How to advertise a dive centre

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surfacewatch

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Scuba Instructor
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Location
Delware, USA
# of dives
I'm a Fish!
Hello,

I'm trying to find out what works and what doesn't work when it comes to advertising your dive centre.

From our own experience and information we've gathered so far, newspaper adverts, local listings and radio have been pretty unsuccessful mediums.

Does anyone have any feedback they could share on what works for them -online advertising? dive magazines? facebook?

Any feedback would be welcomed!

Happy diving!

deborah
surfacewatch.com
 
Hello,

I'm trying to find out what works and what doesn't work when it comes to advertising your dive centre.

From our own experience and information we've gathered so far, newspaper adverts, local listings and radio have been pretty unsuccessful mediums.

Does anyone have any feedback they could share on what works for them -online advertising? dive magazines? facebook?

Any feedback would be welcomed!

Happy diving!

deborah
surfacewatch.com


Depends on who I am targeting. Local customers or a worldwide audience. Scubaboard actually works pretty good for both, but better for distant customers. As for local, just getting out and finding the business. Boy scouts, schools, police and fire departments, direct mail, big signs in high traffic areas, etc
 
I am an independent instructor and I don't have a dive center but my expensive phone book ad netted me zero customers over 2 years. I would think a dive center might benefit from a yellow pages ad more than an independent instructor with people looking for equipment purchases or equipment service. Most all of my business has come directly from my website and word of mouth. I spend a lot of time fine tuning my website to get a higher listing on the search engines. I have put up flyers in a few businesses and the colleges around town, not sure if they helped or not, they all lead people to my website. I put a free ad on Craig's List and that generated a lot of website hits according to Google Analytics, but I couldn't say if it actually helped sales or not.

I am in a small city so when a local dive shop opens (or closes) all the divers know about it. Not much advertising is required here for a dive shop. Currently we do not have a LDS, they generally last about 2 years or less out here, depending on how they are being subsidized.

Never underestimate Google's power. The search term "scuba your city, state" is very powerful. Especially now with the instant access of internet connected cell phones. People will do a Google search long before they will pick up a phone book or newspaper. TV and radio ads are way too hit or miss unless you really know exactly when your target audience is tuned in.

SCUBA Marketing - Teaching SCUBA Marketing to the SCUBA Diving Industry is a good blog to follow. It doesn't hurt to have a Facebook page either. If nothing else it gives the search engines another place to find you.
 
Thanks for your feedback.

Has anyone ever used online advertising to try and attract international divers? maybe advertising on the PADI site, or tourist guide sites?
 
Almost everything comes from my website. Newspaper ads do absolutely nothing for me. Email and snail mail flyers work ok too.
 
A well designed web site is critical for us. Make sure you have a blog link on your web site so you can advertise specials, news, etc. without having to modify your web site. Also, if you have a link on your website to a Facebook fan page you can really generate a lot of fans who will get a great "feel" for your operation on FB. You might also consider finding someone who is an expert at optimizing your web site so it gets a high Google and Yahoo ranking. I learned to do it myself, but I think the time/effort/ involved is not worth it. The cost is minimal to have an expert do the work.

We are in a resort area of Panama, so I print up inexpensive postcards (check out VistaPrint online) and leave a couple dozen with each hotel in the area. I offer a 10% discount with the postcards so I have lots of folks come into the shop looking for their 10% discount.
 
Scubaboard actually works pretty good for both, but better for distant customers.
Thanks for the plug! Our 2nd tier top banners go for only $100/month in any regional or sub forum. You also get to post threads in our Hot Deals Section. The 2nd tier side is $150/month and comes with the same perks.

Having a presence here AND advertising is pretty synergistic. Our users (and lurkers) love to support those who support their favorite surface interval. PM me with your e-mail address if you want one of our Media Kits.
 
Almost everything comes from my website. Newspaper ads do absolutely nothing for me. Email and snail mail flyers work ok too.

I agree, pretty much all our business is from the internet and word of mouth. I too have flyers in some local businesses around town and am not sure if that helped or not. Although, I do have to restock them sometimes so someone is taking them. :D
 
My advice would be to look for complimentary businesses that you could partner with. Ever heard of the expression - "Strength in numbers"?....Here are a few things that I have seen work extremely well:

1. Dive shop I was previously involved with partnered with a local college. The college taught hospitality (amongst other things). This particular dive shop managed to get the PADI Open Water course added to the cirriculum of a few of the courses that were offered, and had a steady flow of students each semester - locked in by contract. The theory was, that if you plan on working in a resort once you finish school, having other skills (such as being able to dive) adds to your CV. A few students even chose to go through and complete the IDC

2. Partnerships. Why not benefit from economies of scale? If you have a dive shop in one part of the world, and two of your friends are located in different parts, why not combine forces, co-brand / form an association, and cross advertise to each others clients? Add travel into the mix, and you can do quite well out of it. Furthermore, instead of purchasing material seperately, benefit from being part of a larger group - buy in bulk - and save. Greater volumes give you better purchasing power (for the most part...)

3. Complimentary businesses. If you run a dive shop, then why not buy into a business that will feed you a steady flow of clients? Here is an example. You can ask the local backpacker hostel to send you clients, or you can buy equity in the backpacker hostel (or start / buy your own?), and build your own dive and accommodation packages. Which do you think will get you more clients? Complimentary businesses that feed clients into both sides of what you are trying to do will ultimately bring you more success, as well as a diversified income stream. They are also financially safer, mainly because you are not reliant upon one source of income alone....

Lastly - look at what your competitive advantage is. In other words - what differentiates you from the dive shop next door? If you don't have a competitive advantage - get one! You need to focus on your differentiating factors to attract new clients - otherwise clients will simply go by who is cheapest, or has the best looking web site. If you don't tell people what makes you so special, then how will they know? Why would they come to you? What will draw them in? This is often the hardest question to answer, but if you get it right - you are bound to have success......

Good luck :)
 
The Underwater Journal online magazine and website - underwaterjournal.com - is also a great source for a wide range of advertisement options at a very reasonable price. Our traffic and #s of subscribers are growing rapidly by the day! UWJ is becoming a valued resource for all levels of scuba divers worldwide for accessing information about dive charters, gear, travel, environmental issues, etc., as well as a great connection for professionals in our industry.

Check us out and contact us to arrange an affordable way to reach your target market.

Walt
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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