The first new resort in Utah in over 30 years is opening this Fall just a stone’s throw from my old stomping grounds. I haven’t heard back from their Marketing team to get their take, but with a million thoughts about what they should do, this week I’m temporarily going back to my daily-posting ways to share five quick things I’d do first and foremost if I were in their shoes.

This may sound strange, and I know they’ll want to put cash in their account this summer, but starting to sell season passes now like they’re currently trying to do isn’t something I’d stress over…especially in the Logan area.

Instead, I’d focus on getting as many people to try the mountain this year as possible. Passes, especially those that are sold in the spring, are an indicator of loyalty and a resort that only has lift towers up isn’t going to sway the Beaver Mountain faithful away.

Push and Pull
Instead, I’d push season passes hardest between Preston and Smithfield – the skiers that will save an hour of driving by choosing Cherry over Beaver – and simply try to get Logan residents to try the area once when conditions are prime.

Discounting isn’t always the answer, but in January of 2015 I’d let anyone with a Beaver Mountain season pass “try” Cherry Creek for $5 right after a big storm cycle. And you’d better believe I’d get an email address from every single one of those skiers so I could hit them with specific messaging when the season ends.

Later…
Because once the snow starts to melt, I’d hit pass sales like a ton of bricks. Beaver’s pass marketing is pretty soft, so I think you could force your way into the minds of most skiers early on. If you gave them a compelling reason to switch, I think many would do so.

I’d test the waters with a classic “buy now and ski in April for free” bit, survey as many skiers as possible to find out what they liked best about the resort, I’d be on every board and every event in every corner of campus when the students come back in fall, hit the fall USU football season sponsorships hard, and make sure the affordable price and family-centric brand and add-ons were front and center.

But again, I think the key will be showing these skiers what Cherry has to offer and that will take a lot of trail in year one.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.