Future of DiveShops?

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There's also the economics factor.
Scuba is an expensive sport to get into and it continues to be expensive even after initial gear purchases/training costs in the form of going someplace to dive.
Most people aren't into cold water. Here in CA we have cold water and as such requires more gear and more money than someplace warm.
But to go dive in warm water from here means a plane ticket and hotel plus charter fees, etc. Plus the time off to do it.
We also have a big change in demographics here in CA.
What used to be considered a minority group of immigrants has now reached almost 50% of the population. The rich white yuppie with plenty of disposable income and a nice 2 or 3 week payed vacation is becoming less and less. Sure there are pockets down in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and LA, but that's a small minority of big wage earners and the ones most likely to take up scuba diving. Most people in CA are moderate to poor and struggle just to make ends meet. We pay the highest taxes, rents, mortgages, gas, food, utilities, etc. in the entire nation. All this takes away from disposable income, and if there is anything left over it sure as hell isn't going to go to scuba diving, it's going to put gas in their cars.
All you people seem to think that all the scuba industry has to do is advertise and all of a sudden it will be more popular than ever and everybody will be rolling in money.
I don't think that's the case. I think that an advertising campaign (if it ever happened) would be very expensive with very little return.
I think from a national average, not CO and other high money pockets, the nation has a record of part time minimum wage jobs that pay no benefits and people are struggling.
I think you people sitting here with three figure jobs & perks are failing to see the reality.
Unfortunately the LDS is just a meter of what the "new" reality is. It has nothing to do with how they run their businesses, there just isn't the demand there once was simply because those types of people who fed them are fewer now.

And there it is.!....and believe me it isnt just in CA, its worldwide.

---------- Post added November 16th, 2014 at 08:38 PM ----------

Sorry, English is my first language and I'm not very good at it.

There is no competition between local dive shops as you can buy the the same items at the same price at all of them locally. Somehow they also ignore, to their own loss, the competition of online SCUBA retailers, never mind anyone else that wants my recreational dollar. It is this lack of understanding of a world outside their personal hobby that is killing the shops here.

A local shop just changed hands to it's "manager" and is changing direction to a watersports shop. Although he will still maintain some of the LDS functions, he is marketing more to other watersports where he was making more profit. I look forward to chatting with him about the success of this change and will pass on anything interesting.


Hope this makes more sense.

Bob
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There are more ways than one to skin a cat, however the cat never likes it.

This is a common thread internationally Bob, in Europe some scuba shops morph into Ski shops over winter, or supplement their income with other perhaps semi related lines like kayaking, or hiking or fishing etc. We are experiencing similar trends here too.

 

[cerich]

If you own a dive shop, how in the hell are you not raising hell DAILY with the industry marketing arm/PADI/SSI/NAUI etc to advertise more to the general public??! I'd be making it damn clear to each of them that they needed to do more to bring in new folks to the sport. To let them get away with the little they do without raising holy hell is not only digging your own grave, but paying for the service in advance, picking out the box, and laying down in it now & then to see how well it fits.

.

You listed training agencies, they are NOT the marketing arm of the dive industry. One, PADI tries to step in the gap but it is mostly a "to the choir" approach.

DEMA is actually the marketing arm of the industry and they need to be defunded they have done such a piss poor job.

 

[dmoore19]

Resorts like Sandals market scuba more than anything else I have seen that isn't in a dive magazine. Even that is secondary to the promotion of their resorts.

[video]http://ispot.tv/a/7tum[/video]

 

[kombiguy]

And and this is the mindset that will ensure that the industry keeps one foot in the grave and one on a banana peel. Scuba diving IS a "product" and needs to be treated as one. And, no, I'm not saying billboards is the way to go. Nor that scubapro which is a brand, not a product) should advertise. But rather I'm saying that scuba diving has an awareness/interest/image problem... which is what marketing and advertising are really good at solving.

Like the old "Beef. It's what for dinner." promotions?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

That new show "Ball Hogs" or whatever the name is, the show on A&E where the guys dive proffesionally for golf balls.
During the opening title scene it shows the four participants all in slow-mo swaggering out of the water looking all bad in their scuba gear with MOF.
I wonder if this will have any impact?
I can say at least this is something in the way of exposure. Certainly a hell of a lot more than any other entity has done in any form that's connected with the dive industry.
DEMA, yeah right.

 

[kr2y5]

I have personally tried to heavily advertise scuba diving to maybe somewhere on the order of a dozen people, for whom neither money, nor time would have been an obstacle, and the one concern I invariably heard in response was that scuba diving is dangerous and scary, or that it requires one to be an excellent swimmer or extremely physically fit, and that it's just not for them. It was never a matter of how attractive scuba diving could be, whether it is fun, cool, a great way of spending time. It was always a matter of "can I actually do it, is it a sport that a person like me is capable of participating in". I have, of course, tried to address some of those concerns, explaining that it is not as dangerous as it seems, pointing to myself as an example that one doesn't need superman fitness and swimming ability, etc., although granted, I didn't try really hard, in large part because I didn't want to put myself in a situation, where I could get sued later (many of the folks were co-workers). IMHO, if there's one thing professional advertising agencies could help with, is to change this image of scuba as extreme sport, only for the rare extreme adventurous types that most people wouldn't identify themselves with. Not sure how one should go about this, but cool videos of superman ninja in spacesuits, with multiple tanks, and with scooters, in caves in random documentaries, don't help to dispel this image...

 

[drrich2]

I think from a national average, not CO and other high money pockets, the nation has a record of part time minimum wage jobs that pay no benefits and people are struggling.
I think you people sitting here with three figure jobs & perks are failing to see the reality.

I see a few contrasting ideas in this thread & others that would get in the way of an effective marketing campaign. In another thread discussing marketing scuba diving aggressively, RJP shared some of the reasoning leading up to the Quaker Oats commercial. They had to identify a target audience. Yes, it would be nice to market to 'everyone,' but it would not be effective to target everyone. Eventually, I think they decided mothers, particularly working mothers, were a good target demographic.

And face it, oatmeal is not an exciting, prestigious product to market. Maybe a few steps up from 'septic tank cleaning services,' a step up from grits, but come on. Can you imagine the marketing guy who got handed this assignment. Oh, gee, let's make oatmeal exciting and the brand a house hold name. Yeah, lucky me...

Turns out a number of these working women not only wanted to provide a nutritious, palatable meal in varied flavors to their kids, fast & easy, but were also susceptible to a subtle message that this method would not only accomplish that but also earned their fathers' approval. But the advertising people had to identify a target demographic, interview a bunch of them, try to get into their unconscious psychology to see what emotionally drives them.

With that in mind, in this thread, some people think that the potential customers are...

1.) Poor from a recession, relatively strained for recreational money, and the gear & exotic trips costs are a barrier to diving, which suffers from older divers dying off unreplaced. If so, our demographic may be adventurous young males & females, probably more males, in coastal areas with shore diving options. Coastal California and parts of Florida, since fresh water diving alone isn't likely to be a big seller. But this demographic tends to be social; you can't even talk to each other underwater. And a surfer has people on the beach watching him ride that wave; a diving is not a spectator sport where most of us can impress people much. This bunch will take OW, AOW, maybe Rescue, and that's about it. They'll get a basic gear setup and after that just buy air fills. Your marketing might target high schools, college campuses, other places where if you get a few young people in, they bring some friends.

2.) Middle class or better, there's still gold in them thar' hills, there are plenty of well-off people to market to, if you can get on their radar & beat out the competition. This demographic includes an older set with more money and free time, who can travel from non-coastal locations, and spend more on gear. If you can convinced them scuba is more rewarding than...bass fishing, deer hunting, Sandals resorts, cruising, road trips to see the Grand Canyon and Mt. Rushmore, hiking in Yellowstone National Park, touring Alaska, bicycle riding, mountain climbing, etc... While these people are less attention seeking regarding a peer group (many are married, have a kid, get role recognition/socialization at work), they do have a spouse (& sometimes kids) to please. How many threads on ScubaBoard do we see asking about trips bringing along a non-diver? Wanting beaches, shopping, a bar scene, nature activities, etc...?

Ironic, since ScubaBoard posters tend to be more diehard divers. And prime scuba locations are often distant from sandy beaches and a bit more rural than prime shopping.

If you want DEMA, the LDS, the industry as a whole, etc..., to market, who's your target? Are we trying to get California surfer dudes to try shore diving? Or are we trying to get the 40 year old middle class family man to take up scuba on Caribbean trips while the wife & kids shop, roast on the beach or play volley ball at Sandals?

Richard.

 

[MrCultureJammer]

You listed training agencies, they are NOT the marketing arm of the dive industry. One, PADI tries to step in the gap but it is mostly a "to the choir" approach.

DEMA is actually the marketing arm of the industry and they need to be defunded they have done such a piss poor job.

OK. I said "industry marketing arm" etc, not knowing whoever was the group doing that kind of work for them. I still think all of the PADI, etc teaching agencies should either help out DEMA then or join on their own and push the advertising and marketing. If not, they are very short-sighted. They are quickly running out of people that want/need training, as I see it.

 

[mjrob]

To what degree are your training programs and gear rental programs dependent on your owning a compressor? So the cost of compressors and bank system as well as associated space should be offset by rental and training program profits, not customer tank fills.

You don't own a compressor so you can fill customers tanks. Any money you make providing such fills over and above the cost of operating that compressor is in the black column. Are you really trying to claim that the cost of filters, electricity, and other maintenance for 10 minutes or less of compressor operation is over $5? Hell, unless a shop happens to be close to a popular local dive site (does Omaha have any) I'd bet the shop gives away more fills to key personnel and such than they sell to paying customers.

If you are not making a reasonable and sustainable profit from your training and rental programs, including the cost of your tank filling capability, you might want to consider other line of work.

Um, I used to be in other lines of work. And you've owned how many successful businesses?

Seriously, we'll celebrate our fifth year in business this summer and have purchased an existing business and built an additional facility in Springfield, MO, 375 miles away since we opened our Omaha shop. They're both 12,000 sq/ft and we offer a complete range of services at what must be competitive prices as we continue to grow. You can get a basic grasp of our operations on our website. It's that www thing in my signature below. These ain't your granddaddy's scuba shops, they're businesses.

Oh, BTW, a serious compressor, installed with banks and a fill panel runs in the area of $35k, maybe a bit more. Your mileage may vary but we use serious gear.

And no, there's not much water near Omaha. There's an appreciable amount near our Springfield store. However, our travel division took more than 500 folks on trips last year and we'll blow by that number this year. We certified, provided continuing education and sold and serviced a lot of gear for them and others. Most of our certs are through SSI and our Omaha store is their number one, worldwide, in certifications for a single store. Our Springfield store is number 6.

The interesting thing is that we spend most of our time working on ways to be better at what we do. Even with 135,000 and 165,000 gallon pools, one of our biggest issues is pool availability time. We're considering adding an additional pool to meet that demand right now.

I'm pretty sure we're doing something right and you won't convince me there's not a huge unmet opportunity for the scuba industry as a whole--we're just not very good at addressing it. We're trying.

 

[MrCultureJammer]

If you want DEMA, the LDS, the industry as a whole, etc..., to market, who's your target?
Richard.

Your aim should not be a demographic, but a psychographic. Not "coastal folks" or "married people with disposable income who may or may not have kids", but "adventuresome people". You'll catch more fish that way.