Taking time to work on your business, not just in it.

What could you do with just 1 hour a week dedicated to working to on your business, and not just in it?

Last Week's Roundtable Takeaways and Highlights

Thank you to everyone that attended last week's roundtable event. We had 4 dive shops represented in 3 states. The goal was for everyone who attended to take away at least one action item they could implement that day or by the end of the week to help their business.

Some favorite takeaways included: 1. Hosting a customer appreciation event & sale2. Sending an email newsletter3. Keeping up with price changes on store signage, price tags, and in your point of sale4. Adding specialty courses to your class calendar

Hosting a Customer Appreciation Event

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday have all come and past. You and your employees need a break every once in a while. I used to close for Thanksgiving and Black Fridays. Some stores at our roundtable are closing for the entire weekend to give themselves and their employees a break.

You can take time to recharge and capitalize on a holiday sales event. One store is hosting a customer appreciation event in place of participating in the BFCM weekend.

Sending an Email Newsletter

We spoke about this strategy in last week's newsletter, which can be found at this link: Episode 2 Link

It might be easier to communicate with your customers via social media, however, not all of your customer spend time on social media and with the varying algorithms, it's hard to guarantee those that are on social media, will see your posts.

It's time to dust off your email newsletter skills and send out a few newsletters between now and Christmas. Include information about gifting Open Water and specialty courses for the holidays as well include some gear promotions.

This will be a positive return on investment. The average email newsletter ROI is $42 for every $1 spent.

Keeping up with Price Changes

Make your that your store signage, price tags and point of sale system reflect the most accurate product costs. This will ensure you maintain your margins and don't lose out on profit.

When you place an order, it is best to make sure your purchase orders include the most up to date cost and retail price information. This process will take a little more time than verbal phone orders but the profit is worth the investment.

One store owner did away with individual price tags and instead use a single store sign for prices so that it is easier to keep up with price changes.

Add Specialty Courses to your Class Calendar (especially into January & February)

Your customers are more inclined to purchase specialty courses when they are scheduled. Unscheduled courses means that there is no course option. A small subset will request course dates, but the majority will not take the initiative.

Make purchasing from you as easy as possible. Add dates for all of your courses to your calendar and if no one signs up, them there is no need for a class to take place. You will be presently surprised how many more courses you sell this way.

Especially schedule out into January & February so that your customers can schedule classes that they received for the holidays.

Dive Recap

1. Host a December customer appreciation sale event before the holidays to maximize your December sales. 2. Send out an email. newsletter every week between now and the end of the year. 3. Make sure your price tags and signage in your store display the current vendor pricing. 4. Make sure your class calendar is full so your students know there are courses to sign up for.

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