We all saw a spike in fishing and boating participation in 2020, and now things are beginning to return to normal. What’s not normal is retention. In 2022, we lost twice as many anglers as we did just six years ago. According to the Special Report on Fishing, the number of lost anglers has been trending up for the past several years, even during the pandemic. The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation is committed to finding out why.
Historically, the RBFF’s Take Me Fishing campaign has focused on recruiting new anglers. We collaborate closely with the National Marine Manufacturers Association and its Discover Boating campaign, and our angler and boater recruitment has been going well. We’re filling the funnel with diverse new participants of all ages.
But one area needs our collective focus: the churn rate in participation. The number of people leaving fishing is higher than ever, and we see a tremendous opportunity to increase overall participation by focusing on retaining these lost participants.
In 2022, at the direction of our board, we launched a multiphase research project to dig deeper than previous studies into the psychology of churn. Our goal was to learn about the behavioral science behind what makes it easy for people to trade boating and fishing for other activities.
This research will help us better understand and combat key factors that drive fishing and boating attrition, by segmenting findings and developing personas for those most likely to drop out. We will then be able to provide actionable insights and recommendations about whom to target and what messages will maximize retention efforts.
The four-phase study is being conducted by global market research firm Ipsos. Phase one, which was completed last summer, explored conversations through social data. The social listening and behavioral science teams at Ipsos analyzed more than 900 million social and online conversations to get real-time feedback from consumers discussing fishing and boating, and what is contributing to attrition.
Phase two, completed in January, included qualitative discussions with a large community of lapsed anglers and boaters. In this phase, researchers took a deeper dive into the conversations initially uncovered by phase one. They also explored topics including what other social identities and goals are salient when considering or going fishing and boating — and how the activities affirm this sense of self.
Some topics discussed in phase two included the key constraints and barriers that drive lapsed anglers and boaters to choose other activities when they claim they are “too busy.” The research team sought to better understand participants’ alternative goals beyond catching a fish; whether consumers were aware of available resources for new anglers and boaters; to whom those participants turned, and for what concrete information; and critical pain points regarding their fishing or boating experience.
Also in phase two, the research team considered what opportunities might exist to generate a sense of community for new anglers and boaters. For example, would they attend a fishing tournament if beginners were assigned a guide or help to get started? A boat show if there were newcomer tracks or guides around the show? Do local groups exist that fishing could be built into? What role do influencers play, and who might they be?
This spring, Ipsos will begin phase three: a quantitative survey to validate and size the drivers of attrition among lapsed anglers and boaters. The content will focus on understanding why anglers and boaters lapse, what we can do to prevent it from happening, and how to drive further engagement, re-engagement and retention. Leveraging behavioral science frameworks will help us to identify and further leverage the roles of attitudes, prior knowledge, goals and motivations, perceived barriers and beliefs. Lapsed angler and boater personas will be created from the research results.
Later, in phase four, the research will bring personas to life. Participants will create follow-up video diaries. The activity will focus on how stakeholders can activate retention-focused outreach and identify efforts to continue engaging anglers and boaters.
Financial support for this research comes from industry partners including the NMMA, American Sportfishing Association, Grady-White Boats, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and Yamaha Watercraft.
We believe this research is an essential step toward improving retention rates by arming the industry with insights and messaging to provide “sticky” customer experiences that keep people coming back. Ultimately, we need the industry’s support to plug this leaky bucket, and to ensure the future of fishing, boating and conservation efforts.
This article was originally published in the April 2024 issue.
