Should parachute drop zones be more marketing savvy?
Speaking as a skydiving instructor, I'm always delighted to have shared such an amazing experience with my student (OK, call them a client if you like) and it really doesn't matter to me if I don't get a mention of my name in the article. There are other instructors who would like a mention however and let's all remember that skydiving schools and drop zones are small businesses which are working hard to survive in a competitive environment. Aviation fuel and insurance costs are constantly increasing, weather hampers our operations and legislation is always, well, legislating! This is not a business to be in if you want to be rich but it can be very rewarding in other aspects.
Why should the drop zone staff be nice to the press?
For the drop zone a small mention in the press or even word of mouth, goes a long way to helping the PR effort and increasing sales. Dollar for dollar, PR is the best value marketing spend you can make and you'll get far better value getting good articles printed than printing up another bunch of brochures. I like the old saying about "50% of my advertising spend is wasted, trouble is I don't know which 50%". I can say with some confidence that a well written press article with decent distribution will form part of the good 50%.
Ask not what you can do for my drop zone, ask what my drop zone can do for you
Nobody, even reporters or private individuals who also write articles and blogs, should give a mention where it hasn't really been earned through excellent service and value. I know instructors who are truly world class at the skydiving aspects but need to work on their 'entertainment act' a little more and perhaps even on their interpersonal skills. I also know that there are private individuals those out there who expect 'freebie skydives' in return for vague promises and sometimes just pure BS. It's a tough decision for a small business drop zone to give away a skydive for free, where there are costs attached to every place in an aircraft. There is a big opportunity for drop zones and skydiving schools to become a little more marketing savvy and to do what they can to encourage the press to give them a good mention. There are two sides to every coin; A good recommendation for great service or for a succesful business will get a good response and will enhance your Brand. This is especially the case if the mention is in an article and not in some paid advertisement. On the other side of the coin, it's helpful to have a good relationship with the press to level the playing field during and after the negative downpour which inevitably follows any kind of skydiving incident. Check out the attached article and then see it as a 'your advert here' opportunity, where the 'advert' is simply a name of your drop zone, a quote from you relating to your service and a mention of the skydiving instructor are what a shy and retiring character he really is at heart (yeah, right that'll be a first won't it?
How a drop zone can double the value of it's PR act immediately
The home of skydiving blogs for the first time jumper
Start by registering here and blog about your drop zone and your service. That's a zero cost service and it will boost your online presence straight away. Do you really think that your posts on specialist skydiving forums will be read by those who want to come and do their first jump? Even if they read it, do you think they'll understand the skydiving techno babble that we engage in most of the time? Do a reality check on our growth in alexa ratings and start blogging about your service here.
Treat reporters like royalty
If you are a drop zone operator and if one of your clients makes you aware that they are a reporter, then take a look at their press card and get to know who they write for and treat them special (yes, I know you treat all your clients special). Just remember that reporters are not the best paid people in the world, yet they can deliver some incredible value to a drop zone. Consider offering them a free skydive in return for simply including a mention of the drop zone and perhaps print your website name. You're not asking them to say anything they wouldn't want to say and the onus if on your drop zone to deliver 'yet another outstanding performance' which they can report on. Just don't mess up!
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