What can or does your LDS need to do to EARN your business?

[Tropicalwolf]

Hydro-Days!!! Half price hydros, free vis (which cost nothing anyway) and half price fills!!!

You may have people rechecking their tanks early just to get the deal. Promotes diver safety with more than just lip service.

 

[Kingpatzer]

Hydro-Days!!! Half price hydros, free vis (which cost nothing anyway) and half price fills!!!

You may have people rechecking their tanks early just to get the deal. Promotes diver safety with more than just lip service.

Loss leaders are a great way to get people into a store. However, services are a key revenue stream for an LDS. The notion that they can just give things away all the time to produce sales has to be approached carefully. The ideal solution is not to use your primary revenue items as your free incentives. A customer rewards system that earns free discounts is a much better solution than simply giving away money.

And visuals do cost something. Aside from the training, there is the time it requires. The time spent doing a free vis is time that is not spent servicing a paying customer. Giving them away could lead to quite a few hours of work that has to be done at a loss since not even the person's salary is being covered.

We have regular customers who have dozens of tanks. Having 4 or 5 of those people show up could result in hundreds of free hydros for a very low traffic volume.

 

[OldNSalty]

I know 'giving deals' is almost a way of life for some dive shops and I honestly think this is one of the last places where people expect to haggle but I don't care for that. I am not turning down a discount if you give it to me but I would rather you look at your business as a business, decide what you can sell 'X' for and mark it for that price.

For me, when you start marking stuff down in front of me I have a few thoughts that run through my head. First, what is the real value of the item? If it was $85 but now you say you can afford to sell it for $65 then I think 'why not $45 or even $35?' and so I now feel you were trying to rip me off then and might still be trying to do it. Second, I then wonder what I could get for $85. Could I get that $115 mask for that? I don't know because the price is so fluid. I hate to haggle, give me your best up front, tell me why it cost that much (ie-quality vs other items in the store)

If you do want to discount, toss in a freebie that I need/want instead. Free air fills are always nice with the purchase of a tank.

Keep in mind, that is just me. Other people might like that surprise discount. It is very common but I don't think it is a good way to run a business.

 

[Tropicalwolf]

Loss leaders are a great way to get people into a store. However, services are a key revenue stream for an LDS. The notion that they can just give things away all the time to produce sales has to be approached carefully. The ideal solution is not to use your primary revenue items as your free incentives. A customer rewards system that earns free discounts is a much better solution than simply giving away money.

And visuals do cost something. Aside from the training, there is the time it requires. The time spent doing a free vis is time that is not spent servicing a paying customer. Giving them away could lead to quite a few hours of work that has to be done at a loss since not even the person's salary is being covered.

We have regular customers who have dozens of tanks. Having 4 or 5 of those people show up could result in hundreds of free hydros for a very low traffic volume.

Yeah, I was just having fun with that last post. That would have to be a once a year thing or something, it could not be used to maintain revenue. I love the rewards thing as mentioned in my previuos post

 

[Stu S.]

Do you post the price of every item you sell? Some shops will have a tag on it with a bar code and no price. When the store person goes to all the trouble to look up a price, they expect you to buy it.

If you don't buy, that guy is sore as I am wasting his time as a looker instead of a buyer. If the item had a price on it, everything would be easier. No price shown? I'd rather not ask.

 

[Tropicalwolf]

If you don't buy, that guy is sore as I am wasting his time as a looker instead of a buyer. If the item had a price on it, everything would be easier. No price shown? I'd rather not ask.

This should NEVER happen. If they even, remotely appear "put out" by your questions or whatever, you should walk out and never look back.

 

[colo_diver]

hmmmm BEER, well there is a 6 pack in the fridge sometimes.

I am starting a birthday club, get a free tank rental or fill for your birthday. Free DrySuit class with the purchase of your drysuit, was last months "special".

ALL product is tagged with the price.

We offer 3 levels of product/price point. What are your thoughts on that?

 

[colo_diver]

as for our web

www.AdventureSportsofGJ.com

 

[OldNSalty]

as for our web

www.AdventureSportsofGJ.com

Good start-needs work. Go yell at your developer. The clear menu drop downs are great if there is no text behind them-otherwise they become useless.

 

[OldNSalty]

Also, place your shop's url in your signature line. I am not sure how many dive shops are in a ski town (but hell, there is a ski shop/ climbing store in Pensacola Fl). If there is more then one shop you want to push the advertising, getting your url on the web often will help drive your shop to the top of Google searches.

look up Google bomb-its free.