How we helped US Park Pass generate $3M revenue + 32% profit margin increase in just 4 months

By learning what park visitors really need and showing them the right gear at the right time.

US Park Pass helps adventure-seekers explore the outdoors by selling annual passes to America's national parks. The passes unlock access to over 2,000 federal recreation sites across America, making them the go-to provider for national park adventurers.

But despite having high traffic and sales as a close to 8-figure business, US Park Pass faced several challenges before partnering with Seven Ecom:

  • Profitability wasn't high enough to grow the business further

  • They struggled to sell more profitable outdoor products alongside park passes

  • They lacked a systematic experimentation program for learning, testing, and optimizing their conversion rate

The challenge

The main struggle US Park Pass had was that they couldn't rely on park pass sales alone for sustainable growth. The park passes were selling well, but the profit on each sale was too low to support growth. While they offered more profitable outdoor gear like water bottles, hats, and hiking accessories alongside passes, they struggled to get customers to add these items to their purchases.

The low profit per order made growth impossible. Any attempt to increase advertising spend would push their profit margins near break-even, leaving them stuck at their current revenue level. They needed to find a way to make each sale more profitable before they could invest in growth.

The Solution

To tackle the low profitability issue, we needed to push more profitable products along with the park pass and increase the profit per order. To do this effectively, we first needed to understand what park visitors really needed for their trips. Through multiple rounds of customer surveys, we uncovered crucial insights about:

  • Must-have items for park visits

  • Gift purchasing patterns

  • Home decor and memory items

  • Quality equipment preferences

  • Planned park activities

This research revealed four distinct customer segments:

  1. Pure park pass buyers

  2. Outdoor gear enthusiasts

  3. Memory and home decor collectors

  4. Gift shoppers

But understanding these segments was just the start. What we needed to do is to show the right products to the right people at the right time. To identify the best opportunities for product placement to drive sales, we used a combination of research methods:

  • On-site polls

  • Customer surveys

  • Heatmap analysis

  • Session recordings

  • Analytics review

  • UX heuristic review

This deep dive helped us identify exactly where and how to present products to each segment. Our A/B tests confirmed these targeted placements significantly improved our profit per order - a clear sign we were on the right track. But we wanted to push the results even further.

To grow the profit per order even further, we tested an incentive that would encourage customers to add more items to their order: free shipping threshold at $100. Since the park pass was $80, this created a natural incentive for visitors to add complementary items to their cart. This strategy proved highly successful, significantly increasing the gross profit per order as more customers added profitable outdoor gear to their purchases.

After successfully increasing profit per order with park passes, we turned our attention to optimizing the park pass funnel itself. Using our combination of research methods, we identified several opportunities to improve clarity in the purchase process. We addressed key customer concerns through strategic placement of FAQs and clearer messaging, which led to improved Google Ads performance and further enhanced our now-profitable funnel of park passes and outdoor gear.

Finally, we optimized the entire website to better serve each customer segment. This included creating dedicated sections for gift shopping, improving site navigation with an enhanced mega menu, and making it easier for visitors to find exactly what they need based on their interests.

Email Marketing Optimization

While improving the on-site experience dramatically increased profit per order, we knew there was untapped potential in US Park Pass's email marketing. Our audit revealed several critical gaps in their email strategy that were leaving money on the table:

We implemented a complete email marketing overhaul that included:

Adding Missing Flows: We built crucial automated sequences that were previously absent, including abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase upsells, and seasonal park preparation guides.

Campaign Optimization: We restructured their promotional campaigns with compelling park-specific content that drove higher engagement and conversion rates.

Strategic Cadence Adjustment: We implemented a data-driven sending schedule that maintained visibility without overwhelming subscribers.

Email Marketing Best Practices: We overhauled their templates with mobile-responsive designs, clear CTAs, and persuasive copy that reflected the US Park Pass brand voice.

Deliverability Improvements: We cleaned their list, implemented proper authentication protocols, and optimized sending practices to ensure emails consistently reached inboxes.

Advanced Segmentation: We created targeted segments based on purchase history, park preferences, and browsing behavior to ensure customers received the most relevant offers.

These email optimizations resulted in a significant increase in customer lifetime value, with email quickly becoming one of their most profitable channels.

The Results

The combination of customer research, systematic optimization across all channels, and data-driven testing transformed US Park Pass's business. Our three-pillar approach to improving their ads, website conversion, and email marketing led to:

  • $3M revenue increase in just 4 months

  • 32% improvement in profit margin

  • 40% increase in email revenue contribution

  • Successful scaling of advertising spend without sacrificing profitability

  • Higher customer lifetime value through improved retention

Key Takeways

  1. Research Before Action: Understanding customer needs through multiple research methods was crucial. This revealed distinct customer segments and their specific needs before testing any changes.

  2. Strategic Product Positioning: The right products shown to the right people at the right time made all the difference in improving profit per order.

  3. Smart Incentive Structure: Testing and implementing strategic offers that align with customer purchase behavior proved key to increasing order values naturally.

  4. Data-Driven Testing: Continuous A/B testing with a systematic approach is crucial for validating all changes before implementation, determining whether each optimization has a positive or negative impact.

  5. Segment-Based Experience: Optimizing the website for different customer segments - from gear enthusiasts to gift shoppers - created a more effective shopping experience for everyone.

  6. Integrated Marketing Approach: Maximizing profitability requires optimizing across multiple channels simultaneously - from on-site experience to email marketing. This holistic approach creates compounding benefits that exceed what any single channel optimization could achieve.

    Lifecycle Revenue Optimization: Building effective email marketing flows captures revenue throughout the customer lifecycle, turning one-time park pass buyers into repeat outdoor gear customers and significantly increasing lifetime value.