73% of survey respondents said they brought in more revenue in 2023 than they did in 2022. However, the majority also indicated that rising costs were the biggest challenge they faced this past year and they expect this to continue into 2024.
A vast majority of companies are planning to combat rising costs by increasing prices– nearly 74% of pool pros indicated that a price increase is in the cards for this year to keep revenue strong.
Understanding how to leverage the four most common pricing models (per stop, per month, plus chems and including chems) to remain competitive and profitable will mean the difference between sinking and swimming in 2024.
Growing net profits and increasing gross revenue are in a dead heat as top priorities for 2024. The main strategies pool pros are leveraging to achieve these goals break down pretty evenly across expanding into other lines of business, reducing customer count and increasing profitability per pool, streamlining services, increasing marketing budget and acquiring routes.
Despite finding and keeping talent being the second biggest challenge facing pool pros, 52% of survey respondents say they plan to hire in 2024. 47% said they plan to keep their staff the same size, and less than 1% of respondents said they are planning to reduce their number of full-time employees.
Owners will need to focus on retention strategies to keep employees happy in a competitive labor market.
Pool pros heavily favor free and word-of-mouth marketing channels, with referrals and social media dominating and referrals taking the top spot for effectiveness, according to pros.
Only 35% of survey respondents said they are currently paying for advertising, meaning there’s a big opportunity here for pool pros to get ahead of the competition and own the online space in their area.
Everything from basic business operations to collecting payments to purchasing supplies is going online. 75% of survey respondents reported that they are using software to manage some part of their business. In addition, in 2023 only 2% of transactions were done via cash indicating a big shift toward non-cash payments. Finally, more than half of survey respondents said that increased costs and decreased availability in physical stores have led them to start buying supplies online.
Ready to simplify your pool business?
