Bosworth Water Trust is a successful visitor destination established by Nigel Ryley and is now being managed by his son Toby. As he became more involved with the business, Toby found he wanted to make changes but as an established businesses, the challenge was where to start.
50 acres of glorious Warwickshire countryside and lakes
Bosworth Water Trust is a family orientated leisure and water park set in 50 acres of glorious Warwickshire countryside, just outside the historic town of Market Bosworth. With 50-acres of parkland, 20 acres of lakes and lagoons for boating, fishing and windsurfing. Visitors range from highly active to sedate. However visitors choose to while away the hours, they all agree, the location is beautiful.
A successful family business ambitious for growth
As a successful family business which was established by my father, we were doing well but I felt we could do better. The business had consistently grown through adding more features and revenue streams. However being so involved in the running of the business on a daily basis, it was difficult to take an objective view on how, where or even if the business needed to change.
Grant funding opportunities designed to accelerate growth
Quiet Storm were recommended to me and visited our business. They took the time out to understand the challenges I was facing in my new role. They were able to suggest grant funding opportunities which were specifically designed to support businesses facing these issues. This involved a structured approach to reviewing the business from a customers perspective using the Storming® process.
A different perspective on the issues every family business encounters
I was introduced to Steve and he took the time to understand the challenges I faced on a daily basis. His input helped provide me with a different perspective on the issues every family business encounters. Working through the Storming® sales and marketing process, kept me focused. The questioning and coaching, enabled me to see the business through the eyes of both a new and existing customer.
Cross selling and up-selling presented the biggest opportunities to increase sales
The biggest finding from this new perspective was, from fishing pools to Christmas trees and the park itself, the people who used the park weren’t aware of just what was available. Each aspect of the business was being marketed in isolation. Really understanding our customers, and what they want, has enabled us to focus on what makes a difference to them. This helps prioritise the changes we need to make from the ones we’d like to make.
New branding joins everything together and helps highlight all the visitor opportunities
Within a 12 month period we had rebranded, launched a new website and presented the broader visitor proposition. We’ve also had grant funded support to help us develop the leadership and management skills required to maximise the changes made. The websites for each of the business areas all now seamlessly interlink, which has increased overall website traffic. It means anyone visiting any of the websites can instantly see what else is available. Overall sales of each area of the business are up and we have a clear development plan moving forward.
The whole process has enabled the business to move to the next level and measurably expand the reach of our water park to visitors further afield.
Toby Ryley
Bosworth Water Park