The Poolside Perspective with Radostina Stoycheva from Compass Digital
June is supposed to be the payoff: the phones ring, the showroom fills up, and the season delivers on everything you spent the winter preparing for. If this June has felt a little quieter than you expected, you are not imagining it! Many dealers are reporting the same thing.
People have saved up, they’ve made travel plans, and right now they are somewhere that is not your showroom. To ensure you’re the first call they make when they return from vacation, your website and your follow-up system must be working.
General Pool & Spa Industry Sentiments
The honest read on this summer is a mixed bag.
Saunas: The dip has been bigger than expected across most of the country. Summer heat works against the category, and this year that seasonal pull has been more pronounced. If sauna inventory is sitting, now is the time to start building the fall conversation with your list. Seed the idea of the post-summer recovery ritual before October arrives and everyone is scrambling.
Hot Tubs: Results are all over the map. Some dealers are closing strong. Others are watching solid leads go quiet mid-funnel. High-ticket items are sensitive to economic mood, and consumer confidence is complicated. The floor traffic may be lighter, but the people who do come in are often serious. Treat every walk-in as a high-value lead, because right now they probably are.
Fitness Pools and Swim Jets: This is the one bright spot worth paying attention to. Counter-current and swim jet systems are getting real traction with health-focused buyers who want a low-impact workout at home without the footprint of a lap pool. If this category is not visible on your floor or your website, it is worth a look. It sells to a buyer who is not always shopping the same way a traditional pool customer shops.
Marketing Tip of the Month: Build Your FAQ Page for AI Search
Here is something that is changing fast: your customers are no longer Googling their questions and clicking through to websites. They are asking AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and the AI Overview at the top of Google search results, and most of them never scroll past that first answer. If your business is not showing up there, you are invisible to a growing slice of buyers before the conversation even starts.
The fix is more straightforward than it sounds: a well-written FAQ page. AI search tools pull from content that is clear, conversational, and directly answers the questions people are actually asking. Think less “What are our service offerings?” and more “How long does it take to install a hot tub?” or “What is the difference between a swim spa and a lap pool?” Write the way your best customers talk, and the AI will start quoting you.
A slow June is actually the right time to build this out. You have more breathing room now than you will in August, and the work you do on your site today will pay off through the rest of the season and into fall.
Not sure how your site is currently showing up in AI search results? Request a Free AI Audit and we will take a look.
Did You Know?
Voice search queries are now around 30% longer than typed ones. People are not typing “pool company near me.” They are asking Siri things like “find a pool repair company near me that is actually honest.” That conversational tone is exactly how your FAQ page should be written.
It is a small change with real results. Instead of “What is the installation timeline?” try “How long does it actually take from contract to swim-ready?” It ranks better in voice search, and it sounds like a company that a real person operates.
That is a wrap for the pre-4th of July edition of The Poolside Perspective! Hang in there. The back half of summer is coming, and the dealers who stayed ready are the ones who finish strong.
Cheers,
Radostina Stoycheva
