that this person may not necessarily come from within the diving industry. Think outside the box. For example, out- standing salespeople can quickly adapt their skills to any spe- cific merchandise line after some necessary product research. This also raises a big, related question the diving industry must face sooner or later: Is the transient dive in- structor, “living the dream,” moving from one resort or store to the next, the best type of individual interacting di- rectly with your valuable customers? Do they have the per- sonal characteristics, the local skills/knowledge, dedication, permanency, and associated ‘buy-in’ to your business to contribute to the company’s critical talent pool? A definite item for further discussion at another time. Customer satisfaction features extensively in successful companies’ mission statements, on ‘score cards’ (i.e. met- rics), during team performance measures and assessments, within sustainability equations, and in driving innovation and the development of new products and services. So, it is a ‘no brainer’ that these companies are fully in-tune with RETAILING continued
Today, successful diving businesses develop customer en- gagement strategies with the aid of technology . For exam- ple, a short time after engagement, eCRMS should give a team member the name of the customer, when the last time they visited your company, what they have already pur- chased, what kind of products meet their interests, what they are excited about doing next, any insights to why they have engaged with your business in the past/future/present, etc. This knowledge should lead to a more inspiring and fruitful introduction. Additionally, customer metrics, desires, needs, wants, and aspirations should feature in the com- pany’s attempts to be continuously innovative. In a nutshell, success does not fly blind! No, I am not going to talk about the internet-except to say if you do not have a website with a ‘chat’ function, on- line sales options, activity on a variety of social media plat- forms, an eNewsletter, use QR codes as part of your marketing tools, and have not even considered blogging and vlogging, you are probably well out of the game. On the
what their customers’ de- sires, needs, wants, and aspi- rations are, rather than what the company financial stake- holders, section managers, and team members, may personally like to offer cus-
other hand, successful businesses do not allocate all their marketing budget to online strategies. Re- gardless of what you may some- times hear regarding print media being dead, it is very much alive. Astute corporate marketeers will
PAGE TWENTY-SIX | SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY tomers. That is, they have a strong market focus devoid of personal preferences. I have witnessed, on numerous occa- sions, a store losing sales and customers due to their per- sonal preferences. For example, a decision to promote a specific brand or even a travel destination must be market driven and customer focused, not what equipment the busi- ness owner likes to use or the resort he/she wants to visit. A market focus also involves an intense emphasis on cus- tomer service and untiring efforts to outperform competi- tors in delivery strategies. If this was not so important we would never hear many of the complaints some dive oper- ations make about the store down the road. Market focus should involve the use of customer relations management systems (CRMS), which are especially important when at- tempting to develop innovative solutions for customer needs. In other words, successful companies know their cus- tomers and act on insights they gain from client metrics rather than ‘gut feelings.’ The days of, “what can I do for you today,” should be well and gone and, in most cases, such an initial greeting can send a chill up the spine of the mod- ern consumer.
tell you that there is a need to have a marketing mix that may include online, print, outdoor (e.g. billboards), radio, and TV depending on the company’s specific customer en- vironment and position in the game. For example, in my hometown, diving operators use a mix of all these elements, and even our regional council uses diving, snorkelling, and Great Barrier Reef critter images to passively promote the region’s character on street signs and rest benches. Strategy is all about ‘walking the talk.’ There can be no misunderstanding of the direction the company is heading amongst the financial stakeholders or the team the business has assembled around it. And it is not just about having that ‘must-have’ formal strategic plan on your computer’s hard drive or a piece of paper. It is more about consistency of approach, behaviour, and an unwavering adherence to the corporate philosophy incorporated in the factors discussed above. Too many times in the diving industry we see indi- viduals and corporations meandering here and there, with no apparent specific long-term direction. This can be con- fusing and, sometimes, destructive-especially in shared sup- ply chains, as it has the potential to take others off their
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