Future of DiveShops?

[boulderjohn]

As we say in marketing...

'Shrink It & Pink It' -- The Sad Truth About How Tech Markets to Women - Lemondrop.com

Of course it doesn't actually work, but I've said too much already...

My former dive shop got the idea that a significant number of women might want be more comfortable in an all-woman class, so they created OW classes for women only. It was a complete failure. Almost no one was interested.

---------- Post added November 5th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ----------

This is exactly true. In a time when dive shops are closing all around, especially in the So. Cal. area, I am opening up a new shop. Your post reflects what I believe is missing from our dive community and in unobtainable from on-line sources, the trained, knowledgeable staff who have the divers best interest at heart. I think very often the LDS has driven customers to on-line retailers because there was simply no advantage to going to the LDS. We need to provide that advantage.

That means the people in the shop have to really know their stuff and not be repeating a lot of the nonsense that new divers run into on the Internet. That may be harder to do than people think. There aren't that many such people around, and the ones that are around might not be interested in working for the wages typical of someone working the floor in the retail section of the shop. That means a savvy owner is going to make sure every employee is DEEPLY knowledgeable about all things scuba.

 

[RJP]

My former dive shop got the idea that a significant number of women might want be more comfortable in an all-woman class, so they created OW classes for women only. It was a complete failure. Almost no one was interested.

Let me guess... a bunch of middle-aged white guys sitting around a room saying "Hey... ya know what women really want!?!"

 

[MrChen]

The internet is here to stay, either you adapt or you don't. For example, I needed two batteries for a wheelchair lift system to get my daughter upstairs. I checked prices online and they ranged from $30 to $90 per battery. Like I said, I need 2 of them. Since they are batteries, they are fairly heavy, so I figured I'd save on shipping and visit the local battery and light shop. I walk in and show them the batteries. I'm trying to explain the problem and that if they have the batteries, I'd like to verify it's the actual issue with the equipment. The guy looks at the batteries and doesn't acknowledge my request to test and only says, "It's definitely one of your problems." He hasn't even tested the batteries and only cares about selling me something... Anyways, he doesn't have them in stock and is going on about how he's never seen them before... He can get them in stock in week for the price of $85 each. That's $170 plus tax and I have to wait. I tell him never mind, that I might have been willing to pay the premium if he had it in stock, but if I have to wait, then I'll just order them online. So he pulls up the computer and starts searching. He starts saying how the online retailers are selling refurb batteries. I didn't tell him that I had already looked myself and found new OEM batteries for $35 each at a reputable online retailer. So I went home and ordered 2 for $35 each plus $10 shipping, no tax, and I have to wait a week. So I got 2 new OEM batteries in the same time frame without dealing with his sales BS for less than his price for 1 battery.

Diver's Direct is a great example of how an online presence could drive in store business. At any time I can go to their website and see if the local shop has something in stock. If I'm in a rush, I'll drive down and buy it. If I'm not in a rush, I'll keep price shopping.

Look at DRIS as an example. I live in Florida and have purchased many items from them. They are an LDS somewhere which has learned to adapt to the internet and be better off for it.

I'm constantly visiting my local shops. Each visit, I see overpriced products. When I first started diving, I overpaid on several of these products because I didn't know better. Is that the idea, prey on the new divers? Now I have a trust issue with some of the shops. I would love to buy things in their stores, but I'm not going to over pay, I'm not rich. I don't work to make sure they are padding their pockets. If something is fairly priced, then I'll buy it locally. If it's not, then I'll buy it online.

But in the case of the battery example, I went out of the way to lug a 75lb device in my truck, drove 5 miles to their shop, only to drive back home and unpack minus new batteries. I could have just ordered batteries online and saved myself the trouble.

Back on the topic of the LDS, I sure wish they'd see the value of online marketing outside of listing cost of training. Another example, I dive with charters which list their schedules online more than those which don't. I also like to book the charters online. It means I can go straight to the boat and skip the extra stop at the shop to pay. Convenience, once again.

Here in the Jupiter/WPB area, boats like sl8r, sea pup, and wet temptations can all be booked online. I can view their schedules, sometimes trip destination, prices, special trips, etc.

The internet isn't the enemy, the LDS's failure to adapt is their own enemy.

 

[boulderjohn]

Let me guess... a bunch of middle-aged white guys sitting around a room saying "Hey... ya know what women really want!?!"

Just the opposite. The manager and assistant manager were both women, and i believe they came up with the idea.

 

[EFX]

That means the people in the shop have to really know their stuff and not be repeating a lot of the nonsense that new divers run into on the Internet. That may be harder to do than people think. There aren't that many such people around, and the ones that are around might not be interested in working for the wages typical of someone working the floor in the retail section of the shop. That means a savvy owner is going to make sure every employee is DEEPLY knowledgeable about all things scuba.

Is this really a problem? In my LDS and other shops I've been in there is always an instructor or DM working along with the store jockey. In fact during most store hours in my shop the IT/Director of training is there to answer any and all questions scuba. IT is an SSI Instructor Trainer and is equivalent to PADI's CD. What I have seen in our shop is the instructors don't know how to punch up the right categories on the PC to complete the sale, so they call the jockey for help. The help you get is on the brands the shop sells or uses as rental gear. Some days the equipment specialist is there and he can answer questions for all things mechanical. This kind of specific help is going to be hard to get from an internet sales geek unless you're lucky enough to get a scuba pro and then how knowlegable will she be on all the brands they stock.

 

[RJP]

Just the opposite. The manager and assistant manager were both women, and i believe they came up with the idea.

Sort of same concept though. Two divers sitting around saying "hey... you know what non-divers really want!?!?"

The #1 thing every marketer needs to keep in mind at all times: "You are not your customer!"

 

[boulderjohn]

Is this really a problem? In my LDS and other shops I've been in there is always an instructor or DM working along with the store jockey. In fact during most store hours in my shop the IT/Director of training is there to answer any and all questions scuba. IT is an SSI Instructor Trainer and is equivalent to PADI's CD. What I have seen in our shop is the instructors don't know how to punch up the right categories on the PC to complete the sale, so they call the jockey for help. The help you get is on the brands the shop sells or uses as rental gear. Some days the equipment specialist is there and he can answer questions for all things mechanical. This kind of specific help is going to be hard to get from an internet sales geek unless you're lucky enough to get a scuba pro and then how knowlegable will she be on all the brands they stock.

Let's just say I have seen the problem in the shops with which I have had experience. The problem is not so much that the inexperienced retail clerk will not know how to get in touch with someone who can answer the question as it is that the clerk believes he or she knows the answer and is wrong. The problem often comes when you get off the well beaten path of OW diving in a community that does not do much else. In that case, even instructors may be misinformed.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

The ability of an independent instructor to work out of the basement varies by location as well... Here in Colorado, it is just the opposite. There are very few independent instructors...
.

Of course, this may also be related to the fact that Colorado is the [former] home of SSI. An agency that doesn't allow independent instructors. I'm not dis-ing SSI. I'm am an SSI instructor. But those of us in SSI know that the SSI focus is on the stores. And SSI stresses the full-service scuba store.

it will be interesting to see if SSI changes it's tactics to account for the internet reality. Initially, Scubapro fought tooth-and-nail against internet sales. They put "secret" serial numbers on every product they produced so they could trace how their stuff was getting to internet retailers. But now they seem to have relented and now embrace internet sales.

 

[boulderjohn]

Of course, this may also be related to the fact that Colorado is the [former] home of SSI. An agency that doesn't allow independent instructors. I'm not dis-ing SSI. I'm am an SSI instructor. But those of us in SSI know that the SSI focus is on the stores. And SSI stresses the full-service scuba store.

I don't think that is it. I think it has more to do with the characteristics of the location. The fact that we have little interest in local diving because we have nothing but shallow, murky water at a couple of locations means we are in a very different situation from someone like yourself, sitting next to beautiful diving in Puget Sound. With almost no local diving going on, there is no market for selling tanks or fills or equipment rental. There are no independent dive boats looking for customers. If I lived in an environment where there were shops hungry to have me and my students as customers, it would be easy to be an independent. Without that, I have to fill all those overhead costs myself, and then pass that on to the students. Meanwhile, the shops can use higher volume to offset the overhead and still sell instruction at a low cost in order to get people in the store to buy gear and go on trips.

 

[drrich2]

I enjoyed the 'Shrink It & Pink It' article. As with some other aspects of 'understanding women' (a very diverse target group), it's complex and generalization is severely limited.

If you watch how mothers dress their infant daughters, the sheer amount of pink could make a person puke (except that would produce even more pink). My wife and I have a pre-toddler daughter, and I've made clear that while some pink is okay, there are limits. I don't want my child to look like the spokesperson for Pepto-Bismol.

As for 'shrink it,' I've long marveled that in expensive rings, women's versions are usually much smaller, but cost as much or more. It seems to me they're getting much less metal, for the same or more money.

In EFX's example, a woman turned her nose up at offerings, so to speak, because they only had black (doesn't seem to bother men), and it didn't have a 'design.' What 'design?' My idea of a wetsuit design is the 'Henderson' written on mine.

From the article RJP linked:

The overwhelming majority wanted "beautifully designed, sleek technology that enhances their lives, not their wardrobes,

What does 'beautifully' mean? Most men don't think their gear is ugly. Sleek? That sounds like a more politically correct version of 'shrink it,' in a sense. Yes, sleek and shrink aren't exactly the same, but there's some overlap there.

Speaking of stereotypes, when the article mentions:

Sure, you could argue that men and women approach technology differently -- men like spending hours fiddling with buttons, and women want more of an intuitive device -- but essentially, we all want something that betters our life without insulting our intelligence.

I don't think most men like spending hours fiddling with buttons. Either gender tends to like good looking products that work intuitively, easily and well.

You know, it'd make a really interesting Scuba Board thread, for manufacturers and others both, to post a photo and description of a mock-up scuba product they believe would appeal to a significant portion of the female market. It'd give us both customer and (hopefully) vendor and both male and female diver perspectives. I'm talking about serious efforts, not jokes and caricatures.

Richard.