Real-World Customer-Generation Ideas
Practical Ways Dive Centers Can Create New Customer Contacts
The goal is simple: create more conversations with people who are not already walking through your door.
Start with:
- Try Scuba Date Night
- Family Try Scuba Day
- Corporate Try Scuba Night
- Certified But Rusty? campaign
- Travel Advisor partnership
- Destination Wedding Pool Party
- School and Youth Group programs
- Local Things to Do campaign
- Bring-a-Friend Try Scuba event
- Gym and Fitness partnerships
- Swim School / YMCA partnerships
- Local business cross-promotions
- Apartment / HOA resident events
- What’s Next? open house
Pick one. Build it. Promote it. Follow up.
Do that every week and the shop is no longer just waiting for the phone to ring.
Using The Web for Customer Searches
How do we get more new students?
How do we get more new students?
How do we get more new students?
It’s a fair question. It also deserves a better answer than “post more on Facebook” or “wait for the phone to ring."
New students are already out there. They are planning vacations, booking cruises, joining local groups, taking kids to swim lessons, going to the gym, looking for family activities, planning honeymoons, or trying to find something different to do.
The goal is simple:
Get your dive center in front of those people before they decide scuba is something they’ll “maybe do someday.”
Start With Two Customer Groups
How do we get more new students?
How do we get more new students?
1. Vacation Customers
These are people already planning trips where water is part of the experience.
Cruises. Mexico. The Caribbean. The Bahamas. Hawaii. Honeymoons. Destination weddings. Spring break. Summer vacations. Family resort trips.
They may not be thinking about scuba yet, but they are already thinking about travel, beaches, excursions, snorkeling, and experiences.
Simple Message:
If scuba or snorkeling may be part of your trip, start locally before you go.
This Can Lead To:
Open Water certification
Try Scuba before travel
Refresher sessions
Snorkeling gear
Travel gear
Continuing education
Group travel
2. Experience Customers
These are people looking for something different to do.
Families. Couples. Teens. Corporate groups. Scout groups. Youth groups. Gyms. Outdoor clubs. Parent groups. Local activity seekers.
They may not be ready to sign up for a full scuba course today. That’s okay.
Try Scuba can be the doorway.
Simple Message:
Curious about scuba? Try it in the pool first.
This Can Lead To:
- Try Scuba
- Open Water certification
- Private classes
- Youth programs
- Continuing education
- Equipment sales
Where to Find Vacation Customers
Do not wait for travelers to find the dive center. Go where travel decisions are already being made.
Use searches like:
- travel advisor near me
- cruise planner near me
- honeymoon travel advisor [city]
- destination wedding planner [city]
- Caribbean travel specialist [city]
- Mexico travel specialist [city]
- [city] travel group
- [city] cruise group
- [state] vacation deals
Where to Find Experience Customers
For Try Scuba and local activity customers, go where groups already exist.
Use searches like:
- [city] things to do
- [city] parents group
- [city] outdoor club
- swim school [city]
- team building activities [city]
- HR manager [city]
- corporate wellness [city]
- parks and recreation [city]
Hashtags: A Simple Guide for Better Reach
Put The Right Message In Front of the Right People
Use hashtags for discovery and categorization. They help a post show up when someone is searching or browsing topics like:
#TryScuba
#LearnToDive
#CruiseReady
#FamilyAdventure
#[City]ThingsToDo
But here’s the honest answer: hashtags are not the strategy. They are a small support tool.
The real strategy is still:
Put the right message in front of the right people.
For dive centers, hashtags can help in a few ways:
- They make posts easier to find by topic.
- They connect the post to local searches like #IndianapolisEvents or #GrandRapidsThingsToDo.
- They help the shop look active in specific interest areas: travel, family activities, adventure, scuba, snorkeling.
- They give Instagram and Facebook a little more context about the audience the post may fit.
A few good hashtags are better than a pile of random ones. Start with 5–10 hashtags that match the post, then add local tags like:
- #[City]ThingsToDo
- #[City]Events
- #[City]Families,
- #[State]Travel.
