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Wachusett Mountain also focuses on improving the
FINDING AFFORDABLE
experience for first-timers at all touch points—before,
during, and after they visit. Years ago Wachusett trimmed the
TECHNOLOGY
low-hanging fruit by adding and updating signage to make
SO, WHY AREN’T MORE SKI AREAS DOING A BETTER JOB navigating the base area easier for first-time guests. Since
OF FOLLOWING UP WITH FIRST-TIME LESSON-TAKERS? then the ski area has also been investing heavily in develop-
In some cases, they simply lack the tools and resources to effectively ing leading-edge software that enables it to connect with its
stay connected with consumers in what is an increasingly digital world. guests in a way corporate America might envy.
Technology is inherently useful in connecting with guests, but it’s “Our overriding goal has always been to collect data from
not cheap, particularly for small, seasonal areas. POS systems offering the customer when they purchase online, and as our online
all the bells and whistles and omni-channel marketing makes staying
connected with lesson-takers easy, but that level of technological sales have grown, our use of technology has grown,” says
sophistication is fiscally out of reach for many areas that don’t see Tom Meyers, the resort’s marketing director.
large visitation numbers.
Given this reality, communications, marketing, and ski school
staff are left with a mostly empty toolbox for better connecting with
first-time lesson takers. Old-school, fifties-era customer service and
collateral distribution is still very much worth the effort, but by itself
it does not yield near as much return as does a well-implemented
and well-informed data collection and automated email campaign.
Fortunately, according to Samantha Rufo, president of nxtConcepts
(a NSAA supplier firm that provides interactive marketing tools and
services to ski areas), several of her clients are finding ways to piece
together solutions. Some of the small ski areas she works with are
either adding or improving eCommerce on their websites through
new software applications such as Shopify.
Launched in 2004, Shopify actually began as an online store
selling snowboarding gear but has since grown to be one of the
most popular e-commerce platforms available, boasting more than Courtesy of Wachusett Mountain
600,000 merchant users from 175 different countries. Shopify
offers a professional online storefront, a payment solution to accept
credit cards, and even a POS application for retail sales. The app
collects customer transaction data and an automated email plugin
can be added. Wachusett employs a simple strategy behind their Smiles Rewards program:
Once added to the website, the basic Shopify plan starts at Congratulate guests on completing their first lesson and give them an incentive
to continue by offering a special upgrade to three more days.
$29 per month, but ski areas would likely require adding on additional
features that could bring the monthly fee to $79 to $299 a month. Wachusett—winner of the 2016 NSAA Conversion Cup—
In addition, Shopify charges 2.9 percent plus $.30 of every trans action employs Ascend 360 cloud-based marketing software that
processed. PayPal accounts can be added to the store.
In an era when everyday people spend five hours or more on enables targeted, omni-channel marketing direct to customers
their mobile device, communication and marketing technology is based on transactional data. Omni-channel is perhaps the
clearly the tool toward better customer relationship management holy-grail for marketers, as it promises a seamless shopping
with skiers and riders. Fortunately more apps like Shopify are being experience for guests no matter where they are purchasing,
created that make it more affordable and attainable for small ski be it online from a desktop computer or mobile device, by
areas to hook their first-timers, just like Ed’s Fly Shop. phone, or over the counter.
Data from each transaction is updated to a central
database, and targeted email campaigns are deployed to send
Automated email messages average 70.5 percent higher relevant messages that correspond with a customer’s purchase
open rates and 152 percent higher click-through rates than cycle. For instance, a guest that abandons his or her shopping
“business as usual” marketing messages. Marketers who cart may receive an email reminder to complete the purchase,
leverage automation have seen conversion rates as high as or a guest who purchased a beginner lesson package last season
50 percent. —Campaign Monitor
may receive an “anniversary” email reminder that it’s time to
think about lessons for the coming season.

48 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2018