Editorial – February 2025

Posted on February 23, 2025 by Gene Muchanski

What Business Are You In?
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

I had a phone call with an Industry Leader this month who was searching for some clarification about marketing concepts he thought he needed to make his company more relevant to potential customers.  He was convinced that his company had the best product on the market, but he was not sure how to get that message across to potential buyers.  As the conversation continued, he mentioned that even with all of the marketing tools his staff was using, like websites, tik-tok, and social media programs, his company was not getting the market penetration they needed.  I asked him if his company had a Strategic Plan, a Business Plan, or a Marketing Plan and as I imagined, they didn’t.   My best option at this point was to stop talking about possible solutions to problems we were not aware of.  I did not want to be the doctor who agrees to perform surgery on a patient he hasn’t examined yet.  There are smarter and more professional ways to deal with business problems and challenges. 

What I took away from this conversation is how common business problems are in the recreational diving industry.  To make matters worse, most of the problems are addressed with a marketing solution by non-marketing people.  To add insult to injury, many times the solutions are suggested by the same people who created the problem.   Albert Einstein once said that a problem could not be solved by the same reasoning that created the problem.  And yet here we are, many years later, trying to prove him wrong.  As a Dive Industry Marketing Professional, I believe that in order to grow your business successfully, you must first know where you are and secondly know where you want to go.  A Marketing Audit is the first step to putting your company on the road to growth and recovery.

As a Marketing Professional working in the Global Diving Business Network, I can see how the art and science of marketing is grossly misunderstood.  The partial and incomplete understanding of modern-day marketing tools and technologies can actually do more damage to a company’s bottom line than good.  Trying to solve problems with business tools that you do not fully understand and have not mastered, can have a devastating negative impact to your time, money, and manpower assets.  Suggesting the use of a particular marketing tool before properly diagnosing a problem is an example of a bottom-up strategy.  A top-down strategy requires that you start with defining the problem and end with using the proper tool to solve it.

If we were discussing the topic of strategy, I could go on and on about the necessity of strategic planning in the diving industry and how successful strategies are planned from the top-down and not from the bottom-up.  But this editorial is really about a simpler concept than that.  It’s about defining the business you are in and building your company around that concept. 

When you are successful at correctly defining the business that you are in, it gives your existence its purpose.  Your company organization and strategy are then built around accomplishing your mission in the most constructive and economically expedient manner.  Your strategic plan, business plan, and marketing plan will reflect all the key components that make it possible for you to complete your mission.  When you know what business you are in and communicate that to your prospective customers, the mission you are accomplishing and the mission your customers are funding will be one and the same.

 Convention and Trade Show Organizers (NAICS 56): I have worked with many different businesses in different industry sectors over the past 40 years.  The Shows and Events Industry and the Meetings Industry are favorites of mine.  There are Trade Shows, Consumer Shows, and Professional Development Conferences.  Each one has its own components that help make it successful.  Event planners have to consider the needs of Exhibitors, Sponsors, Seminar Speakers, Attendees, and Advertisers when designing the mission of an event and how the event is going to pay for itself.  It gets very interesting when your planned mission, or unadvertised purpose of the event cannot be executed economically because your prospective benefactors do not have the resources to fund your event alone. 

The Manufacturing Industry (NAICS 33) is currently going through some growing pains since the end of the covid pandemic.  Economic recovery is happening in our industry, albeit at a slow pace.  For equipment and apparel manufacturers specializing in the diving and diving related market, many of the industry’s suppliers are contemplating whether they should be participating in the retail, wholesale, or trade markets.  Each one has its own channel of distribution and how they market and advertise to their prospective customers.  As a consequence of this conundrum, trade and consumer dive shows have lost substantial support and exhibitor participation.  The silver lining in this dark cloud of uncertainty is that businesses who correctly focus on their core business are successfully working through this dilemma.

The Retail Industry (NAICS 45) has lost more than ½ of the recreational sporting goods stores that specialize in scuba diving.  In the 1980’s there were about 2,400 retail dive stores in operation.  Today, according to DIVE LOCAL there are about 947 dive stores in the United States.  While there are many reasons for the recreational diving industry market decline, a significant factor is the unbalanced focus on the equipment, training, and travel components of the industry.  If you are currently in the dive store business, it may be a good exercise to ask yourself if you are in the dive equipment business, the diving instruction business, the travel business, or the retail business?  We know that a good dive store is in all of these businesses, but the question is, “Which business do you perceive is your PRIMARY business?”  Which one is your primary purpose for being in business?  Once you have decided, your strategic planning process will be immensely simplified. 

The Travel Industry (NAICS 56): Dive travel may be the number one activity that motivates people to become certified scuba divers.  It wasn’t always that way, but it certainly may be now.  Knowing what business you are in is very relevant to the dive travel market.  I would ask the dive travel wholesalers in our industry if they considered themselves Travel Professionals or Dive Travel Professionals?  With the increasing competition in our industry with Ocean Cruising, River Cruises, African Safaris, and International all-inclusive Resorts, is the diving niche market still your main focus?  Your answer may determine which type of trade or consumer shows you attend or exhibit at.

Choosing your level of priority in the dive travel business is an important consideration to make for Dive Travel Specialists in the Retail Industry.  Promoting group dive travel could be very lucrative.  We encourage retailers to have an extensive dive travel program for many reasons.  My question for you is, “Is dive travel your priority as a revenue stream or is it a means to increase dive training certifications and diving equipment sales?”  Selecting your priority and focus will determine the direction of your strategic planning and the extent of your marketing and advertising expenditures.

Sports and Recreation Instruction (NAICS 61): Our Industry would not be what it is today without scuba diving instructors.  Whether you realize it or not, there are so many options available to Dive Industry Professionals these days it is almost overwhelming.  The question of What Business Are You In?  is very important to consider.  You have the option to instruct independently or as an employee for a diving business.  You can use your training as part of your job as a collateral duty or as the main purpose of what you were hired for.  You can teach diving part-time or full-time.  You can specialize in entry level open water students or Instructor training programs.  Whatever floats your boat.

As a Professional Educator for over 50 years (20 years as an active Instructor) I could see where the question of What Business Are You In? may be left up to the Training Agencies or the diving businesses that hire scuba instructors.  There are many levels of certification available to scuba instructors.  The Global Diving Community grows when the industry certifies new entry level open water divers.  The Global Diving Business Network benefits when people get certified because they become part of the niche market that purchases diving equipment and supplies, training, travel, and diving lifestyle products.  So, diving equipment manufacturers, dive retailers, training agencies, and dive travel business all benefit by having more certified divers.

The Dive Travel Resorts and Dive Operators need a constant stream of Divemasters and Dive Instructors to fill their employment vacancies.  They are interested in supporting Training Agencies that can provide them with qualified employees.   That opens more opportunities for Training Agencies to have a sufficient number of Instructor Trainers on hand to train and certify more Instructors.  The final conundrum is whether to prioritize the Global Diving Community’s need for certified divers or ensure the sustainability of the Global Diving Business Network with certified and licensed Divemasters and Instructors.  Regardless, it’s all a matter of establishing what business you want to be in.

For more information about the Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net  

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What Is The Diving Industry?

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Gene Muchanski

What Is The Diving Industry?
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

As we move into the new year, The Dive Industry Professional will be doubling down on being the industry voice of the business of diving issues in the Global Diving Community.  Many of the articles we produce this year will be based on how we view the diving industry world view.  We will be asking and answering foundational questions that may or may not have been discussed before or clarified in the past, pertaining to diving as a recreation, a sport, or a profession.  By focusing on “Business of Diving” issues, research and published articles, The Dive Industry Professional will continue to be the Industry voice for the Global Diving Business Network. As Dive Industry Professionals working in the trade, when we speak about the “Diving Industry” we are actually referring to diving and diving related businesses within the Global Diving Business Network.  Individuals who work in this global network are referred to as Dive Industry Professionals.

When we discuss matters that pertain to the diving Industry, we are talking about diving, the business of diving, and the people that work in those businesses.  Most of the primary research that is taking place in our industry today is being performed by a handful of marketing researchers who are spending the necessary time, money, and manpower to define the industry as it exists today, and to build a foundational template that can be used for the industry’s expansion, growth, maintenance, and success.  There are very few Professional Dive Industry Planners in our Industry at this time.  Mainly because industry planning is not a revenue generating career path.  Most of the self-appointed Dive Industry Planners that I know have other vested interests in the Global Diving Community, the Global Diving Business Network, or the Diving Industry.  Over the past 70 years, the industry has become what it is today, mainly by trial and error.  There has been no Master Plan for its creation, growth, maintenance, and success.  I am aware that a select few companies have their own agendas for their companies and not necessarily for the benefit of the entire industry.   If they do have an industry-wide plan, they certainly are not sharing it with anyone.

When we talk about diving, do we just mean SCUBA diving, or does it include different types of underwater exploration?  Is diving a means to an end or is it an end unto itself?  Is it a recreation, hobby, sport, or profession?    Is scuba diving a skill, duty, job, career, or profession?  Can you find employment as a scuba diver, or do you have to get “a real job” to be able to afford it?  How much does it pay and are there opportunities for advancement?   Is scuba diving an industry or is it a specialty niche market? If you work in a scuba diving business, does that make you a Dive Industry Professional?  What qualifies a person to be a Dive Industry Professional?  In the scuba diving market, who are the buyers and who are the sellers?  Who are Trade Professionals and who are consumers?  Who runs the diving industry?

If you are looking for answers to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place.  No, this is not a Pandora’s Box or a Trojan Horse trick, although it may seem like that to some.  It may in fact be a clear pathway to a growing and harmonious industry.  If our industry is going to attract the best and the brightest people to fill our employment vacancies, we need to spell out the opportunities, benefits, and compensation potential for choosing the diving industry as a career path.

What Diving Is: As we said in this month’s editorial, diving is an underwater activity.  It is performed with or without diving equipment.  It includes snorkeling, free diving, scuba diving (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus), and surface supplied diving.  It also includes diving-related underwater activities like mermaid diving.  All types of diving can be used as an end in itself to just to go underwater and explore, but most of the time it is used as a means to do something underwater.  It has taken the recreational diving community 70 years to figure out that diving is merely a means to an end.  That’s why you can’t have a career in diving.  You can have a career as a diver or a career in the diving industry, but you first have to specialize in an end use activity or profession first.

How Diving Is Organized: Diving can be different things to different people.  In fact, many specialty groups and niche markets have been created based on the different applications and uses of diving equipment, training, travel, and lifestyle products.  Diving starts out as an activity or an experience, then proceeds to a recreation, hobby, or lifestyle.  For many, it can turn into a job, collateral duty, profession, or career.  Dive Industry Planners have come to an agreement that the term “Divers” can be classified into two distinct categories: Recreational Divers and Trade Professionals.

Diving as a Recreation: Snorkeling, Freediving, and Scuba Diving are great in a recreational setting.  It’s a social activity that can be done in lakes, rivers, quarries, and the oceans all across the planet.  When coupled with other activities like underwater photography, marine and oceanographic research, cave diving, wreck diving, environmental studies, spearfishing, mermaid diving, and dive travel, it can turn into a life-long hobby.  All certified divers and diving-related participants make up a large portion of what we call the Global Diving Community.

Diving as a Trade Profession: Divers who use their diving skills to earn money are considered Dive Industry Trade Professionals.  We made this category all-inclusive because we treat all divers who are engaged in business as Trade Professionals.  Once a person starts making money from their hobby, they have to declare their income to the federal government (in the United States).  If they work for a business that specializes in diving and they own their own business that involves the sale of diving programs, products, or services, we can classify them as Dive Industry Professionals who are working in the Global Diving Business Network.

The Global Diving Business Network is a term we coined to categorize businesses that produce or sell diving and diving related programs, products, and services.  The businesses in the Network come from many different industries, listed in the United States NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Codes Manual.  We study the businesses within these industries that produce diving equipment, diving services, dive training, dive travel, and diving lifestyle products and sell them in our niche market.  The Global Diving Business Network is the center of what we call the Diving Industry.

The Diving Industry: Businesses in the Global Diving Business Network produce the programs, products, and services that are sold to divers in the Global Diving Community.  It is our mission as a Trade Association to know who the buyers and sellers of diving equipment, training, travel, and lifestyle products are, so that we could facilitate trade between them.  Hence, the definition and purpose of a Trade Association.

The Bridge Connecting Buyers and Sellers: Identifying buyers and sellers of specific programs, products, and services is paramount to being financially successful in the marketplace, but there is so much more to it than that.  The marketing profession was created for two main purposes to facilitate commerce between buyers and sellers.  To bring buyers and sellers together, you must first build a marketplace.  A marketplace is where buyers and sellers come together to transact business.  There are many examples of marketplaces, especially in the 21st century.  A marketplace could be a brick-and-mortar store, a mall, a field, a trade show, a mail order catalog, or an online website.  A marketplace is wherever products can be bought and sold.

Once a marketplace has been established, it is marketing’s responsibility to inform potential customers about the products being sold and how to go about acquiring them.  If you think of Marketing as a bridge that connects buyers and sellers, you can visualize numerous marketing vehicles crossing that bridge to carry messages about the products that producers build to the intended buyers that purchase them.  All of the foundational effort that goes into building a marketplace and servicing a market is what makes up the Diving Industry.  This is the critical role that Marketing Professionals play in the industry.  The ongoing buying and selling process of diving and diving related products is more than a four-day event.  It is a year-round activity, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.  It is global in nature and utilizes multiple seasonal curves.  It is an ongoing annual process orchestrated from a playbook that Professional Dive Industry Planners have created for their clients.  Do you see the importance of researching, analyzing, and creating a master plan for the creation, growth, and management of a unified diving industry now?  That bridge we built to connect buyers and sellers cannot only be open four days a year.  It has to be functional and operational at optimal performance all year round.

An Industry Master Marketing Plan: The Dive Industry Foundation has a Vision and a Master Marketing Plan for the Diving Industry.  If you follow our blogs and business articles on DIVE LOCAL you will see what we have been putting together for the past eight years.  The Dive Industry Association is the industry marketing consulting company that uses this master plan to bring buyers and sellers together, all year round.  They work with their members to increase exposure, establish brand recognition, and increase sales to more potential buyers. They help them increase their market penetration by using modern marketing tools and techniques, which is a prerequisite to increasing market share.  Every legitimate diving industry business should be an active member of the Global Diving Business Network.

For more information about the Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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Editorial – January 2025

Posted on January 25, 2025 by Gene Muchanski

Being a Dive Industry Professional
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

Fifty-four years ago, I was graduating from High School.  By the time you reached your senior year, it was expected that you had already made plans for what you wanted to do with your life.  I wanted to be a diver.  I had gotten scuba certified in my junior year and was the President of the Shelton High Scuba Club.  My Dad wanted me to go to college.  It’s funny looking back on that time.  I wanted to be a diver and yet had no idea how to prepare for that.  Was it a job or career I was thinking about?  It never occurred to me.  My Dad wanted me to go to college.  And study what?  Sure, a college education prepares you, but you really need to prepare for something a little more specific.   All I knew at the time was that I liked diving, business, and education.

While I was earnestly looking for guidance, my Government stepped in and drafted me.  Lucky # 7.   First time I ever won a lottery.  The Navy made me an offer to become a Navy Diver and pick any job I wanted.  Sounded good to me, and for adding two years onto my two-year draft notice, the U.S. Navy would take care of all the paperwork and let the U.S. Marine Corps know that I chose the Navy.  So, it was off to San Diego, California for basic training with through-orders to Supply School, Submarine School, and Scuba School at the U.S. Naval School Underwater Swimmers.

Enlisting in the Navy and picking Supply, Subs, and Diving turned out to be an excellent choice for me.  It gave me thousands of hours underway to read up on business, diving, and the need for a college education.  I was fortunate to have a dozen well-meaning mentors onboard who shared their educational choices and career paths with me, during my time at sea.  In my four years on submarines, I read everything I could on diving, especially about Jacques Yves Cousteau’s life and adventures.  Was he a Diver, Naval Officer, Marine Biologist, or Businessman?  Above all, Jacques was an Entrepreneur.  By the time I finished my active-duty obligation I knew I wanted to attend college, major in Business (Marketing actually) and work in the diving industry.

Everything I’ve done since graduating from the University of Connecticut with a degree in Marketing,  has been centered around diving and the business of diving.  The one thing I’ve learned and want to share with the younger generations after me is that you can’t make a career out of diving.  Diving is an activity you participate in, in order to do something.  Companies don’t hire divers; they hire people for what they can do while they are diving.  You have to acquire a skill, trade, or profession first, and then specialize in applying it to the diving industry or the diving niche market.  Let me explain.

While I was in the U. S. Navy and the Naval Reserves, I completed training at three Navy Diving Schools.  U. S. Naval School Underwater Swimmers consisted of SCUBA Training.  Deep Sea Diver training included lightweight and hard hat surface supplied air diving.  Mixed-Gas Deep Sea Diver training included training with advanced air and mixed gas diving units, in addition to training in salvage, demolition, supervisor training, and hyperbaric operations.  In my 24 years as a Navy Diver, I was fortunate to be called on to train, mobilize, and supervise diving operations.  That was the easy part.  The most difficult part of being a Navy Diver at the time was the underwater cutting and welding, the ships’ husbandry, working with explosives, and being a competent salvage diver.  When we looked for divers to fill a billet, it was for the skills they could perform underwater that mattered most.  That means we had to train our divers in two or more specialties.  They had to be trained and updated in diving programs, and they had to do the same in their specialty.

In the past 40 years as a Marketing Professional and Diving Industry Consultant, I have worked with diving enthusiasts who were thinking about getting into the diving industry as a job, business, profession, or career.  We discovered that the topic of “Careers in Diving” is the biggest conundrum in global diving community circles.  There doesn’t seem to be any consistency of advice for business, job, or career seekers, regardless of whom they are asking.  It was time to define the diving industry and look for common ground on what the industry had to offer in terms of business opportunities, job placement, and career potential.  Of course, the more we looked into job and career potential, the more we realized that we had to establish and promote career opportunities within our industry first.

The Dive Industry Association has been defining, promoting, and serving the diving industry for 24 years.  Our monthly Magazine, now in its 25th year, is called The Dive Industry Professional.   As a worldwide marketing and trade association that is dedicated to bringing buyers and sellers of diving and diving related programs, products, and services together, it is our mission to define, analyze, and promulgate a clear pathway for commerce and economic growth and development in our industry.  We define various parts of the industry for the purpose of understanding the flow of goods and services, from conception to consumption, through the industry’s channels of distribution.

The Global Diving Community: Let’s start with the common denominator we all share.  When a person gets certified as a scuba diver, they become a member of the Global Diving Community.  We expand that classification to include individuals who are active in diving related activities such as snorkeling, freediving, mermaid diving, and more.  Let’s call all of them “Divers.”  Divers in the Global Diving Community are engaged in diving activities for their own purposes.  They are all consumers of diving and diving related programs, products, and services.  This is the niche market we refer to in our articles about the diving industry.

The Global Diving Business Network: The business network is a group of businesses in various industries that specialize in the creation and sale of diving and diving related programs, products, and services.  This network is the center of what we call the Diving Industry.  For clarification and understanding of the economic potential of the diving industry, we have to identify this network to collect statistical information for a broad range of industries that produce and sell products to the diving niche market.  The core products of the recreational diving industry are diving equipment and supplies, dive training, dive travel, diving and diving related services, and lifestyle products.

Dive Industry Professional: Our definition of a Dive Industry Professional is someone who is employed, works, or owns a business in Global Diving Business Network.  To separate recreational divers from trade professionals we classify individuals who work in a business either on a part-time or full-time basis.  Dive Industry Professionals can also be non-paid volunteers if they are performing their services for a business entity.  We haven’t crossed that bridge yet, but something our association will be working on in the near future is talking about all the different positions you can occupy in the diving industry.  For now, we will be showcasing the different professions that divers can train for to have a career in the diving industry.

The Four Pillars of Local Diving Communities: We have written extensively in DIVE LOCAL about the four pillars of local diving communities.  They are Dive Stores, Dive Boats, Dive Clubs, and Diving Instructors.  In dive destination communities they also include dive resorts, liveaboards, and dive operators.  These are trade professional groups that work 24-7 to build, grow, and maintain their local diving community and the global diving industry.  Working with these groups is pretty clear-cut when we are talking about dive communities, dive businesses, and dive professionals.

Other Work Involving Diving: There are many professions that employ certified divers and instructors.  Some of them you would recognize immediately, and some may be new to you. Public Safety Divers are one excellent example.  Professional Police Officers and Fire Fighters may be employed as a full time Public Safety Diver or be assigned that responsibility as a collateral duty. Our military has select groups of divers they train to perform various missions in the underwater environment.  Their primary profession, for which they are recruited and paid, is Military Professional.  Universities that have diving programs in their curriculum hire certified diving instructors to be their Diving Safety Officers.  There are many other job descriptions in the workplace that require scuba diver training and certification.  Too numerous to mention here, but it would be beneficial to the Global Diving Community if we could showcase some of these jobs and careers in our monthly trade magazine.

Non-Diving Jobs in the Global Diving Business Network: Not everyone who works in the diving industry is a certified diver.  Far from it.   Companies who produce diving equipment, dive training, dive travel, and lifestyle products hire tens of thousands of employees (we don’t really know how many), to produce the diving equipment, programs, products, and services that are consumed by the Global Diving Community.  They hire Engineers, Marketing Professionals, Salespeople, Graphic Artists, Skilled Craftsmen, Tool and Die Makers, Secretaries, Accountants, Attorneys, etc.

When I worked at U. S. Divers Co, I was hired as a Product Manager because I had a degree in Marketing and years of experience in dive equipment manufacturing.  Being an Instructor Course Director wasn’t one of the required skills for the job.  It was amazing to see how many scuba instructors applied for a job with the company only to be informed by the HR Department that they didn’t teach diving at U. S. Divers.  However, if you had a degree and training in engineering, design, marketing, accounting or were skilled in a trade that the company needed, that would be a different story.

As you can see, the Global Diving Business Network needs qualified employees, business owners, and investors to keep our industry operating at optimal capacity.  It’s time we spell out the employment and business opportunities that are available to diving enthusiasts and non-divers alike.  There is a lot of work to be done on defining the diving industry as it is today, and looking for our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

For more information about the Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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Editorial – December 2024

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Gene Muchanski

Gene 2023-4Optimize Your Future
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

There is great potential in every one of us.  I think that our God-given potential is a gift we receive at birth, and it is a gift that stays with us throughout our life.  However, our knowledge of that potential, the wisdom to use it correctly, and the energy to apply it seamlessly is temporary and time sensitive.  How many times have you said, “I wish I knew then, what I know now.”  Well, I don’t want to burst your bubble but, maybe we are old and wise now because we experienced what it was like to be young and foolish back then.

In our younger days we may have bought into the foolish concept that there were no limits.  We may have even been led to believe that anything was possible.  The optimist within me would probably still believe that anything is possible, within limits.  That may seem to make the first statement true but the second statement to be contradictory.  Deep inside we all know that there are limits to everything.  At some point we hit a limit that we cannot exceed, and that’s OK.  At our age, it doesn’t matter anymore.  There is a much better strategy than maximizing your potential, or health, or wealth, or power, or influence.  It’s called Optimizing Your Future.  Optimization is all about reaching your potential efficiency so that you can be comfortable with the growth you have achieved.  It’s not about being bigger, faster, stronger, richer, or smarter than the next person.  It’s about being the best you can be.

Back in May of this year, I made a scuba dive in Cozumel.  It was an easy nitrox dive, 70 feet for 30 minutes.  Not unlike the thousands of dives I’ve made over the past 57 years.  But on this particular dive my tank seemed heavier than it usually does.  My fins didn’t propel me as fast as on prior dives.  My buoyancy was off, and I didn’t wear my wet suit because it must have shrunk over the last year and a half since my last dive. Our young Divemaster was very professional and helpful but made it her business to stay close to this ageing diver.  The dive ended without incident, but it did make me think about my age, my health, my equipment, and my ability to be a safe scuba buddy.  I know I will never be that 19-year-old Navy Diver again, but I do want to be the best and safest diver I can be at 72.

I needed a plan to optimize my diving experience.  I did not want to have any diving or travel problems that are caused by inactivity.  All of our equipment was inspected for wear and tear and items that require service were brought to our local dive store.  All of our travel documents, passports, diver certification cards, DAN memberships, and insurance policies were checked for expiration dates.  Thankfully, everything is current and in force.  I scheduled an appointment with the VA and met with an Optimization Surgeon who scanned my medical history, current medications, and blood chemistry.  She evaluated my ability to have medical procedures, my ability to respond and recover from any surgery, and ran a few tests to determine my optimization level.  The VA suggested a Physical Therapist, a Dietitian, and a Nutritionist be added to my optimization routine.  Mind you, this is an age-appropriate, doctor recommended, diet and exercise routine.

GretchenAs serendipitous as it may seem, shortly before I left for a dive trip to Bonaire last week (our 4 dives in Bonaire were spectacular by the way), I spoke with Gretchen M. Ashton, from ScubaFit LLC.  “ScubaFit is the leading fitness for scuba diving resource providing scuba divers with safe and effective exercise and nutrition programs based on the health profile of the diving community and the unique demands of the underwater environment.”  In the coming months, I am hoping to learn more about Gretchen’s ScubaFit program and how it can help the Global Diving Community optimize their physical health for safer diving.

Motivated by the positive changes I have seen in my own health and diving experience, in addition to the positive reinforcement I saw in Gretchen’s specialty programs, I believe there is a great need in the Global Diving Business Network to work with dive Industry professionals to show them how to optimize their businesses for greater professionalism, productivity, and profitability.  Too much emphasis in the past has been placed on growth for numbers sake and not for sustainable growth.  Many times we see that uncontrolled growth leads to higher revenue and larger numbers but causes higher expenses and lower profitability.  We have seen a larger number of divers on the reefs of Cozumel only to have the marine parks closed by the Mexican Government for over-tourism and increased reef destruction.

I compare the dive we had in Cozumel in May to the 4 dives we had in Bonaire last week.  The dives we experienced in Bonaire with Toucan Diving and their Dive Staff were more organized, more professional, better staffed, and more enjoyable.  The Toucan Diving Staff made us want to come back for more diving.  I believe that an organized, well run, optimized diving operation makes it easier and more enjoyable for a Dive Industry Professional to do their job as a Boat Captain, Instructor, or Divemaster.  The proof is in the high retention of staff and the percentage of return customers.

We believe that optimizing your business is in fact optimizing your future and optimizing the recreational diving industry.   Let’s stop talking about NO LIMITS and get on the sustainable growth band wagon.  Optimizing Your Future is about being the best you can be – within limits.

For more information about the Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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Editorial – November 2024

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Gene Muchanski

Gene 2023-4What is Wrong With November?
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

The Recreational Diving Industry has two seasonality curves.  One is based on the natural flow of goods and services through the industry’s channel of distribution that was set up to accommodate the buying and selling of diving and diving related programs, products, and services.  The other is based on a time frame that is convenient for a particular stakeholder group and their clients in the industry.

Designing an industry seasonality curve that works for the majority of buyers and sellers in the industry is a clear-cut strategy with multiple factors to consider and integrate.  Seasonality curves are initially formed by the purchasing demands of the final consumer.  Diving consumers buy diving and diving related products based on the needs and the time frame, or season, they purchase their products.  In the recreational diving industry, it could be based on the diving season (Memorial Day through Labor Day), the industry trade and consumer show calendar, or the time period when diving products experience the most demand.

Let’s look at the demand-side economics of the diving industry.  Do most diving consumers purchase their programs, products, and services in January, in the spring, in the summer, or during the Christmas Holiday shopping period?  I’m not going to give you a universal answer to that question because it may be different for your Local Diving Community, wherever in the world you may be.  What I can tell you is that if you are a Dive Industry Professional and part of the Global Diving Business Network, you need to be prepared and properly inventoried to accommodate the sales demand of your customers when they are prepared to make their purchasing decisions.  It doesn’t make a difference what month it is, when the next consumer show is, when the next trade show is, or when your vendors are introducing their new products for the year.  All that matters is that you have the products on hand when your customer is ready to purchase them.

When we look at the supply-side economics of the diving industry, we see that not all suppliers of diving equipment are in-sync with their buyers.  The art and science of marketing was created to provide trade buyers with the products they need, want, and will purchase when and where they need them.  If this is true, then many equipment suppliers are under performing.  If they are failing at this simple concept of supply on demand then maybe they are out of sync with their customers and wrongly, in-sync with their OEM’s and trade show producers instead.

To be perfectly clear, we have to acknowledge that our industry seasonality curve is different for each of the equipment, training, and travel stakeholder groups.  The major diving equipment producers in the industry prepare year-round for a September 1st New Season Launch.  New samples have to be ready by August 1st so that Sales Meetings can be held in August, followed by a mass Dealer introduction in September.  That gives their Dealer base an opportunity to sell off year-old inventory while the season is still in play and promote next year’s products for the Holiday Shopping Period.  With the amount of activity involved with liquidating year-old inventory and bringing on new stock, plus the busyness of the Holidays, it seems that November is not the best time for a trade event.  At least not for the diving equipment producers.

Early November may be a good time to conduct a Professional Development Conference, where Instructors and Divemasters receive their annual professional updates.  At this time, the fall season activity has slowed down and the Holidays have not yet begun.  As Professional Educators, there is little down time in preparing for an annual update and there is limited, if any follow-up required after a conference.  Not so with the equipment suppliers and the travel industry.  It is the mountainous amount of pre-show, at-show, and post-show marketing work that conflicts with the Holidays, family time, and end of year business reconciliation.  There has got to be a better way to accommodate three distinct and different stakeholder groups while providing the trade show and professional development opportunities that are needed to perpetuate our industry that allows for growth and stability?

The Surf Expo is a similar watersports trade show that is about the same age as the diving industry’s show.  They have been very successful in holding their show twice a year, in September and January.   Of course, there are differences between diving and surfing.  The diving industry is mainly made up of equipment suppliers, diving related services, training agencies, travel providers, and a number of non-profit organizations.  The Surf Expo attracts surf equipment companies and a great deal of apparel companies.  Irregardless of the type of exhibitors, Surf Expo has an excellent reputation for attracting an impressive number of retail buyers during their scheduled dates, saving the holidays for their attendees and families.

Perhaps the diving industry can schedule a number of round table discussions to consider the issue of examining our current buyer & seller trade events.  We know that the industry needs an annual Trade Show for diving equipment, diving services, and travel.  We also know that we need an annual Professional Development Conference for the education and training of our Dive Industry Professionals.  We know that the September time frame works for many and that January has worked for the diving industry in the past.  We also know that November is not the best time to conduct the type of events our industry needs.

I think it is time the industry stakeholders get together and schedule this topic for discussion. What say you?

For more information about the Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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Effective Industry Communication

Posted on October 28, 2024 by Gene Muchanski

Network coverEffective Industry Communications
By Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

Effective communication is an art form.  When we understand how effective it can be, we tend to take it more seriously.   When we take our communications seriously, we study it more and we get better in its usage.  I believe that effective communication usage in the recreational diving industry is the foundation of our understanding about how the industry operates now and how much better it can be managed in the future.

Over the years, I have seen many surveys that try to pinpoint the problems, challenges, and roadblocks that are present in the recreational diving industry.  A major concern among the various stakeholder groups is that of industry fragmentation.  The industry has been fragmented for many years and I believe that it has the possibility of getting worse, although we are working on strategies that could end industry fragmentation once and for all.

Fragmentation is the opposite of unification.  Fragmented industries, or groups, break off into smaller segments, or fragments because of what makes them different from the others in the larger group.  Unification is a process where small fragments of an industry come together in spite of their differences and look for the things they have in common.  So, fragmentation and unification are outcomes that happen because of the way we look at similarities and differences in our stakeholder groups.  The choice to fragment or unite is ours to make.

The way I like to explain unification and fragmentation is that unification brings together groups that have a common denominator on a large scale.  “We are all Divers” is a common denominator on a large scale.  The group Divers, consists of recreational, sport, advanced, specialty, technical and free divers.   Fragmentation happens when a small-scale group breaks away from the large-scale group with a larger common denominator that originally brought them together.  Many technical diver segments like cave, wreck, and CCR broke ranks with the recreational diver stakeholder group and branded themselves as Tech Divers.  They may have thought that uniting their group as Tech Divers would result in economies of scale, but in fact they are uniting under a smaller scale common denominator which made their group less effective and less visible. There is even further fragmentation occurring within the tech community today.   The outcome is less visibility, less sponsorship potential, and less economic impact.  If we only preach to the choir, their choir just got smaller.

When specialty groups break away from a larger group, they are in effect creating a smaller choir they can preach to.  Not only are they making their group smaller, but they are also limiting their future growth and sustainability.  The solution is to retain ties and communication with the larger group as you refine your sector management capabilities within your specialty group.  This way, you have the best of both worlds.  A highly qualified subset of a larger, more recognized set.    Using 21st century marketing methods, we can acquire potential business contacts on a mass scale, while we organize the demographics into manageable segments and use target marketing techniques in cost effective campaigns.

Understanding and Dealing with Industry Fragmentation:   It is not our job to fight industry fragmentation.  Our job is to work with it.  We need to understand the reasons that fragmented segments broke away in the first place.  Each stakeholder group that has broken away, or fragmented from the whole, has different needs, wants, and desires.  Therefore, it is likely they have different agendas.  Industry Planners, like myself, are busy acquiring their statistical data and organizing it into workable market segment populations.  With target marketing capability, we should be able to understand and serve their individual recreational diving needs, wants, and desires,

Recreational Diving, Work, and Business:  Ever since the early 1950’s when scuba diving began its commercial growth in the United States, there has been channel friction between divers who use scuba diving as a recreation, those who use scuba diving  in their work, and those who use it as a business tool.  Understanding their needs is key to our industry’s growth and sustainability.

The Use of Scuba Diving:   Many different types of individuals use scuba diving as a means of doing something.  Believe me, I’ve been in many different camps over the past 60 years.  To many of us, scuba diving is a recreational tool for exploration and adventure.  Military divers use it as a tool to transport them to a specific location, to conduct military operations, perform ship husbandry, or to perform oceanographic work of some type.  Scientific Divers use scuba diving to study the oceans, waterways, plants, and animals.  Commercial Divers use all kinds of diving equipment to do work underwater.  Public Safety Divers (Police Officers and Fire Fighters) use scuba diving equipment for search and rescue.  Countless other professions use scuba diving as part of their work requirements or in training.  And of course, there are those of us who are in the scuba diving business.  Are we professional businesspeople specializing in diving or are we divers who own a business because we love diving?  We can discuss that at the next trade show.  You buy the first round.

Part-Time or Full-Time Business:   We define the term Dive Industry Professional as any person who works in the diving industry.  It doesn’t make a difference if it is full-time or part-time and it makes no difference if the person is an employee, a business owner, or a volunteer.  That’s a pretty broad description, but we make it that way to be all inclusive.  As you can see, the diving industry is a pretty large tent, and it is filled with the most diverse group of individuals that have ever walked the planet.

The Global Diving Community:  As an Industry Planner and Industry Business Advisor, I have made it my life’s work to study, understand, and document the diving industry and consult with Entrepreneurs who want to start, grow, and succeed in the business of diving.   I understand that all divers who are active today are consumers of diving programs, products, and services.  Our purpose in the industry is to create and maintain a viable Global Diving Community.  Part of creating and maintaining a database of all divers in the global diving community is to actively communicate with divers across the globe.  To do that we are creating marketing vehicles that facilitate two-way communication between buyers and sellers.

DIVE LOCAL LOGOThe Global Diving Business Network:  If you are in the business of providing diving programs, products, and services to the Global Diving Community, you are a part of the Global Diving Business Network.  In order to be successful in our mission of bringing buyers and sellers together, the Dive Industry Association has a process of identifying all the producers, sellers, and resellers of diving equipment, training, travel, and lifestyle products across the globe.  Our plan is to identify and publish a current active list of all Dive Stores, Dive Boats, Dive Clubs, and Dive Instructors who are in the business of teaching people to dive, outfitting certified divers, taking them diving, and keeping them active in the recreational diving community.  DIVE LOCAL currently maintains and publishes a Dive Store Directory on its website, so that divers can find a dive store in their local diving community, close to where they live.  Our plan is to start with a current listing of dive stores, and then add dive boats, dive clubs, and dive instructors.  We encourage all Dive Industry Professionals to contact us for a free listing and tell us about their business.

Having a verified listing of dive businesses published for free on a website is a great service to active scuba divers.  You would think that every dive store, boat, club, and instructor would be visiting our website to make sure they are on the list, but I can tell you that is one of our biggest challenges in the diving industry.  Maybe it’s the independent and entrepreneurial nature of Dive Industry Professionals, but our industry lacks a central marketing and media source of information.  Everyone gets their industry information from their own circle of influence and rarely do they venture outside of their own safety net of familiarity.  The solution is to have an industry wide communication network that reaches all Divers and Dive Industry Professionals regardless of their certification agency affiliation, their diving equipment vendor preference, or their travel destination choices.

DIAweeklyNewsWe have covered this issue in our Daily Blog, Weekly News, our monthly magazine The Dive Industry Professional, and in our annual Trade Directory & Buyers Guide.  Our article, Stay Active shows certified divers how to become active divers after getting certified.

Effective Communication: Communication is a two-way process.   It requires a speaker and a listener and a format where they can exchange roles.  As a comparison, advertising is a one-way process because the message is formatted to talk at you.  You can’t have a conversation with an advertisement.  Salesmen don’t really do any better because they talk to you, in hopes of making a sale.  The job of a salesperson is to sell you what they have.  What you need and what you want are less important to them because they are limited in what they can sell you.  Marketing professionals are a different breed of salespeople.  We try to talk with you; in order to understand your needs so we can meet them.   The entire Global Diving Business Network needs to change the way we do business with the Global Diving Community.  The number one challenge is to get both sides of the buyer-seller relationship to open up to each other, in a meaningful dialog.

Bringing Buyers and Sellers Together:   Our Mission at the Dive Industry Association is to bring Buyers and Sellers together for mutual benefit and to facilitate industry growth and sustainability.  That is a “Conception to Consumption” strategy.  That means we get involved in the demand side process and supply side economics.  This process includes producers, wholesalers, sellers, re-sellers, buyers, consumers, and end users, just to name a few.  Believe me, the entire process is extensive, multi-dimensional, integrated, and complex.  The best way to describe a conception to consumption strategy is to think of how the flow of goods and services pass through the industry channels of distribution.  We call them channels of distribution because we have to take into account the differences in distribution methods for diving equipment suppliers, training agencies, the travel industry, and businesses in the service and lifestyle stakeholder groups.

Gathering Product Flow Data:   In order for a distribution system to work properly, it must be designed to complete a purpose.  The best way to understand a business’s purpose is to survey them about their goals, objectives, planned outcomes, agendas, core competencies, and unique selling propositions. We need to know about their targeted customer demographics, geographics, psychographics, and genagraphics.  On the buyers’ side, we need to compile data and understand their needs, wants, and desires for the programs, products, and services our industry produces.

Establishing an Industry Communication Forum:  We have our work cut out for us.  If the goal is to defragment the recreational diving industry, we need to get the cooperation of all divers across the globe, both certified divers and dive businesses alike.  We have to set up an industry-wide communication network that includes industry surveys, periodic blogs, weekly news updates, monthly trade magazine, and a live-streaming digital conference.  If we can schedule local dive community meetings and conferences at local, regional, and national shows & events, across the globe, we could unite the industry like never before.  I realize that many of these pieces to our communication dilemma are already in place, but it’s time to connect all of the scattered pieces to our dive industry network and move forward in a unified manner.

Looking forward to your response and engagement.  For more information about participating in a global communication forum, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director, Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica circle, West Melbourne, Florida 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  eMail: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net & www.divelocal.org

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St Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures is OPEN

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Gene Muchanski
 
St Croix Scuba 1
 
ST CROIX ULTIMATE BLUEWATER ADVENTURES IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Of course we are.   We’re open 365 days a year.

BUT, our website decided to take a few days off so if you surf over to www.stcroixscuba.com nothing happens.  Please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stcroixscuba or our Instagram site at www.instagram.com/stcroixscuba
 
As this is the prime time of the year for people to be booking their holiday and winter travels and activities we’re doing everything we can to get the word out that we’re open and operating a full schedule of dive boats, scuba diving, and retail sales. #stcroixultimatebluewateradventures #stcroixdiveshop #stcroixscuba #diveapier #diveawall #diveareef #diveawreck
 
October 23, 2024 – Public Service announcement from Dive Industry Association, Inc.  www.diveindustry.net

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2024 Winter Lionfish Throw Down

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Gene Muchanski

ZooKeeperSupport the 2024 Winter Lionfish Throw Down

The Team at ZooKeeper (www.lionfishzk.com) is reaching out for your consideration to provide reporting/coverage of the 2024 Winter Lionfish Throw Down.  As we all know, the Lionfish invasion poses a significant threat to our marine ecosystems throughout the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. The invasion is continuing to spread to South America and now into the Mediterranean.  This event is meant to continue the ongoing efforts to mitigate their impact!

The tournament’s purpose is to promote Lionfish hunting in Florida waters throughout the winter months until the largest lionfish derby, the Emerald Coast Open Pre-Tournament, begins in February. After the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission’s (FWC) Summer Challenge ends on Labor Day, the focus on culling Lionfish declines, and our goal is to keep the hunting momentum through the end of the year.

This tournament is sponsored/supported by many of the ZooKeeper partners: FWC, REEF, DAN (Dive Alert Network), and the Emerald Coast Open. Many other sponsors are Florida dive shops, Florida dive operators, dive equipment suppliers and other companies who care about protecting our Oceans!!

The Throw Down will run from October 14, 2024 – to December 31, 2024. Tournament details: https://lionfishzk.com/dive-club/derbies/2024-winter-lionfish-throw-down/

We sincerely look forward to gaining your support in bringing awareness to the lionfish invasion and our efforts to fight to protect our ecosystems. Thank you for your time and consideration.

We hope to hear from you either way.  Our reef fishes thank you along with our Team.

Share your experience with the ZooKeeper Team https://g.page/r/CVPtXwMbDtEREAg/review

Patricia Mauldin
The LZK Group, LLC.
www.LionfishZK.com
Office: 954.302.2429

The future of Lionfish ends with ZooKeeper!     #SlayEatRepeat

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Surf-fur Launches Pro-Ambassador Program

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Gene Muchanski

Surf-fur-100

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Surf-fur Launches Pro-Ambassador Program for SCUBA Divers

San Diego, CA – October 11, 2024 – Surf-fur, a leader in high-performance outerwear for watersports enthusiasts, is thrilled to announce the launch of its Pro-Ambassador Program, designed specifically for SCUBA divers who tackle cold water conditions to pursue their underwater passions. Surf-fur’s versatile gear, crafted for ultimate warmth and protection, ensures divers can perform at their best in any environment—from tropical reefs to Arctic waters.

The Pro-Ambassador Program calls on professional SCUBA divers to join a community of like-minded adventurers, offering them exclusive perks and opportunities to represent Surf-fur in the global diving community.

Program Highlights:

Brand Representation

Pro-Ambassadors will represent Surf-fur on and off the water, showcasing the brand’s cutting-edge gear designed for cold, wet, windy or tropical conditions. From pre-dive prep to the in-between rewarm to post-dive protection, ambassadors will highlight how Surf-fur products enhance every dive experience, inspiring fellow divers to explore without limits.

Product Promotion

Ambassadors will wear and promote Surf-fur’s high-performance gear during dive expeditions and water activities. Through social media, blogs, and videos, they’ll share firsthand experiences, showing how Surf-fur gear delivers unparalleled warmth and protection in any environment.

Content Creation

Pro-Ambassadors will contribute captivating content, including stories, photos, and videos, showcasing their underwater adventures and how Surf-fur gear plays a vital role in staying comfortable during extreme dives. Their content will help inspire the diving community to embrace new challenges and explore beyond their comfort zones.

Exclusive Discounts

Pro-Ambassadors will enjoy exclusive access to discounted signature products. As part of the program, they can purchase the iconic Waterparka for just $99 and our ‘daily driver,’ the SurfCheck Hoodie for $70 (for personal use). Both garments offer all-weather protection, ensuring warmth and comfort in even the harshest dive conditions.

Stay Active and Engaged

Ambassadors are encouraged to share their SCUBA adventures on social media, featuring Surf-fur gear in action. Whether battling freezing temperatures or surfacing from a challenging dive, ambassadors will highlight how Surf-fur keeps them warm, dry, and ready for the next dive.

About Surf-fur:

Surf-fur is a family-owned and operated business dedicated to creating high-quality, durable gear for watersports enthusiasts. Whether you’re diving, surfing, boating, or fishing, Surf-fur’s all-weather outerwear is designed to protect against the harshest elements, keeping adventurers warm, dry, and prepared to achieve their goals.

“Pursuit is not changing who you are, but disregarding who you are not”- and you will not be cold and uncomfortable in our gear!

For more information on joining the Surf-fur Pro-Ambassador Program, visit https://www.surf-fur.com or follow us on Instagram @surffur. Eligibility requirements apply.

Media Contact:
Cynthia Issel
CWO- Chief Warming Officer
cindy@surf-fur.com
www.surf-fur.com

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Editorial – October 2024

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Gene Muchanski

Gene 2023-4It’s All About Time
 by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

Time is an equal opportunity element.  Everyone gets 24 hours each day.  No more.  No less.  We have to use every hour given to us because we can’t save it.  You can spend it wisely or waste if foolishly.  The choice is up to you.  Time is a gift.  That’s why they call it the Present.

Time is also relevant.  One year to a one-year-old is a lifetime.  It’s equal to 100% of the time they have spent on earth.  A year goes by so slow for children.  However, one year for someone who is 100 years old is only 1 % of their lifetime.  That’s why time goes by more quickly for older people.

In Marketing 101 we learned that timing is everything.  I wished I had given that simple phrase the respect it deserves when I was younger.  Timing is a tool and a powerful one at that.  When you realize that we are the Masters of Time and not its Whipping Boy, you understand that we have the most powerful tool at our disposal to accomplish wonderful things, for ourselves, our families, our business, and our community.

As a master of time, we can use our present-day moments to live a productive life.  That goes for our personal life and our business life as well.  Creating positive moments in the present time can affect our past, present, and future.  We may not be able to predict the future, but we can create a more positive future by the decisions we make and the actions we take today.  As far as the past is concerned, we may not be able to change the past once it is in place, but we can create a more pleasurable past also by the decisions we make and the actions we take today.  So in effect, we can create the past, present, and future by what we do today.

The Dive Industry Association has been Building a Better Industry, One Member at a Time for over 23 years now.  As Industry Planners and Business Advisors, we have helped dive businesses gain market share and increase sales as a result of being aware of business opportunities their competitors didn’t realize.  A lot of that has to do with timing.  Of course, success in the recreational diving industry has a lot to do with understanding the flow of goods and services through the supply and demand chains, or what we call the industry’s channel of distribution.  When you understand the market and its components, positioning your company to be in the right place at the right time is critical to your success.

The recreational diving industry is getting ready for their annual trade show in November.  Over 500 exhibitors will be introducing their programs, products, and services to prospective buyers.  Based on over 40 years of exhibiting and attending experience at shows & events, I can safely predict that some exhibitors have done zero planning for the show.  They will just show up and hope for the best.  The vast majority will be prepared for a hopefully successful show.   They will have their booth, show samples, catalogs, dealer price sheets, and marketing materials ready to go.  Many will have surveyed their current, former, and future customers to see if they will be attending the show and will have made every attempt to schedule an appointment with the ones who will be attending.  A few will take it to the next level by focusing on the 2025 season and not calling the show an end-of-the-year event.  Forward thinking businesses will have their 2025 catalogs on display.  For them, and us, this annual trade show is all about next year, not the past year.

Exhibitors who come to a trade show prepared for a positive show experience are more likely to succeed than those who don’t.  But if you really want to be in the upper percentile of successful dive businesses you have to realize that the 2025 Season started on September 1, 2024.   Our association has written extensively about the Global Diving Business Network and its seasonality curve that many of the top diving companies subscribe to.  To many of them, a trade show is more than a four-day event.  It is part of an annual process.  Trade shows actually have pre-show, at-show, and post-show segments to them.  It’s about the timing, as we have been talking about.

While the 2024 diving season was well underway, the suppliers of diving equipment, training, travel, and lifestyle products were busy getting ready for the 2025 season.  Although product management professionals across the industry are working year-round on developing new products, they usually have a deadline of mid-august to have their new lines ready for an August sales meeting.  That means, if everything goes well, their sales reps can be on the road with their new samples by September 1, or right after Labor Day.  I guarantee that their catalogs and dealer price lists won’t say 2024 on the front covers.  Professionals believe in the WHAT’S NOW, WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S NEXT concept.  Their marketing materials will be labeled 2025.

The primary reason for a September Season introduction is to fill the retail pipeline with new products for the biggest buying season of the year – Christmas & Holiday Shopping.  This allows the retail sector to conduct end of year sales for 2024 products while they promote and sell WHATS NEW for the coming year.  Of course, you and I both know that it’s all about getting a jump on our competition.  With sales orders locked up for the coming year, vendors and their dealers can now focus on the social aspects of the upcoming trade show in two months, instead of major orders.  Granted, most buyers who ordered in September will still need to look around for fill in orders and any new items that catch their eye.

Following a September New Season Launch, Industry Planners will suggest that we all focus on a pre-show, at-show, and post-show trade show campaign.  It’s really one campaign with three parts, not three separate campaigns.  Proper timing will dictate when each phase begins and ends.  There we go with that timing thing again!  With a good trade show campaign, different parts of your company can be working on different tasks and assignments in the three phases, but the planned outcomes and task assignments will all go into one document, in its proper order.

It seems that in the recreational diving industry we have a time and a season for everything we do.  It all starts with a good plan, filled in with details about planned outcomes we hope to achieve, and the timing and tasks it takes to achieve them.   With a good written plan that is based on the ebb and flow of the industry, it is easy to see errors and omissions in our planning process.  Tweaking an imperfect plan to give you better results is better than having no plan at all.

DIF Booth at SurfI hope to see you at the Dive Industry Foundation Booth # 2050 in November.  I’ll be there with Jennifer King, co-founder of the Women Divers Hall of Fame, and Makayla Wheeler, Founder, Creative Director and Video Producer at MGW Productions.  Stop by, introduce yourself, and pick up a link to our 2025 Dive Industry Trade Directory & Buyers Guide.

For more information about the Global Diving Business Network, contact Gene Muchanski, Executive Director of the Dive Industry Association, 2294 Botanica Circle, West Melbourne, FL 32904.  Phone: 321-914-3778.  Email: gene@diveindustry.net  Web: www.diveindustry.net

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