A: Sure, there are lots of ways I can suggest:

1. High-value, high-margin programmed activities: By offering targeted activities, such as Learn to Swim (LTS) programs, aquatic group exercise sessions, tailored support sessions, and guided delivery, organizations can cater to larger customer groups with less resource investment. This approach provides stability in staff scheduling, allows for effective budgeting through targeted marketing and advance bookings, reduces administration workload through technology, and improves member retention through direct intervention.
2. Dual use of assets: Organizations can support their membership income stream by providing continuous access to facilities for general members. Aligning programmed and unprogrammed activities effectively ensures that all users are satisfied and exposed to alternative activities. By maintaining stability in the membership income stream, organizations can subsidize innovation or new product offerings until they become established within the program.
3. Community and corporate engagement: Filling “white space” with regular sessions targeting specific markets, such as local disability groups, corporate partners, parent networks, and community organizations, can generate bookings and benefit from economies of scale. Designing experiences tailored to these target markets and emotionally engaging them through marketing efforts can attract customers who may not have previously considered the pool as an opportunity.
4. Prioritizing social value: When commercial returns are challenging, organizations can prioritize social returns. By tailoring offerings for individuals with long-term health conditions, those facing barriers to access, and hard-to-reach demographics, organizations can increase their confidence and comfort levels within venues. This approach opens up new markets for membership and may also attract funding for specific interventions that demonstrate social value, such as aquatic-based GP referral activities and instructor-led interventions.
5. Diversification: Organizations should continually introduce new products and services to delight customers and meet their evolving demands. By staying ahead of customer expectations and offering innovative activities, organizations can retain customers and prevent them from seeking alternatives elsewhere. Embracing change, innovation, and learning from failures are crucial aspects of maintaining a dynamic and attractive program.
6. Challenging the status quo: Organizations should not adhere to traditional practices simply because they have always been done that way. By smartly assessing risks, optimizing pool space, and creating new messaging, organizations can break free from routine. For example, school swimming programs can be offered in annual programs, weekly intensives, or before-school clubs instead of strictly following a term-based approach. Flexibility and mutually beneficial principles, such as offering exclusive access to swimming clubs during peak times at a premium price, can lead to increased revenue.
7. Listening to staff: Employees are a valuable resource for organizations. They possess insights into customer preferences and operational efficiencies that go beyond spreadsheet analysis. By investing in opportunities to listen to their feedback and testing their recommendations, organizations can tap into their frontline knowledge. Engaging with the team should not be a mere formality but a fundamental aspect of performance management, ensuring a better understanding of customers and identifying improvement opportunities.