Whether you're a relative newcomer to the industry, or were running a paintball business long before Hollywood decided it was the ideal rom-com date scene (see: "This Means War," "Failure To Launch," and "10 Things I Hate About You") understanding how to market this unique sport is key for attracting new players and cultivating return customers.Here are five helpful tips for marketing your paintball business:

1. Reach The Right Audience Through Digital Advertising

Paintball operators generally spend around 2.3% of total expenses on marketing costs, according to a industry research report by IBISWorld on paintball fields in the U.S. And while your marketing budget should depend on several factors (the industry you’re in, the size of your business, and its growth stage), small businesses with revenues less than $5 million should actually allocate 7-8% of their revenues to marketing, the U.S. Small Business Administration recommends.Another reason to bump your advertising budget if you're able? Continued success as a paintball operator hinges largely on your ability to attract and engage a very specific group: Adolescents aged 10 to 19. This demographic—which makes up the dominant age bracket for paintball players—is expected to decline over the next five years, which "will likely threaten overall industry growth," IBISWorld points out.“Industry operators will likely have to spend additional revenue on marketing campaigns that are focused toward this demographic...and any increase in popularity among adolescents may help boost the industry’s revenue going forward.”— 2016 IBISWorld Industry Report, "Paintball Fields in the US"Even if you're unfamiliar with digital advertising, don't get so overwhelmed that you put it off. One easy place to start is by sponsoring your content on Facebook, which allows you to "boost" your posts and deliver them to the feeds of your target audience. Here are several other good options to explore, according to MOZ:

1. Search/display ads: Paid advertising programs such as Google AdWords and Microsoft AdCenter charge your business a fee when a searcher clicks on your advertisement. This is sometimes called "PPC."
2. Email marketing: Few strategies can match email when it comes to building existing customer loyalty. Look into providers like MailChimp and Vertical Response.
3. Local search engine optimization: Promote your services to local customers at exactly the time they're looking for your type of business. This can be one of the most time-effective and cost-effective digital marketing opportunities for local businesses.

2. Promote Different Styles of Play & Scenario Games

According to IBISWorldPaintball, paintball businesses have seen stagnation when it comes to traditional play, but certain subsets of the sport are becoming more profitable. Speedball, for example, makes up 47.6% of the industry’s estimated revenue in 2016. This form of the sport usually takes place in arenas with room for spectators, and lends itself well to tournament play. Tournaments mean spectators, and spectators get hungry! Boom: More concessions-related revenue for youAnother option is low-impact paintball, which can open up your business to all kinds of untapped demographics, including younger children, birthday parties, corporate groups, bachelor/bachelorette parties, or even family reunions. Check out our other article on how low-impact paintball can help grow your business:4 Ways Low-Impact Paintball Can Grow Your Business

3. Be Proactive With Your Company's Online Reputation

Major brands and corporations invest a significant amount of their marketing and operations budgets towards online reputation management. But you don't need the PR budget of AirBnB to stay on top of this. Simply follow best practices for handling negative reviews online, as well as increasing your company's positive online reviews. This can make a world of difference when a customer is deciding whether to play at your paintball facility or the competition's.According to survey results from Dimensional Research, 86 percent of customers report their buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews. Become extremely proactive with monitoring online reviews so that you can respond to negative feedback in a timely manner and offer up a solution. If you're receiving positive reviews and testimonials, put them to work! Share these on your on your website, in your marketing materials, and across your social media accounts. Your goal is to make a great impression quickly.

Be extremely proactive with monitoring online reviews and respond to negative feedback in a timely manner

4. Cultivate Lifetime Customers

When it comes to turning one-time players into paintball lifers, a lot of that simply boils down to sheer love of the game (and that's a beautiful thing).But on your end, there's still plenty of ways to encourage repeat business. Here are a few marketing ideas to keep players engaged:

1. Incentivize returning business with a customer rewards program, special discounts, equipment upgrades, etc.
2. Take high-quality pictures of games in action and post these images to your social media accounts. Don't forget to tell players they'll be featured on your social media page. This encourages them to re-share on their own accounts.
3. Dedicate a tab on your website to "all-star" or high-scoring teams.
4. Help out in your local community! Any visibility you gain from giving back will double as advertising for your business. Being socially responsible is a great way to engage customers and build trust.
5. Send surprise merchandise or swag. Got a loyal customer who keeps on coming back? Send them a cool customer appreciation package with your company's t-shirt, stickers, a thank you card, etc.
6. Continue to come up with new themed or "scenario" games, and market the heck out of these on your website and social media accounts.

5. Show Off Your Facilities

You know what they say—a picture is worth a thousand words. Or in this case, thousands of pellets being fired by happy customers! Your website is a means for spotlighting what you offer. And it's not just the playing fields and arenas that are important to showcase: Do you have state-of-the-art rental equipment? How about a special event room that can be rented out for private parties? A lounge area for parents to hang out in while their kids are playing? All of it matters.Make a point to prominently feature high-resolution, high-quality images on your website depicting the playing fields, arenas, props, local teams, past games, equipment, or even video footage of players in action. And how's this for a cherry on top? Search engines like Google and Yahoo also favor original, high-resolution images over stock photography, so you're also helping your site rank better in terms of SEO.Encourage players to post their own photos of the arena on social media as well, preferably with a designated hashtag (#) so you can easily find and re-feature. Take the fun a step further by holding contests and rewarding the best photographers with discounts.

6. Simplify Your Website

When we say "simple," we're not talking "bare bones." Navigating your website should be a streamlined experience, with information about different types of play, add-ons, rental equipment and costs neatly outlined in an intuitive and easy-to-understand way. Your website is the first impression potential customers have of your business—make it a great one, not a frustrating or confusing one. If the booking experience isn't smooth, customers are more likely to look elsewhere before dialing a phone to hammer out details.Good marketing takes some extra time and thought, but the effort can pay off in spades (or in this case, a smattering of paint splats all over your arena). You're already providing an awesome recreational service—now equip your business with an arsenal of marketing ammo to help it grow and thrive.

You've heard the timeless adage: Expensive sunglasses eventually get lost in the ocean, but the memories from an exhilarating kayaking adventure last forever!

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OK...we invented that saying. Two minutes ago.

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But at Peek, we really do believe in experiences over stuff. And when it comes to giving, we'll always champion gifts that get people out there—discovering, learning, exploring, doing.Science even backs us up: When it comes to research on why we should spend our money on experiences, not things, the proof is as prevalent as bad Christmas sweaters during the month of December.

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Not to mention, gift cards can be good business: Gift Card Granny reports that gift cards have been the most requested holiday gift nine years in a row, and 65 percent of gift card holders spend an extra 38 percent beyond the value of the card. Selling e-gift cards online is also important, since 56 percent of consumers like to keep gift cards stored on their phones.

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For tour, activity, and rental businesses, there's no better way to market gift cards than through Facebook. So to help you bulk up these ancillary sales during the holiday season, follow these simple steps to promoting your gift cards through one of social media's major platforms:

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Step 1: Post Creative Photos About Gift Card Sales as a Status Update

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Whether you have a few hundred Facebook fans or a few thousand, make sure all of your fans know that you offer gift cards for tours, activities, and/or rentals. Create ads specifically for Facebook using an easy graphic design tool such as PicMonkey or Photoshop to promote gift cards as the perfect gift for the holiday season.A canvas size of 1,000 x 1,000 pixels is large enough to get noticed, and can be resized for Facebook and other social media sites as needed (for a easy social media image re-sizing tool, check out Landscape). In PicMonkey, select a square canvas to start the project and use the resize tool to resize your image after it has been created. In Photoshop, edit your canvas size when you start a new project.

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To create eye-catching ads, use images of different tours and activities as part of the ad as a teaser, or use a stock photo featuring a gift card to communicate the message. iStockPhoto.com and shutterstock.com are a few sites with high-quality, royalty-free photos and illustrations you can use for creating your own images and ads.Run these posts a few times throughout the week to get the most eyeballs on them. Make sure to include a link to your gift card sales page or contact information within the post so that any interested parties can make a purchase right away. Encourage fans to share the post with friends and family to extend your reach even further.

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With an online booking system like Peek Pro, it's also super easy to sell discounted gift cards. Being able to charge customers a lower amount than the actual value of the gift card is a great way to help incentivize people to purchase them.

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Use images of different tours and activities to create eye-catching ads

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Step 2: Add A Custom Page Tab

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Make it as easy as possible for customers to get through the purchase process. One way to do this is by adding a custom page tab on your Facebook page, which essentially acts as a mini web page, or landing page, that can be fully customized. In this case, you could create a tab that says "Buy gift card." The page could contain more information about the gift cards you offer, along with a link that sends customers directly to the gift card booking page on your website.

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In order to create a custom page tab, you must log into Facebook as a Facebook Developer and configure your custom tab from there. This can be a little confusing if you're trying to figure it out on your own, but it's definitely worth it if you have a friend or team member with Facebook Developer experience.GiftFly, which uses a custom tab to promote its own product (example circled in red), is an example of a third-party service you can use to easily sell gift cards on your business Facebook page.

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Alternatively, you can also use third-party services such as GiftFly to easily install custom tabs and manage gift card sales with a small fee per transaction. GiftFly gives you the option to sell digital and mobile gift cards with custom banners and images, and also promote your gift card under a custom tab setting on your Facebook page. Check out one of their how-to videos here.

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Step 3: Run Targeted Facebook Ad Campaigns

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You can use Facebook Ads specifically for promoting gift cards throughout the holiday season. These ads show up on the right sidebar on the Facebook desktop version when a user is browsing their news feed. You can target these ads to specific users by location, interests, and other factors within Facebook.

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‍You will need to use the Facebook Power Editor tool to manage your ad campaigns. It will also let you create multiple campaigns with different blocks of text and images. Once you've set up an account, you can get started with creating a campaign.

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Select the "Send people to your website" option as the first step for creating your campaign objective. Enter the URL of your gift card landing page on your website, or the checkout page of your website. This lets the customer proceed with the purchase instead of trying to find the "buy" button upon arriving at your site.

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From there, Facebook will walk you through creating all elements of your ad—the accompanying image, text, your target market (who you want seeing your ads), and your daily budget. Make sure to include a "gift card" reference in your headline to drive people to the gift card sales page.

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You'll be able to track in your dashboard the number of clicks from each ad, so it won't take long to figure out which ones are performing well and which ones aren't. You can tweak your ad copy along the way if needed.

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“The best gifts in the world are not in the material objects one can buy from the store, but in the memories we make with the people we love. ”— Amanda Boyarshinov, Author & Educator

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Tour and activity operators that offer digital gift cards may be able to generate more sales—not only from the gift cards, but from the recipient's additional purchases made during the booking process, and after the experience has been redeemed (think about add-ons, souvenirs, etc). Use these tips to promote gift cards on Facebook to stimulate more business throughout the holiday season—and beyond!

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Read about King's Landing and their experience moving onto the Peek Pro booking system

Paintball operators have some growth challenges to target in the coming years. Due to shifting demographics and declining leisure time, industry revenue is predicted to grow at an annualized rate of 0.5% through 2021—slower than the previous five-year period, according to a market research report by IBISWorld.In order to attract new players and boost attendance, paintball owners should consider doubling down on special attractions that drive attendance and profits, IBISWorld recommends. One thing to consider adding to your arsenal of offerings? A low-impact version of the sport.While "soft" or "low-impact" paintball is a relatively new trend, this version—which offers all the competitive fun of traditional standard impact paintball with less "ouch" factor—is already taking off in Europe. Players use lightweight markers to fire smaller, .50-caliber pellets at a slower speed, resulting in 68%, or about a third of the impact force than traditional .68 caliber pellets.Here are four ways introducing this lightweight version of the original extreme sport can give your business a boost:

1. It Can Attract All Types Of New Customers

The adrenaline rush that comes with proving your mettle against friends and colleagues has always been a core appeal of this niche sport, but the painful pellets can be a real deal-breaker for otherwise interested potential visitors.By removing this intimidating element while keeping all other thrilling aspects of the game intact, you can open paintball to untapped demographics, such younger children and office groups. Think about all the birthday parties, corporate team-building exercises, bachelor/bachelorette parties, or even family reunions this kind of experience could attract.Low-impact paintball can also be tied to increasingly popular themed or scenario paintball games. For example, a low-impact zombie hunt can be a great way to entice kids, teens and young adults away from virtual gaming consoles (one of the paintball industry's big competitors) and into something closer to the real thing.

2. From Newbie to Fanatic: It Could Help Cultivate More Long-Term Players

In addition to attracting different types of players outside the typical demographic (80% male, most between the ages of 10-19), low-impact paintball lets newcomers ease into the sport in a less intimidating environment. By getting their feet wet in an entry-level version, new players can get a feel for the dynamics of the game and hone their skills before trying more challenging iterations of the sport.“If the industry can successfully double down on special attractions that drive attendance and revenue...[paintball] owners can potentially achieve significant growth among its amateur customer base.”— IBISWorld Industry Report, "Paintball Fields in the US"Low-impact paintball can be the bridge that ushers someone from "curious newcomer" to "lifelong fan," and that's important, because paintball participation has been down significantly in recent years While stats for the relatively new low-impact form of the sport are scarce, the future seems to lie in bringing in new types of clientele by expanding play options.

3. It Will Encourage Existing Customers To Bring Their Friends & Family

Just because you're adding a newer, more approachable form of paintball to your list of options doesn’t mean your field will lose its appeal to experienced players. They'll still be able to play standard-impact paintball without interference from novice players. Better yet, your usual customers may even use soft paintball to introduce their friends and family to a sport they cherish. Even parents who used to play, for example, might appreciate the opportunity to teach their kids about the game in an environment that's conducive to practicing and learning.

Adding a newer, more approachable form of paintball doesn't mean your field will lose it's experienced clientele, and the option could encourage them to bring their friends

4. It Could Give Your Business An Edge Over Other Competitors

Because soft-impact paintball is relatively new, adding it to the menu of options could potentially give your arena an advantage over other neighboring businesses that haven’t gotten in on the fun yet. By being the one place in town that offers a low-impact option, your facility can cater to a much broader range of clientele. As low-impact paintball grows in popularity in overseas, it's likely just a matter of time before the trend spreads here. Be one of the first to embrace it!With so many entertainment options vying for consumers’ free time, it's "become increasingly difficult for paintball fields to compete with video game consoles, television and the Internet," IBIS notes in its report. By expanding your offerings, young or novice players can enjoy all the fun of traditional paintball—and your business can help cultivate a host of new enthusiasts who will want to return for more.

While the summer can bring lines of customers to the dock, keeping the calendar full during the slow season can be a challenge for boat rental operators. Read on for helpful tips on how to keep your inventory out of the boathouse and on the water, no matter the time of year

1. Make It A Two-fer With A Captain and a First Mate

Offering discounted pricing for pairs can be a great way to get more people renting. They get the benefit of hanging out on the water with a buddy (or two) and you increase revenue by enticing renters with lower rates. With strategic pricing that ensures you’re still making money, it’ll be smooth sailing for both you and your customers.

2. Use Email To Send Exclusive Discounts

According to a Marketing Sherpa study, 72 percent of consumers prefer to receive marketing communications via email. Take a few extra moments to ask customers for their email addresses during the high season and you’ll have everything you need to send special offers to returning guests during slower months.

3. Put A Bow On That Group Package

As TravelPulse.com reports, people want customized packages—and they’re extra effective for attracting large groups. From corporate team-building events to family reunions to birthday celebrations, high-value, low-overhead add-on options like lunch or a quick intro session that lets customers get their feet wet before leaving the dock can make a regular rental into something special.

4. Set Low Season Pricing In Advance

While it’s convenient to price your rentals the same all year long, consistent pricing isn’t likely to lure in customers. If operating expenses are lower because you need less staff, adjust the cost to customers accordingly, knowing that your bottom line won’t suffer.

If operating expenses are lower in a slow season due to less staff required, adjust your prices accordingly

5. Start Socializing

If you’re like a lot of boat rental businesses, you barely have time to post social media updates during the summer. Take advantage of a little downtime by spending some time on your social platforms, getting to know your customers online—and telling them about those low season discounts or deals. Ask them for stories about their fun on the water, and don’t forget to take advantage of good interactions by requesting reviews!

6. Most Importantly: Make Things Easy On Yourself

Whether you’re riding the high season wave or resting during a low season trough, no increase in revenue is worth a decrease in your sanity. Seasonal pricing models, group discounts and promo codes are great ways to make some money, but they can be tricky to track...unless you have a system in place that handles it all.With an online booking system like Peek Pro, you can set up tiered pricing for groups, promotional codes and sophisticated seasonal costs with just a few clicks. Once you’re done, the system tracks promo codes, charges customers the right amount and applies seasonal pricing, all without you having to lift a finger, crack open a spreadsheet or dig around for that tattered post-it.

Let's be honest. No one likes negative reviews. And while Estaban Kolsky of ThinkJar, says that 13% of dissatisfied customers will tell 15 or more people, negative online reviews can be even more damaging—and have a more lasting impact than word-of-mouth.Escape room players leave negative reviews for a variety of reasons—some might not finish the game, others might find broken game pieces and still others might not find the room ready on time. But whatever the reason for a subpar review, you can improve the customer's experience by replying to the review.Here are a few of our favorite ways to reply to reviews:

Tough first impression? Ask for a second chance.

No one said that playing an escape room is supposed to be easy. Many players will not finish the game in the time allowed. If the game is too hard, players can leave with a bruised ego, while if the game is too easy, players can feel like they didn't get the best experience. It's a delicate balance to achieve.Read Kenny C.'s review of X-Room Real Life Escape Room on YelpAs a first time player, Kenny didn't know what to expect, but he describes in detail how the room master flat-out told his team the answers, leaving Kenny and his friends with a negative first-time gaming experience. Kai, the owner of X-Room Real Life Escape Room, responds to Kenny with an honest apology for his subpar experience and asks him to come back and give them another shot.We love this because Kai honestly expresses his own disappointment with Kenny's experience. He even goes one step further by asking Kenny what day he came in—letting Kenny know that he will do more research on what went wrong.

Respond to negative reviews with a genuine apology and ask them to come back to improve their view of your business

No one's perfect. Ask why only 4/5 stars.

One way to gain valuable feedback from your customers is to ask for more feedback on why they didn't give your business a perfect rating.Jamie, an avid Yelp reviewer, gave Adventure Vault 4/5 stars on Yelp. Everything is positive in her review, so it's hard to tell why she gave the business only four stars. So, the owner did the easiest thing—asked her. This kind of interaction shows that the owner is actively reading reviews and is open to feedback on how to improve.Read Jamie C.'s review of Adventure Vault on Yelp

Create return bookings by thanking positive reviewers.

Big Sky Breakout does a great job of thanking their positive reviewers. They have 35 reviews, all 5-stars, on their Facebook page and they have thanked almost every one. Big Sky Breakout makes a point of not only thanking their reviewers but also inviting them back. What a great way to engage directly with their customers and create return bookings. Love it!Responding to reviews, negative or positive, is a great way to improve your customer's experience and help gain return bookings. Remember, today's reviewers can lead to tomorrow's bookings.

Cauldron Skittles aren't the only goodies in store this October. With a few tricks, turning the Halloween season into a treat for your tour or activity business is as easy as polishing off an entire bag of Mini Snickers while watching "Young Frankenstein."The spooky season presents a number of ways to generate extra revenue, even if fall is your slow time of year. You don't need a giant pumpkin-sized budget to get the attention of new and existing customers—try these 10 creative Halloween marketing campaign ideas instead.

1. Run a Halloween-themed promotion

Whether you promote a "monster sale" or create Halloween-themed promo codes using words like "trick" or "treat," select a few tours and activities to be eligible for a discount through October 31. For instance, Travelocity runs Halloween-themed campaigns each year with big savings on certain hotel bookings. Pro tip: Travelocity's promotions typically last a few days or weeks, which creates a sense of urgency and prompts customers to book quickly. Generate additional buzz about your promotions by sharing them on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, coupled with an email blast to all customers in your database.

2. Add some spook to your experience

'Tis the time of year for unique, after-dark experiences—take advantage of it!If you host any type of outdoor excursion or activity, turn Halloween night (or the Saturday closest to it) into a special event. For instance, San Francisco Fire Engine Tours runs a spooky tour through the Presidio District every October. Do you offer guided hikes? Kayak/SUP excursions? Sightseeing tours? Brainstorm ways to put a "spooky" or "autumn" twist on your experience. Invite people to dress up. Share scary stories. Serve pumpkin-flavored treats along the way. 'Tis the time of year for unique, after-dark experiences—take advantage of it!

3. Run a social media costume contest

There are certain things you can count on in life, and Halloween is no exception. Every year, Trader Joe's will roll out a gargantuan inventory of pumpkin-spice flavored goods (yes, we're excited about it). ABC Family will play "Hocus Pocus" at least a thousand times. Someone you know will put their baby in a pumpkin and take a bunch of pictures. And people will get really, really excited about dressing up. Time to tap into that costume fervor.Consider hosting a costume contest with prizes, and make it easy for guests to participate via social media. Simply ask them to post a costume picture to their Instagram, Facebook or Twitter account (you can keep the contest open to multiple channels, or just one), tag @[your company] in the post, and use a specific hashtag that you came up with. Once the contest is over, post submissions to your company's Facebook page and ask for votes from fans, or simply select a winner privately and make an announcement around Halloween. Take a look at how HootSuite executed its costume contest: They asked entrants to snap a picture and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #OwlWeen as part of the entry process.Consider dedicating a page of your website to showcasing costume images that your customers tagged you in. This allows guests to browse and enjoy the online event before and after Halloween revelries. Social media contests connect you with customers, build your social following and even generate some search traffic if contest results are posted directly on your website.

Ask customers to participate in a social media contest, like posting their Halloween costume with a special hashtag

4. Hold an open house with a fall or Halloween theme

Turn any open space in your calendar into an opportunity to host an open house event, introducing your business to locals and travelers for the season. This can help attract new clientele and promote your business to locals in a relaxed and informal way. Consider hosting a giveaway or series of raffle prizes that include tickets to your tour or activity at a later date, or offering special booking rates for all open house attendees.

5. Throw or sponsor a party

If you've hit your slowest season of the year, think outside the box to generate some revenue, such as hosting a Halloween party at your business location or by becoming a major sponsor for a larger event in the area. Promote the party on all social media channels and get it listed on community websites so locals know you're hosting one of the biggest bashes of the year. Create a Facebook event for the party to help generate interest, and send event invites to business and personal contacts.

6. Entice subscribers with virtual trick-or-treat bags

Have some fun with your email marketing over the Halloween season by running a themed campaign enticing recipients to open their email for a "trick or treat." Those who receive a "treat" might get a deep discount on their next booking or a special offer, such as buy one ticket, get one free. The "trick" email could contain playful, creative content such as a digital postcard. Create a teaser headline to increase the email open rate, and run this campaign for several weeks leading up to Halloween to engage subscribers. Promote the trick-or-treat bags on your website with a simple message that states, "subscribe now for your FREE trick-or-treat bag."

7. Host a Halloween flash sale throughout October

Flash sales are a great way to prompt quick bookings. Drum up more business on those slow weekends or over Halloween week by dropping prices on certain tour and activity packages for a few hours at a time. Make sure to promote these heavily across all social media channels, and send out an alert to your email subscriber list so customers can look forward to the sale.

8. Offer free tickets to Halloween events in the community

Dedicate a portion of your marketing budget this holiday season to purchasing a certain number of tickets to local events, such as Halloween parties, pumpkin festivals, craft fairs, Oktoberfests, etc. Offer these tickets as a free gift for all bookings completed by Halloween. It could help fill empty spots on the calendar, and also encourage the event organizer to promote your business on their end.

9. Offer Autumn weekend packages with multiple activities

Inspire travelers to make the most of their experience by staying the entire Halloween weekend and booking more than one tour or activity with your company. Promote a "Halloween getaway" or "Halloween weekend escape" on your website with recommendations on where to stay, other activities in the area, and tips on where to eat. Paint the location as an ideal retreat destination—with your company's experiences as the highlights. Offer complementary add-ons that might sway travelers to book more than one activity at a time, such as instructor-led sessions before a kayaking excursion, one-on-one time with a chef during a food tour, a horseback ride with optional wine tasting afterwards, etc.

10. Promote gift cards or gift certificates

Lasso your share of early bird shoppers by encouraging them via email, social media and on your website to purchase gift cards before the holiday season officially begins. When it comes to gift cards in general, consider the benefits of an online booking software that can simplify both the purchasing and redemption process.The leaves might be falling, but your business momentum doesn't have to. Try some of these Halloween marketing tricks, and see how they treat you!