Starting a Diving Business? Here are 5 Resources to Give You a Jumpstart!
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The recreational diving industry is huge. As per estimates, the US has around 3.5 million active scuba divers as well as 11 million snorkelers. Worldwide, these numbers go as high as 6 million and 20 million, respectively.
If you are turning your underwater entertainment passion into a business, you have chosen the right industry. It has little startup costs, flexible nature of work, and seriously high margins. Plus, a huge market to tap into.
But with all of its pros, like any business, a diving business also has things that it struggles with. Underwater safety regulations, industry-wide haphazard branding, and lack of marketing, to name a few.
Through this article, we are using technology to eliminate some of these struggles.
1. An Online Logo Maker Program
Most diving businesses suffer from a lack of distinguishable identity. Going from one diving center to the next, it can become quite impossible to separate two different businesses. The logos – the business distinguishing tools – are identical in terms of icons, fonts, colors, and everything else.
To not let your new diving business fall prey to the same fate, use an online marine logo maker program. These programs are built on AI technology and allow you to create professional marine logo designs that look unique and distinct.
Source: LogoDesign.Net
The logo maker uses premade customizable templates. Keeping your core brand identity in mind, you can choose colors, icons, and fonts that match the brand idea in your head. Avoid using obvious marks like fish or other sea-life. A scuba helmet, snorkeling pipe, and even bubble icons can work better. Monochromatic logos in blue are also quite popular with diving businesses.
The best thing about using a logo maker is that it’s cost-effective, but what I especially like them for is their user-friendliness. There is no learning curve and you can make every change with just the click of a button. When finalizing your scuba logo, just make sure it represents your brand well and try not to clutter the design. Keep it simple.
2. An Online Website Builder
Since these are not Cave Ages, we all are searching for businesses online. If yours isn’t up there, we are going to assume it doesn’t exist. Web builders – online tools with web templates that allow you to publish a customized website in just a few hours – are great ways to give your business that online presence that it critically needs.
Why is using a web builder better than hiring a developer to do the job?
- Web builders are economical.
- Do not require any coding or design skills.
- Can get a website up and running in just a few hours, not weeks.
- Easy to customize and update them.
- No worries about hosting and downtimes.
- Come power-packed with the latest SEO tools so your marketing gets a good start.
WordPress, Shopify, and Wix are some of the most well-respected web builders famous for producing high-quality sites. Websites for Vogue, KKW Beauty, and Animal Music, are all built using these platforms.
Source: ThemeForest
And look, if they are good for Vogue and KKW Beauty (billion-dollar businesses, both of them), they are good for your diving center too.
3. An Online Booking System
With everything going digital, your booking system needs to follow suit, too. The flexibility of making online appointments is a great lure for modern customers who prefer swiftness, convenience, and availability over the need to talk to a human.
Consider it a necessity for your diving business. With a self-reservation system in place, you don’t have to worry about double bookings, complicated cancelations, lengthy waivers, and any accounting mistakes. An agile booking system will not only manage your scheduling for you but help you prioritize your day depending on the number of bookings you have; manage inventory and staff; and, gather helpful customer details for you so you can serve them better when they arrive.
Some of the most efficient booking systems we can recommend right now include Planyo and Appointy. Both offer great payment plans and incredible features such as a mobile app, separate team logins, booking rules, online payments, and reports and analytics.
In addition to great underwater photos and high-end diving gear, an online reservation system can be a great pull for your business. It will not only present your business as a modern and updated entity, but the simplified booking process will also free up your time to spend it doing things that you love.
4. Social Media Publishing Platform
Now, that we have set up your website and reservation system, let’s focus on marketing. While pamphlets, flyers, and an ad in your local paper are great ways to tell the community what a bombshell your diving business is, social media is where you will strike gold.
The best thing about social media (and probably the worst as well) is that everyone is on it. You don’t have to go anywhere to look for customers. They are already there and looking for you. Statistics suggest that
over half of people on social media use it to research products and services.
To create an engaging presence on social media, some insane level of underwater photography will be extremely helpful. Regular posts about safe underwater behavior, tips on how to maximize the fun, and other great content that establish you as an authority on the subject will further fuel your success.
Tools such as Buffer allow you to handle social media like a pro. Instead of you trying to manage half a dozen social profiles on your own, it streamlines the process by giving you a single dashboard as your operating post. Through this dashboard, you can manage Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn simultaneously. You can create posts, schedule them, include the first comment, set up reminders, and do so much more to optimize your social media marketing.
5. A Chatbot for Customer Service
Customer service has always been an essential component of a successful business. But now, with technology having conditioned people into expecting instant gratification at all times, swift customer service resolution has become a necessity for business survival.
The customer service tech, such as chatbots, come in incredibly handy to support modern businesses. They allow customer support to always be available, updated, and sufficient. Chatbots also prioritize customer queries and route them to the most relevant departments, facilitating faster customer service.
Using your chatbot’s automatic reply options, you can create ready answers for common customer queries. These can include details about your tour packages, payment plans, available dates, safety requirements, guided tours, and more.
These readily available details will ensure your customers don’t have to wait for important information before they book their trips, resulting in higher sales and more conversions.
In the end…
A diving business is a great way to monetize your passion for underwater life. But like any business, establishing and developing it can take time. Using these time-tested tech resources helps move things along much more swiftly.
The fact that they come so cheap is a bonus that your new business can certainly take advantage of.
Article contribution by:
Michael Davis
michaeldavis.j@gmail.com