Future of DiveShops?

[DiveNav]

Problem: I want to check out for my self what the hell is there down there (and I do not mean Australia ... or some other places )

 

[RJP]

Problem: I want to check out for my self what the hell is there down there

"Why?"
"So that___?"
"How will your life be better?"

 

[DiveNav]

"Why?"

I am curious and I want to "feel the experience" not just see it in TV

"So that___?"

I can satisfy my desire

"How will your life be better?"

I don't know yet .... first I need to check it out, then I will let you know.
But, at least, I could say "been there / done that"

BTW ... "I need to run a wire through this wall" is NOT the PRIMARY problem ....
Why?
So that _____?
How will your life be better?

I like this game

 

[RJP]

But Ray, you're ignoring the great words of George Mallory when it came to climbing Everest: "Because it's there." I get asked all the time why I dive. Mallory's response is just as valid as any other.

There's no doubt that it's a cute, albeit apocryphal, story. He never actually said "Because it's there" which was a line written by a New York Times reporter, after having interviewed Sir George, as a way of paraphrasing Mallory's climbing ethos. As it is completely consistent with his mindset... he's been given credit for the line itself.

Either way, the reality is that "because" is a pretty sh***y strategy. For ANYTHING.

Oh, by the way...

It may interest you to know that Mallory failed to summit in each of his first three Everest expeditions. In 1924 - on his fourth expedition - he and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, were last seen alive as an avalanche took them off the mountain. They were 300yds short of the summit at the time.

Mallory's mummified remains were found in 1999. According to the guy who found them...

"The pose in which Mallory had come to rest said a lot about his final moments. His head was uphill, and his arms were in a grasping-type position, probably trying to arrest a descent that was out of control. Then there was the snapped rope around his waist and the broken leg. It seemed that he had died struggling."​

And, ladies and gentleman, if that's not an apt metaphor for a struggling business or industry I don't know what is!

:shocked2:

---------- Post added November 10th, 2014 at 04:50 PM ----------

Oh yeah, what of Andrew Irvine? Well, the last guy to literally follow the "Because it's there" guy was no doubt tied to the other end of the snapped rope around Mallory's waist. Irvine's remains were never found.

Hmm... I think the dial on the Metaphor-O-Meter just went to 11.

 

[Lorenzoid]

My local dive shop has an indoor heated pool, and when I discovered that they will let customers demo in that pool essentially any product they sell--that's when they became MY local dive shop. You don't even have to demo their gear to use the pool--you can use the pool to practice skills or whatever. All you have to do is tell them you want to use the pool during a time slot that hasn't been reserved, and they give you a tank to use. This generous pool policy has encouraged me to buy gear from them whenever feasible, instead of the on-line retailers I had been using exclusively. They will match the posted prices of Leisure Pro and any others, though given how much I value the shop I will not quibble over a few dollars. I'll be going to them when my regs need servicing, too. For me, it was all about the pool. An on-line retailer will never be able to compete with that.

 

[Bob DBF]

Who wants to try?
Problem: ____________________
Solution: breathe underwater!
Business: scuba diving ________ (insert retailer, manufacturer, training agency, etc)

My problem, for years, was that I kept having to come up for air while swimming underwater.


Unfortunately, I don't run across any people with that problem, except Ab divers who are not allowed to use SCUBA by Fish and Game regulations.



Bob

 

[RJP]

BTW ... "I need to run a wire through this wall" is NOT the PRIMARY problem ....
Why?
So that _____?
How will your life be better?

I like this game

And you're getting the hang of it! And you're right, to a certain degree, that "I need to run a wire through this wall" is not necessarily the primary problem. The need to have a cable outlet in the next room might be.

Why?

Because I want to watch TV in the bedroom.​

Why?

Because there's nothing else to do in there.​

Why?

Because my wife left me.​

Why?

Because I spend too much time on ScubaBoard.​

But all kidding aside, it's not about getting to the "primary" problem.as I mentioned in a previous post part of the game is to identify the problem the customer has THAT YOUR PRODUCT CAN UNIQUELY SOLVE.

In our tongue in cheek example, if the CMO of Drill Bitz Inc goes any further back in the problem/solution chain than "put a hole in it" they risk having their product rendered irrelevant:

PROBLEM/SOLUTION
I need to run the wire through the wall: drill a hole in it
I want a cable outlet in the next room: get an Xfinity wireless system
I want to watch TV in the bedroom: stream apple TV on an ipad
There's nothing else to do in there: read a book
My wife left me: get off ScubaBoard!

 

[mjrob]

AWAP, I would officially and publicly like to invite you to visit one (or both) of our stores. It's obvious by your constant LDS bashing that someone, some time, done you wrong. I'd just like to be able to show you that we're not all evil...

Mark

p.s. I feel your pain. Had there been a decent dive shop in our neck of the woods, I'd never have bothered to create what we have. I had some pretty bad experiences in other places myself.

 

[drrich2]

Perhaps Mallory's problem was either a need to prove himself, or to acquire a sense of purpose, and Everest was seen as a solution. Something great in scope and thus meaningful to do.

---------- Post added November 10th, 2014 at 06:03 PM ----------

Okay, a customer problem. Mine, when I considered scuba.

I want to explore and interact with exotic wildlife in their native habitat/element, under my own power as much as possible, mainly natural encounters, and enjoy swimming underwater at length while able to breathe so I can stay a long time.

I like aquariums, but even the good ones involve unnatural collections of prisoner animals in fake environments artificially maintained.

I was after a more 'authentic' experience. In addition to visiting zoos and aquariums.

So I see scuba diving a lot like a naturalist rainforest hike with a focus on wildlife.

So, I wanted to get me, my wife & our friend trained/certified, with the knowledge/skill/equipment/certification to do this. Online found an instructor in the region who could do the training, and whose website was quite extensive/informative. An independent instructor under the PADI system. At the time, I didn't know much about options; it was winter and I needed to get certified in time for a honeymoon cruise.

I would later find out I was living down the road from a quarry that is a major scuba training site for the region.

Richard.

 

[RJP]

Okay, a customer problem. Mine, when I considered scuba.

I want to explore and interact with exotic wildlife in their native habitat/element, under my own power as much as possible, mainly natural encounters, and enjoy swimming underwater at length while able to breathe so I can stay a long time.

Sorry, DISQUALIFIED.

You're essentially saying that the "need" that you fulfilled with scuba diving was "a need to go scuba diving."

The moment you start to define "the need" in terms of the specific features of "the product" (which you did, by definition, when you included "swimming underwater at length while able to breathe so I can stay a long time" in your statement) you've missed the mark.

This is the part of marketing that is most interesting to me. And most powerful when you can sort it out. You see, most people can't (or won't) really tell you why they do the things they do or buy the things they buy.

Sure, people can tick off the functional benefits the receive when they engage with a product. I drink because I'm thirsty. I buy detergent to wash my clothes. I bought a car for transportation.

The functional benefit is the "what" that you receive. Good marketing, powerful marketing, taps into the "why"? OK, you're thirsty... why do you drink Coke, and not Pepsi? Clean clothes? No s**t! Why do you buy Era and not Tide. Any car provides transportation; why does one person buy a Camry and another person buy an Accord?

What's the "why" behind such decisions? Because for the most part... those decisions are irrational. I don't mean "crazy" irrational, but "based on reasons other than those based on rational, objective criteria" irrational. There's an emotional component to such decisions. That's the WHY!

So... tell us the "why" Rich? Why did you have a need to "to explore and interact with exotic wildlife in their native habitat/element"? Why do it in a way that costs so much money, and requires training, and is inherently dangerous. Tell us all the rational, feature-based answers that your conscious brain can conjur up. Then feel free to consciously edit those answers based on whatever "socially acceptable" or "self-consciousness" boundaries you don't want to cross in public. And what's left... is going to be BS.

On the other hand, I think we can make some real progress in your case if you can truthfully answer my next question. (And don't worry... because you can't. Or won't. Either way. We see a lot of that.)

Why did you have such a sense of urgency to fulfill this need... during your honeymoon?




​

So, I wanted to get me, my wife & our friend trained... and I needed to get certified in time for a honeymoon cruise.

I won't even broach the delicate subject of why the "friend" is involved.

:shocked2: