Dive Industry Association, Inc.

October Is All About Getting Ready For DEMA
by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

It’s October and you know what that means…The Industry is getting ready for DEMA Show.  But it’s more than just getting ready for a single show.  It’s all about getting ready for another year.  It’s about meeting as many of your customers as possible in a face-to-face situation.  This is your opportunity to thank them for doing business with you all year long and renewing that relationship for another year.  It’s about introducing them to all the new and exciting things you have in the hopper for next year and building on their loyalty and relationship AND getting an order.  It’s about meeting face-to-face with as many of your former customers and renewing your relationship with them for the coming year.  And finally, it’s about meeting new customers – we call them prospects – and showing them why they should be doing business with you.  No, DEMA is not just an isolated trade event.  It’s an annual industry rendezvous that puts you in touch with your current, former and future customers.

There are many ways to make the DEMA show work for you year round.  Think of DEMA as an event that is attended by a high percentage of your customers.  It’s one of a few times in the year that you can meet with so many clients in such a short period of time.  It’s your job to make sure they are motivated to meet with you at your booth, considering that all of their other vendors are also at the show.  Once at your booth you should only do things that are only possible using face-to-face contact.  Focus on having your customers touch, feel, smell and taste your products or services (whatever is appropriate).  Make it a priority to do the things you can’t do on the internet.  This way, you’ll be spending more quality time with more customers and maximizing your Dema experience and investment.

Think of things you can do before or after the show that would make your limited time at the booth more productive.  Think of all the things you can do on the phone, or using the fax machine, or by electronically sending brochures and printed materials.  How about the use of graphics on your web site and blog site?  Meetings and demos can be scheduled on the internet as could classes and seminars with programs like Go To Meeting.

For your clients who don’t go to the DEMA Show or don’t schedule appointments with you at the show, make plans to see them at their Regional Dive Shows like Beneath the Sea, Our World Underwater or Scuba Show.  Keep a record of all the clients you meet with throughout the year and make sure each one gets the full annual update.

See you at the show.

September Is The Time To Plan
by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

It’s September already.  If you took a vacation this year, it may have been in June, July or August.  The kids are back in school and fall is just around the corner.  If you’re in the diving industry, you are probably getting ready for the DEMA Show.  With that cold, hard fact staring you in the face, you may be one of thousands in our industry that are wondering what happened to the season.  Did it ever start?  I think so.  But here is a cold fact we can’t get away from.  For many people in our industry, the season stopped for them.  Major layoffs, dismissals, firings and reorganizations.  If you worked for one or two companies and never reached your potential, there is a slim to no chance that any company is going to want to hire you.  Why would a company hire a person that has not grown with the times, learned new things or brought success to his or her company?  If you are an “Old Dog”, stop looking for a pay check and start learning some new tricks.

New tricks are cool.  Anyone can learn to use new tools to get work done.  You don’t have to be 9 years old to understand new technologies that make you for professional, productive and profitable.  I’m hearing a lot from the younger generation talking about how they need to learn about ROI, Sales Conversions and Results.  New technology is no longer about only listening to music and playing video games.  It’s about using tools to make a living!  Novel concept.

So here’s how I see the 2016 Season priorities.  People are still diving, but not as many.  People are still buying dive gear, but not only from brick and mortar dive stores.  People are still traveling, and traveling a lot, but not all of them are booking with a dive travel specialist.  Diving is still cool, but different than it was 40 years ago.  Success, I believe, will come to those who understand the recreation, understand the market, and understand how to communicate effectively with current customers, former customers and future customers (prospects).  Communicating with new technology is the new normal.

The 2016 Season will kick off at DEMA Show in November.  Now is the time to pull out your 2015 Business & Marketing Plan, measure your results and see how you can improve on it for next year.  Write out all of the new outcomes you want to achieve next year, tweak the action items where you need improvement and create your 2016 PlayBook.  Long Live Old Dogs and New Tricks.

Marketing To The General Public
by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional

The mechanics of business are pretty simple.  We go into business because we have something to sell that meets the needs of an individual or an entity.  To stay in business we need to sell a sufficient number of profitable products to a sufficient number of profitable customers.  To excel in business we need to take it serious enough to do the things that have to be done, when they need to be done.  The better we are at the mechanics of business, the more successful our business will become.

The are four areas of business that give us a competitive edge.  1) You need to have good products.  Product Managers are responsible for designing products that people will want to buy because they meet a specific customer need.  2) You need good customers. Customer Service Managers maintain relationships with their accounts and communicate with them on a regular basis.  3) You need to reach the buying public with your message when they are ready to make a buying decision.  Marketing Professionals create the message about your products and utilize the best vehicles to deliver that message.  4) You need to be there to close the sale.  Sales Professionals are there to ask for the sale.  It could be on-line or face-to-face, but someone has to ask for the sale and follow-through.

It’s easy to understand the need and expense for product management, customer acquisition & maintenance, and sales efforts.  They are part of the cost of doing business.  However, many business people don’t understand the Marketing aspect.  Is it a cost of doing business?  An expense?  An investment?  Or just a black hole we throw money into?

In our business we classify our customers as current customers, former customers and future customers.  Current customers are the easiest and less expensive group to market to.  This group currently buys from you and you should have all of their current contact information.  Needless to say, you should have a good working relationship with your current customers and contact them on a regular basis.  Former customers take a little more work but not much more expense to market to.  Former customers are those who have not purchased from you in over a year.  Unless they are no longer in business you should have their current contact information.  Think of a good reason to make contact with them again and do your best to reactivate their account status with you.

The third group of customers are people who have not yet purchased from you.  They are your future customers.  This group is the most difficult to identify, reach and sell to.  Marketing to future customers (prospects) is the most expensive group to target.  It makes me wonder why so many companies attempt to go it alone in their efforts to target market this group?  To tell you the truth, it is too expensive and time consuming for dive industry companies to tackle this group alone.  But there is a workable solution available.

DIVE LOCAL is a community effort to reach the general public and promote snorkeling and scuba diving as a exciting recreation. Our Mission is to show people how to: 1) Learn to dive.  2) Buy their diving equipment. 3) Go Diving. 4) Stay active in the recreation.  Our Goal is to get new customers in the doors of: 1) Local Dive Stores.  2) Local Dive Boats.  3) Local Dive Clubs.  4) Local Scuba Instructors.

DIVE LOCAL has been set up so that every dive related business that is searching for new customers can participate in the program.  There are many ways that Dive Industry Professionals can participate, by being Ambassadors, Volunteers, Sponsors or Donors.  This community effort is utilizing Dive Shows, Regional Summit Meetings, Magazines, Newsletters, Websites and an integrated network of Social Media.  Dive Industry Professionals and Dive Industry Businesses will spend a fraction of their marketing and advertising budget by combining forces with like-minded businesses in the diving community.  Everyone can benefit just by paying their fair share.

DIVE LOCAL is very new to the industry.  You may not of heard about it yet.  The idea is only about 3 weeks old and yet we have created a Blog Website as our draft copy of the organization and future content for our new website.  Our Blog is live and content is posted daily.  Remember, this is a work in progress and as we attract more Volunteers, Ambassadors, Sponsors, and Donors the content will be refined.  We created a facebook page and are using it to education, inform and communicate the love of local diving to the public.  Our main website is on-line and currently under construction.  More information will be available on the Blog as the program progresses, until the main website is launched.

A number of major sponsors have already stepped up to the plate and made significant contributions to DIVE LOCAL.  Dive Industry Foundation is coordinating donations and fund raising efforts through its 501(c)3 tax exempt, non-profit, charitable organization.  Dive Industry Association, Dive News Network, DivingGlobal, and Our World-Underwater are already on-board as Sponsors.  Three Regional Summit Meetings are scheduled for next year and DIVE LOCAL will be exhibiting at three Regional Dive Shows in 2016 so far.  There is a lot of work to be done and it is going to take a considerable amount of time, money and talent.  With your help and generous contributions we can unite the industry and grow our recreation.

For more details and to read up on DIVE LOCAL – See our Blog at www.divelocal.wordpress.com

View and “Like” our facebook page at www.facebook.com/divelocal

Register for DIVE LOCAL when we complete our new website.