Looking at raw figures, it might appear that nothing is terribly wrong with ski schools in the United States. According to data gathered by Marvin Kottke, the number of lessons given each year increased steadily until 1989-90, when the number increased only 1.1 percent. Last year (1990-91), the number of lessons decreased about three percent, which was probably due to the weather and economy as much as any other factors.
While many ski area operators would be delighted with such figures in this time of low snow, economic turbulence and declining population growth, I think the ski schools could do better and should be looking for big increases in the future.
The reasons more people aren’t taking skiing lessons is that PSIA is selling the wrong product. Ski schools, by and large, are also selling the wrong product. The marketing departments of ski areas are selling the wrong product — if and when they promote ski lessons at all. They are selling how to turn skis.
Sure, we all want people to ski better. It’s safer, the sport is more fun and turning skis with style is satisfying in itself. But, face it, most people could care less about turning skis. The excuses for this attitude are well-known: easier skiing with high-tech skis and groomed slopes allow anyone to get down, feel the thrill of speed and call himself a skier. Implied in this is the idea that doing it enough will automatically result in improved ski technique.
I believe, though, that skiers could be convinced that ski lessons are a good investment. This can be done by giving ski lessons a new image. The image needed is one that makes taking a lesson an experience with a reward.
What is an experience? It’s something that someone has personally encountered, undergone or lived through. That dictionary definition implies excitement, perhaps a cultural component, something with social or personal significance, certainly a sense of achievement. Look at some examples of what people in contemporary society might consider to be experiences: vacations, going skiing or fishing or biking, going to movie or a baseball game, shopping, dining out. Going to school? Perhaps, but not necessarily with a positive connotation.
What are the rewards from such experiences? Good times, fun, adventure, feelings of satisfaction, seeing new things, telling friends, good memories, items in bags to take home and possess. These rewards are essential because as experience-oriented people, rewards are part of the mix, ingrained into our psyches starting with merit stars pasted on foreheads, extra TV time and ice cream cones.
There is, of course, a cost for ski lessons: Money +Time= Reward. What skiers currently get for this outlay is the ability to manage skis (for beginners) or to turn them better (for more skilled skiers). At best, those are nebulous rewards; at worst, they may not be permanent, remembered or even applied when away from the ski class and they probably are not satisfying.
From a value point of view, that reward alone may not be worth the investment. What is needed is to make ski lessons become experiences or events and make the rewards — still intangible for the most part — worth the price.
Experiences are perceived differently by different people and different groups. Not everyone is attracted to Disneyworld or porno movies or going skiing. Experiences become experiences through a self-selection process based on self-interest.
Taking a ski lesson can be an experience for some people when the class is especially designed for them: women, teenagers, seniors or (you name) the group. It is an experience when it helps skiers select new skis, cut lift lines, meet single men or women. It is an experience when learning to race, touring the mountain at a fast pace or skiing with a racing star. It is also an experience when people learn to master powder, moguls or steep slopes. That does not rule out the generic ski lesson as an experience — for some skiers, learning to turn the skis is an experience, too.
Melded into such specialized ski instruction, of course, should be fun and adventure, important components of any ski lesson. The old complaint that students stand around waiting while instructors talk applies even more in this type of lesson configuration.
The reward component of ski lessons figures into the equation as part of the experience component. The secret of effective rewards is immediacy and every ski instructor has the power right there to bestow immediate rewards. Although many ski instructors do this, I think this reward component should be stressed and enlarged as a very important part of the ski instructor’s job.
Compliments, recognition of achievements, positive reinforcement — these are intangible rewards that boost egos, increase self-esteem, motivate people to do better … and to take more ski lessons. Even tangible rewards are possible from ski lessons: cutting lift lines, equipment testing and selection, ski school pins. But I maintain the “feel good” rewards are the most valuable.
A more difficult reward — one that might be expected, however, of experienced ski instructors — is to project a sense that the people taking lessons are superior, in a different and more important category than those who are not taking lessons. This intangible reward is one that can become a selling tool for ski schools. The impression must be given that ski lessons put the students on a plane somewhere above the mob.
That’s the product — experiences and rewards — that I believe ski schools should be selling. Ironically, ski lessons as experiences with rewards are already in place at many ski areas, but they are not being sold as valuable products.
PSIA should compile a list of all the unusual and distinctive programs now being offered at ski schools. This information could be published in a brochure along with brief descriptions of the programs and distributed in ski shops, at ski areas, at consumer shows, at fitness centers — anywhere skiers might gather. Incidently, ski area telephone numbers should be included so skiers can get more information.
This is important because it not only lets the skiing public know there is such variety in ski school lesson offerings, it aids in the self-selection process at home away from the confusion, clamor and messiness of the ski area. The object is to think of potential ski school students, not as a mass, but as small, specialized groups, with individual interests and needs.
Individual ski schools — and marketing departments — can increase the visibility of such programs through publicity and descriptions of them in brochures and literature about the ski area. As the appeal in specialized programs grows, more of them can be offered.
In addition, everyone connected with ski areas can put a value on ski lessons in general. Look at ski lessons as a product, like a lift ticket, and use all the gimmicks, deals, packages and promotions that ski areas use with lift tickets. (Ironically, ski school director’s have role models right there before their eyes.)
Some of the gimmicks might be: use ski lessons as sweepstake prizes, give as coupons for test-driving a car, provide a frequent-lesson card with reduced rates for more lessons, put dollars-off coupons on soda bottles. Also, think of tieing ski lessons to special events at the ski area. Get a sponsor or partner to give-away (i.e., pay for) ski lesson prizes or one-day deals. This could be promoted as: “Take a (Suburu, McDonald’s, Hertz, etc.) ski lesson.”
Now, how do you send out the message of “feel-good” rewards? Stroking is not something you want to admit or actively promote, particularly as it might be perceived as hollow flattery. This component will need to spread by word-of-mouth — skiers bragging to other skiers about their great lessons at X area — plus the usual pictures of kindly, smiling, reassuring, pleasant instructors.
All of this could change the image of ski schools, ski lessons and the PSIA. From a boring, stodgy old man (it is perceived as male-dominated), ski lessons could become Ninja Turtles, Madonna, Phil Donahue, and Norman Schwartzkoff all rolled into one. More important, they can become good value for money and time spent.
