Whatever I can do to assist this, I'll be glad to help.
Building more business
- Thread starter mjrob
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Julieofthesea
Registered
We're going to start an association? I'M IN!
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This does sound interesting. I have been off SB for awhile, so just catching up. I also think that for the good of the industry, we should find a way to incorporate Independent Instructors. We had a huge uphill battle when we started 5 years ago. Isn't the idea to get more people in the water, which is good for all of us?
OP
mjrob
Contributor
Obviously I'm only here in bursts, but I have a lot to do. We continue to market and advertise (as well as hire and expand) and it continues to allow us to grow.
My business partner and our GM were just talking about this again a few days ago. I'm all for a retail organization and we'll work hard to make it worthwhile from our standpoint. However, if there isn't any more interest than there seems to be, it's really not worth any of our time or effort...is it?
Here's what I'd toss out there: We're willing to host a gathering of interested people if you're willing to put the investment of time and travel into coming to Omaha for a day or two. We can put together an agenda, using ideas from the entire group, and facilitate the sessions. We have the room to handle three dozen or so pretty comfortably and, if we exceed that in the first round, we'll arrange for a larger meeting facility. And if we don't do it here, that's OK too. We travel pretty well.
The goal here, IMO, remains the same: increase the number of safe, educated and fun divers around the world.
In thinking about it, I don't know if we should limit this group to simply retail operations but include some marketing and advertising types as well. Interested manufacturers might be a valuable addition, too.
I don't really know where this goes but I do know that we don't know everything (and neither do you) but, if we work together instead of against one another, things might just improve for us all.
As an aside, I was meeting with a group from a "major manufacturer" recently and heard some feedback I've heard before, along the lines of, "Why would we advertise just to get a customer in your store who might buy our competition's products?"
This is what scares me the most--the total lack of comprehension as to the value of effective marketing and advertising in the scuba industry. Look at it this way: pick a consumer product and think about any advertising you've seen them do. Now think that each of those advertisers has competitors, often sharing the same shelf space with them. And then think about how successful some of those companies have become, even in the face of that horror. All the advertising in our industry is directly to "the choir", if you will. We're selling to existing customers, not new ones. Every piece of scuba marketing you see is in a scuba-oriented vehicle, normally a magazine. That ain't the way to create new customers...is it?
OK, so back to where I was. If you have friends (or even competitors, take the high road on this) that you think might be interested in getting together to share some initial ideas and see what might work, please share this with them. Then contact me. I'm Mark Roberts, I'm with DiVentures (and if you don't know about us, please visit DiVentures Scuba & Swim Centers | Springfield, Missouri & Omaha, Nebraska) and I'm here to help. Sorry, couldn't resist that. My email address is the best way to reach me and that's, as below, mroberts@diventures.net.
I know it's short notice, but we're doing our Omaha store Summer Kickoff Party on June 7. We'd love to have you here for that and, perhaps, stay for a day and talk about some sort of cooperative relationship. Maybe that works, maybe not. We're open...seven days a week.
Let me know but, like everything we do, we're not waiting around. We're acting, pushing and thinking. Every day.
Mark
My business partner and our GM were just talking about this again a few days ago. I'm all for a retail organization and we'll work hard to make it worthwhile from our standpoint. However, if there isn't any more interest than there seems to be, it's really not worth any of our time or effort...is it?
Here's what I'd toss out there: We're willing to host a gathering of interested people if you're willing to put the investment of time and travel into coming to Omaha for a day or two. We can put together an agenda, using ideas from the entire group, and facilitate the sessions. We have the room to handle three dozen or so pretty comfortably and, if we exceed that in the first round, we'll arrange for a larger meeting facility. And if we don't do it here, that's OK too. We travel pretty well.
The goal here, IMO, remains the same: increase the number of safe, educated and fun divers around the world.
In thinking about it, I don't know if we should limit this group to simply retail operations but include some marketing and advertising types as well. Interested manufacturers might be a valuable addition, too.
I don't really know where this goes but I do know that we don't know everything (and neither do you) but, if we work together instead of against one another, things might just improve for us all.
As an aside, I was meeting with a group from a "major manufacturer" recently and heard some feedback I've heard before, along the lines of, "Why would we advertise just to get a customer in your store who might buy our competition's products?"
This is what scares me the most--the total lack of comprehension as to the value of effective marketing and advertising in the scuba industry. Look at it this way: pick a consumer product and think about any advertising you've seen them do. Now think that each of those advertisers has competitors, often sharing the same shelf space with them. And then think about how successful some of those companies have become, even in the face of that horror. All the advertising in our industry is directly to "the choir", if you will. We're selling to existing customers, not new ones. Every piece of scuba marketing you see is in a scuba-oriented vehicle, normally a magazine. That ain't the way to create new customers...is it?
OK, so back to where I was. If you have friends (or even competitors, take the high road on this) that you think might be interested in getting together to share some initial ideas and see what might work, please share this with them. Then contact me. I'm Mark Roberts, I'm with DiVentures (and if you don't know about us, please visit DiVentures Scuba & Swim Centers | Springfield, Missouri & Omaha, Nebraska) and I'm here to help. Sorry, couldn't resist that. My email address is the best way to reach me and that's, as below, mroberts@diventures.net.
I know it's short notice, but we're doing our Omaha store Summer Kickoff Party on June 7. We'd love to have you here for that and, perhaps, stay for a day and talk about some sort of cooperative relationship. Maybe that works, maybe not. We're open...seven days a week.
Let me know but, like everything we do, we're not waiting around. We're acting, pushing and thinking. Every day.
Mark
Bummer, I was hoping this thread would turn into something fun and exciting...
Octopusprime
Contributor
I love the idea... I would be happy to help. I have helped many networking groups get started and been on the boards of some no profits for business development. I am new to scuba business compared to most here. But I am a believer that there is plenty of business to go around and partners are better than competition. One thing I see over and over that scuba instructors have little business experience and even less sales experiance. The next time you meet an Independant ask him how much he/she charges for an OW cert and watch them squirm...
We could build training and solutions to help independents build an online rep, help retailers get started in online sales, share marketing information,
we would need to outline the core goals of the group, how would you fund it, Independant instructors will not have a bunch of money to spend. I would not like to see manufacturer sponsors that require exclusivity.
I would like to see a group of independents to band together using their strengths to create a business that will be a group of independents to promote and market together.
We could build training and solutions to help independents build an online rep, help retailers get started in online sales, share marketing information,
we would need to outline the core goals of the group, how would you fund it, Independant instructors will not have a bunch of money to spend. I would not like to see manufacturer sponsors that require exclusivity.
I would like to see a group of independents to band together using their strengths to create a business that will be a group of independents to promote and market together.
OP
mjrob
Contributor
We're still here, seven days a week and paying the bills. Everyone is welcome to visit and, if so inclined, help us build the industry. My offer(s) have never changed and never will.
Let me know. Omaha is beautiful in February. (For those who may not understand sarcasm, that's an out-and-out lie). Regardless, we'll welcome your visit or input any time.
Let me know. Omaha is beautiful in February. (For those who may not understand sarcasm, that's an out-and-out lie). Regardless, we'll welcome your visit or input any time.
I hear this a lot about ScubaBoard. It's my opinion that it would make far better sense in terms of SEO for retailers to guide their customers here to ScubaBoard to brag about their purchases/trips/classes rather then to Facebook. We are indexed nightly by all the major search engines, where facebook is not. Ergo a comment on ScubaBoard, especially with a link to your site is worth it's weight in gold compared to the same comment on Facebook. They are certainly bigger, but when's the last time you heard someone say "I think I'll facebook that Scuba gear I want to buy."??? They're going to do their research via Google or other search engine, so wouldn't you want your praises indexed for just that very purpose? Unfortunately, many shops feel that if they get their students and customers on ScubaBoard that they will some how lose them to the competition rather than to realize just how many more customers a truly happy customer will attract for you. I call this Tom Sawyer marketing, where you get everyone else to paint your fence, but most shops just miss out on this absolutely free opportunity. It's maddening!
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