In this episode Mark shares a quick tip about rebooking—the most affordable and often overlooked path to growth. He explains why camps should aim for 60–80% rebooking, how it reflects guest experience, and why low rebooking points to a systems problem, not demand. He also outlines practical steps: know your numbers, pursue rebookings immediately, and protect dates.

Carl then interviews Kathi and Bob Terrell, who share how Emanuel Pines Camp grew from roughly $900,000 to over $2 million in a few years. Their story begins with a plateau—limited growth, aging facilities, and reactive leadership—until they chose to pursue growth intentionally and bring in outside perspective.

The biggest changes weren’t just marketing. They clarified positioning, improved first impressions, and focused on attracting the right audience. At the same time, they invested in their team with systems like the “I See You” recognition program and mission-driven onboarding to reinforce culture daily.

They also introduced tools like the “Peace Card” to train staff in customer service and ensure every guest interaction reflects their mission. Along with ongoing facility improvements and a focus on removing distractions, these changes strengthened experience and loyalty.

As demand increased, they adapted by adding staff, clarifying roles, and implementing virtual sales to improve responsiveness and conversion. The result was not just revenue growth, but stronger rebooking, healthier culture, and a more sustainable operation.

Keywords
camp marketing strategy, rebooking systems, guest experience, team culture, retreat center growth, virtual sales, camp leadership, first impressions, staff development

Sound Bites

• “If you’re below 50% rebooking, something is broken.”
• “We started looking at camp through someone else’s eyes.”
• “We just became more intentional about everything.”
• “Nothing is more important than attending to guest needs.”

Hosts

Mark P. Fisher, Inspiring Growth
Carl Lefever, Improve & Grow

Guests

Kathi Terrell & Bob Terrell, Emmanuel Pines Camp

Chapters
00:00 Episode Welcome
00:45 Quick Camp Marketing Tip: Rebooking
07:36 Bob and Kathy's Camp Journey
13:15 Understanding Emanuel Pines Camp
15:42 Challenges and Growth at Emanuel Pines
23:26 Key Changes Leading to Growth
23:56 Understanding Purposeful Growth Strategies
25:45 Cultivating Team Relationships and Culture
28:00 Mission-Driven Orientation and Guest Experience
30:20 The Peace Card: Enhancing Customer Service
35:24 Navigating Marriage and Leadership
40:20 Virtual Sales: A New Approach to Growth
46:30 Sustaining Marriage and Leadership in Camp Management
51:41 Podcast Intro Animation 16x9.mp4

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In this episode, Carl shares a practical marketing tip on turning past guests into your next booking engine—one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to increase occupancy without chasing entirely new leads. By segmenting your audience and sending timely, relevant follow-up emails, camps can unlock a major source of repeat business that often goes underused.

Then Mark interviews Bob Briscoe, Executive Director of Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center, brings a long-term perspective shaped by decades in camping—from his early experiences as a camper and trail guide to leading the organization through seasons of change. That background informs how he approaches leadership, balancing mission, relationships, and financial sustainability.

The conversation walks through how the camp moved from inconsistent, “spiky” bookings to steady growth. Faced with unpredictable revenue and underperforming programs, Bob and his team made key decisions to simplify their offerings, focus on profitable guest groups, and invest in improving their marketing visibility. The result was fewer gaps, stronger midweek bookings, and significant growth in room nights—including doubling occupancy in one of their primary lodging facilities.

This episode highlights what actually drives sustainable growth: clear decisions about what to stop doing, systems that support consistent marketing, and the willingness to seek outside help when internal capacity runs thin.

Keywords
camp growth, retreat center marketing, camp occupancy, guest group strategy, camp revenue growth, digital marketing for camps, camp leadership, camp operations, retreat booking consistency

Sound Bites

• “Our bookings were spiky… full weekends and then crickets.”
• “The big change was answering the phone because it was ringing.”
• “You can’t afford the person you need—so get the right help another way.”
• “Be open to asking for help and being teachable.”

Hosts

Mark P. Fisher, Inspiring Growth
Carl Lefever, Improve & Grow

Guest

Bob Briscoe, Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Format
00:05 Marketing Strategies for Camps
03:00 Bob Briscoe's Journey in Camp Leadership
06:05 Understanding Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center
09:12 Challenges and Changes in Camp Operations
12:14 Navigating Program Adjustments and Guest Groups
16:51 Innovative Retreat Solutions
17:58 Recognizing the Need for External Help
19:23 Evaluating Marketing Partnerships
22:15 Navigating Budget Approvals
24:20 Implementing Changes Post-COVID
26:37 Tracking Revenue Growth
28:24 Creative Strategies During Challenges
29:24 Future Growth Focus
31:07 Encouragement for Stuck Camp Directors
35:33 Personal Insights on Marriage Growth

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In this episode, Mark shares a practical tip on using virtual tours to help camps close more bookings by making it easier for planners to visualize and sell the experience internally.

Then Carl and Mark sit down with Dusty Ledbetter, Digital Outreach Manager at Camp Cho-Yeh, to unpack a different approach to summer camp marketing—one focused less on driving traffic and more on converting interest into action.

Dusty explains how his team built a system to capture leads, follow up quickly, and guide families through the decision process. Instead of relying on parents to register on their own, Camp Cho-Yeh uses targeted offers, structured landing pages, and a trained sales team to turn inquiries into conversations—and conversations into registrations.

The result: 300+ new camper registrations from paid campaigns, with significantly higher conversion rates than traditional camp marketing funnels.

This episode breaks down the full system—from Meta ads and messaging strategy to sales calls, follow-up processes, and lifetime value math. If your camp is generating interest but struggling to convert it into registrations, this provides a practical model to close that gap.

camp marketing, summer camp registration, lead generation, camp growth, Meta ads, Facebook ads, sales systems, conversion strategy, camp revenue, digital marketing for camps

• “The ad’s job isn’t to sell—it’s to stop the scroll and get the click.”
• “70% of the conversion happens after the click.”
• “About 88% of our qualified leads now turn into registrations.”

Mark P. Fisher, Inspiring Growth
Carl Lefever, Improve & Grow

Dusty Ledbetter, Camp Cho-Yeh

00:00 Introduction
02:00 Camp Marketing Tip: Virtual Tours That Close Deals
05:30 Dusty’s Camp Story and Background
10:00 The Problem with Traditional Camp Marketing Funnels
14:30 Why Traffic Alone Doesn’t Drive Registrations
18:00 Building a Lead Capture System for Summer Camp
22:00 The Role of Sales Calls in Camp Enrollment
27:00 Landing Page Strategy and Lead Offers
33:00 Meta Ads: Messaging, Creative, and Targeting
40:00 Lead Follow-Up Systems That Convert
44:00 Understanding Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
48:00 Lifetime Value (LTV) and Smarter Budgeting
52:00 Scaling Growth Through Testing and Iteration

Camp Cho-Yeh >

Summer Camp Landing Page >

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