Digital Marketing Tips for Dive Shops
Advertising is essential for e-commerce, but figuring out how to market to dive shop customers can be tricky. Unlike many small businesses that have local clients, your dive shop needs to reach customers around the world. How can you stand out online and use your digital marketing budget wisely?
Develop a Solid Marketing Strategy
Digital marketing is one area where you can’t afford to “wing it.” Your business needs to have clear goals in mind. A marketing strategy helps you outline the steps to reach your advertising goals.
What are some important online goals for dive shops?
- Increase the number of website visits by X
- Boost dive shop reservations or sign-ups by X percent
- Generate X new leads every month
- Increase dive shop revenue by X amount each year
It’s smart to start with one goal at a time. Figure out how to get from point A to point B with your marketing. In the case of boosting website clicks, for example, you need to invest in professional website creation.
Learn More About Your Target Customers
The main point of digital marketing is to advertise to your target audience. You want to convince the people who are most likely to become your customers.
Every dive shop has a different target audience depending on the services offered. Some focus on luxury travel, providing guided tours and amenities to foreign clients. Others are all about gear sales and diver certification. The better you know who your primary clients are — and what they’re interested in — the more effective your marketing can be.
How can you find out this information? Software that handles point of sale for dive shops is a powerful tool. With a comprehensive POS system, you can see statistics from your past clients. Look for patterns related to activities, sales, revenue and demographic information. Learn where your main sources of income are coming from, and then develop a strategy to attract more of those target customers.
Increase Your Social Media Presence
Social media isn’t just about posting inspiring messages. As far as dive shops are concerned, social media marketing is an informal way to advertise your business. It’s a method of building strong connections between your brand and your customer base. If you do things right, your dive shop becomes less of a “business” and more of a lifestyle.
There are many social media platforms to choose from, including YouTube and Facebook. Select a few that harmonize with your company’s “personality.”
For example, if your brand persona is fun-loving and interested in photography, sites like Instagram and Pinterest make perfect sense. You can get new and past customers excited about dive trips with attention-grabbing pics.
Use Email Marketing
Resist the temptation to use all of your marketing budget for new clients. Set some funds aside for digital advertising methods that cater to past customers, too. Email marketing helps you stay in touch with important leads.
You’ve probably received marketing emails yourself from businesses you’ve purchased products from. These messages may offer special discounts to loyal clients, such as 20% off the next purchase. Emails can also recommend items that are similar to ones clients have bought before, announcing new tech to people who love cutting-edge dive equipment.
How time-consuming is this type of e-commerce advertising? With the right business software, it barely takes any time at all. You can create automated email campaigns that send regular messages to customers in a few different target groups.
Look for Opportunities To Increase Sales
One way to boost revenue is to increase the total number of customers you have. Another option is to maximize the money you generate per client. For dive shops, the right strategy is often a mix of both goals.
Instead of limiting yourself to exactly what your customers ask for, create upsell or cross-sale possibilities. Think about value-added services that some clients may find worth spending extra on, such as:
- All-inclusive packages
- Personalized diving or certification experiences
- Multi-year dive memberships
- Dive and accommodations packages
- Vehicle or watercraft packages
Offer those amenities to your customers via your website or booking app. Limit extras to three to five options to avoid overwhelming users.
Invest in E-Commerce
Dive shop marketing isn’t the easiest nut to crack, but it’s not the hardest either. With an attractive brand persona, helpful e-commerce tools and these proven tips, you can enjoy a great reputation online.
