up your partnerships, as all of these places will be looking for new forms of income to start the New Year and your marketing season will be just heating up for the summer.
Let me know how you do. Good luck!
We started doing partnerships seven years ago with 30 campers and next summer will have 330, half of the total camper number. I work with a large police division in Toronto and three churches, all reaching out to at risk and marginalized youth.
Thanks Mike, I didn't even include police depts, churches, etc. Great ideas!
One that I know works really well is Consignment Stores – anyone that sell used kids or baby clothes, strollers, etc.
It's been an incredible asset for one of our clients.
Are there any restrictions here when it comes to camps that are not-for-profits? We are also a camp through the Presbyterian Church so I wonder if we have to consult with them before agreeing to a partnership. I think the perceived "red-tape" has always been intimidating for us.