RETAILING
Part 3: Moving Your Happy Dive Group onto the Next Trip – by David Prichard and Lily Mak, Enchanted Sea Images, Inc., Dallas, TX
As the Trip Leader, you success- fully guide your dive group through a “trip of a lifetime,” and everyone returns home happy and full of wonderful memories. Many of your group may have new dive certifica- tions (if you are a Specialty Instruc- tor) completed on the journey. So, your job is done – “mission accomplished!” Or is it? During the dive trip, while everyone is full of enthusiasm about experiencing such a great adventure, a successful Trip Leader is already laying the groundwork for the next tar- geted dive trip. “I’m glad you are really enjoying this adven- ture, but let me tell you about what we have planned for next year!” There is an adage that says, “Strike while the iron is hot.” When better to get a group of divers excited about an up-
and to familiarize themselves with the details. Once the dive trip calendar is set, then the business and Trip Leaders can target and reach out to potential clients for the trips. Divers typically bond together during a dive trip, so the Trip Leader should promote the idea of “the gang” contin- uing their dive travel adventures as a group on a future scheduled dive quest, though that is dependent on the group’s demographics and shared interest. Group dinners on a current trip are often a good time to catch the group’s attention on that future trip you want for them all to par- ticipate in. You then play it up on the return journey as well, so the group feels that their adventure together is not over yet as you tell them to “save the date!” Once back home, plan a post-trip party (or online session, depending on the group’s home locations) where group par- ticipants can share photos, videos, memories, but also as a reminder of how well they traveled together. Now you can
coming planned trip than when they are currently experiencing the eupho- ria of a current trip? To accomplish this, you need to already have the high- level details of the next trip to pro- mote to the current group. As part of the “7 Ps” (proper prior planning pre- vents pitiful poor performance), a pre- pared Trip Leader has the selling points ready to help guide this group onto their next great adventure. The “next trip” is dependent upon both your business’s planned dive trip schedule and your group’s demo- graphics. While some people may have
give details about how to secure that next trip with deposits as the group en- courages each other to sign up. When promoting the next trip during the current trip or at the post-trip party, it is important to ask your group, “Who else do you know that you would like to share an adventure like this?” Ask your group to share their recent trip ex- periences with their diver friends in person and on social media to get them to promote your next trip. This will help expand your dive travel base of customers for larger groups (more profit and better package rates) and the
Use trip briefings or group dinners to promote future trips.
the time and funds to go on multiple trips a year, most have to plan out long-distance dive trips at least a year in advance to save up funds and schedule work vacation days (PTO). This is why it is important for the Trip Leader to get to know the participants in the group and figure out what cat- egory they fit in when discussing future dive journeys. Successful dive trip planning often takes at least two years in advance of gauging your customers’ interest in destina- tions (and affordability) and securing a dive package at the best rates for that trip. A dive business should bring in their Trip Leaders early in the process to help plan extra activities
ability to schedule more trips on your calendar. And those pictures and videos everyone shared at the end of the trip? Get permission from your group to post them on your own social media and print the “fun” pictures to place on your trip calendar display to show your other cus- tomers what great dive trips you run. Run the videos on
monitors in your business in a loop to create excitement about your dive travel offerings. Like a magnet, people are just naturally at- tracted to events where everyone is having a good time.
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