Andy estimates that they spend about 85 percent of their advertising budget on social media and went so far as to call it their most important connection with guests. It’s a special connection.”Īt Tuscarora, Andy and Ada also rely on social media to connect with customers. We get a lot of traffic on that because people sitting in an office in the city like the gateway to see what’s going on up here.
#BOUNDARY WATERS OUTFITTERS UPDATE#
One of the most popular things about our website is the blog that we update a few times a week. It’s also a nice a way to stay engaged with people. “We utilize social media more than has been done in the past and that’s not only because people expect to stay in touch that way. “Why people are coming here is staying the same, but keeping in connection with them is changing,” Dan said. And they use the blog and social media more than ever. They needed a mobile-friendly website, for example, so smartphone users can easily find information. When Clare and Dan took over Sawbill, they wanted to keep the heart of the business the same but knew small changes were necessary. Sawbill Canoe Outfitters has been owned and managed by three generations of the same family. Paddlers can find a level of detail that didn’t exist when her parents ran the business, and being internet savvy is now part of the job. She attributes such questions to the internet, where sites like make it possible to rate, review and upload photos of Boundary Waters campsites, portages and lakes. “It can be hard for people not to have that really specific plan,” Clare noted. The site in question might be taken when they arrive. Outfitters don’t know every single campsite in the 1,090,000-acre wilderness. They might be asking about well-known Saganaga Lake or something more obscure, leaving Clare to explain the nature of wilderness travel without dampening their spirits. “We’re starting to get people who call and say, ‘Can you tell me about the third campsite on the left? Can we fit three tents?’” Clare said. But lately, the nature of those questions is changing. After all, sharing information is one way to help customers have good trips. So Clare knew that building relationships and fielding questions came with the business. Many of the customers she serves now remember her when she was young. But long before that, she grew up at Sawbill, about 24 miles north of Tofte, Minnesota. She and her husband, Dan, bought Sawbill Canoe Outfitters from her parents in 2016.
#BOUNDARY WATERS OUTFITTERS HOW TO#
A different day and ageĬlare Shirley knows how to answer questions about the Boundary Waters. They purchased Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters in 2015.
The internet has simply changed the way outfitters connect with their customers.Īndy McDonnell and Ada Igoe are part of the “next generation” of Boundary Waters outfitters. In short? Business is good and young people still paddle. These entrepreneurs offer a fresh take on what it means to introduce people to the wilderness. Across canoe country, the next generation is taking over outfitting businesses or starting new ones. Andy and Ada, who purchased Tuscarora in 2015, are far from alone. It turns out that a new generation of outfitters has been waiting in the wings, ready to step in and continue the tradition. That has led some to wonder: What happens when those outfitters retire? And what happens if the rumors are true that fewer people visit the Boundary Waters, and those who do are aging? Someone runs one long enough, and his or her name and face become synonymous with the business itself.
This seems to be the way of small, independently run outfitters on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. “When Ada and I are still here in 30 years, no one will remember anyone but us.” Andy hopes that the same will be true for him and his wife. “I think that he was a real charismatic guy,” Andy said, noting that the outfitter’s longevity probably contributed to his reputation. He ran the outfitting business from 1976 to 2004, and though Andy and Ada are the second owners since he retired, not a week goes by that they don’t hear his name. These outfitters offer a fresh take on what it means to introduce people to the wilderness today.Īt Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters just off the Gunflint Trail, owners Andy McDonnell and Ada Igoe often hear from customers about one of the previous owners, Kerry Leeds.
0 kommentar(er)
