James La Barrie's marketing presentation made at the 2019 USPA DZO Conference.

1. Be The
Obvious
Choice
- James La Barrie
www.dropzone.marketing

2. Howdy, I’m
James.
(I love marketing).

3. Title:
Be The Obvious
Choice

4. Title:
Be The Obvious
Choice

5. MARKETING A DZ IS
GETTING HARDER

6. MARKETING A DZ IS HARD
• LOW PRICE STRATEGY
• INCREASE IN COMPETITION
• STRONG ECONOMY

7. MARKETING A DZ IS HARD
• MARKETING IS IMPROVING
• WEATHER IN 2018

8. Isn’t all milk the same?
Skydiving is like milk.

9. We don’t have
time to educate.

10. We don’t have
time to educate.
(people are distracted doing
other really cool stuff).

11. The majority of the industry
markets in one of three
ways.
•REACTIVE SALES
Photo by Terry Hopkins

12. 4.167
8.333
12.5
16.667
20.833
25
29.167
33.333
37.5
41.667
45.833
50
January March May July September November
REACTIVE SELLING - DEFENSIVE POSITION
JAN FEB
MAR APR
MAY JUN JUL AUG
SEP OCT
NOV
DEC

13. THROWING DEALS AT THE MARKETPLACE - REACTIVE

14. The majority of the industry
markets in one of three
ways.
•REACTIVE SALES
•LOW COST
Photo by Terry Hopkins

15. 4.167
8.333
12.5
16.667
20.833
25
29.167
33.333
37.5
41.667
45.833
50
January March May July September November
LOW COST - NEUTRAL
JAN FEB
MAR APR
MAY JUN JUL AUG
SEP OCT
NOV
DEC
1.667
3.333
5
6.667
8.333
10
11.667
13.333
15
16.667
18.333
20

16. GAINING MARKET SHARE ON LOW PRICE

17. MARKETING ON LOW PRICE & SALES MANIPULATIONS IS
EXHAUSTING & NOT A STRATEGY FOR THE LONG GAME.

18. The majority of the industry
markets in one of three
ways.
•REACTIVE SALES
•LOW COST
•BUILDING LOYALTY
Photo by Terry Hopkins

19. THE CASE FOR MARKETING FOR LOYALTY
•Drives Word of Mouth / Online Reviews

20. WORD OF MOUTH

21. SMOKING GUN FOR MARKETING
TODAY IS ONLINE REVIEWS
(digital word of mouth)

22. 90% of consumers read online reviews
before visiting a business.
Source: Forbes

23. 86% of people trust online reviews as
much as a personal recommendation.
ONLINE REVIEWS
Source: BrightLocal

24. ONLINE REVIEWS
Source: Review Trackers
63.6 percent of consumers say they are
likely to check online reviews on Google
before visiting a business — more than
any other review site.

25. THE CASE FOR MARKETING FOR LOYALTY
•Drives Word of Mouth / Online Reviews
•Allows You to be on Offense
•Allows You to Avoid Discounting

26. MARKETING TO CREATE LOYALTY

27. HOW TO GENERATE
LOYALTY AT SCALE
1. INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC
2. TELL YOUR STORY
3. EXCEED EXPECTATIONS
4. GENERATE WORD
OF MOUTH

28. 1. INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC

30. • WIN IN GOOGLE SEARCH
- Maximize Your GMB
- Invest in Google Ads
- Invest in SEO
- Generate SEO Content
• BE GREAT ON SOCIAL
• USE VIDEO
• GENERATE CONTENT
• BUILD A HQ DATABASE
• GENERATE REVIEWS
1. INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC

31. HOW TO GENERATE
LOYALTY AT SCALE
1. INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC
2. TELL YOUR STORY

32. TELL YOUR STORY
• What is your Differentiating Value Proposition?
• What Do You Want Your Customers to Know About You?

33. WHAT WE DO

34. WHAT WE DO

35. WHAT WE DO

36. “PEOPLE
DON’T BUY
WHAT YOU DO,
THEY BUY WHY
YOU DO IT.”
- SIMON SINEK

37. OUR STORY

38. WHO WE ARE

39. Win Hearts, Not Wallets

41. HOW TO GENERATE
LOYALTY AT SCALE
1. INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC
2. TELL YOUR STORY
3. EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

42. HOW DO YOU
EXCEED
EXPECTATIONS
WHEN THE
EXPECTATIONS ARE
ALREADY SO HIGH?

43. WE LACK
EMPATHY.

44. 45 POINTS OF INTERACTION
▸ IDENTIFY EVERY POINT OF
INTERACTION YOUR
CUSTOMERS HAVE WITH
YOUR OPERATION.
▸ CAN YOU IMPROVE IN ANY
POINT OF ACTION?
▸ CAN YOU PROVIDE ANY
PLUS ONE’s?

45. CASE STUDY:
WISCONSIN SKYDIVING CENTER
OBJECTIVES
• BE STRATEGIC WITH MARKETING
• DON’T DISCOUNT
• BALANCE VOLUME with a FAIR PRICE
• BECOME THE OBVIOUS CHOICE

46. HOW TO GENERATE
LOYALTY AT SCALE
1. INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC
2. TELL YOUR STORY
3. EXCEED EXPECTATIONS
4. GENERATE WORD
OF MOUTH

48. CONTENT - 150 BLOG POSTS

49. SEO

50. SOCIAL

51. E-MAIL MARKETING
SUBJECT LINE: ‘NO CRAZY BLACK FRIDAY SALE. JUST GRATITUDE.’

52. GOOGLE BUSINESS PAGE

53. HOW TO GENERATE
LOYALTY AT SCALE
1. INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC
2. TELL YOUR STORY

61. DELIVER AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE
TREAT EACH OTHER WITH HONESTY AND RESPECT
BE PASSIONATE AND DETERMINED
CONTINUOUSLY LEARN AND GROW
ENJOY THE JOURNEY AND HAVE TONS OF FUN

65. HOW TO GENERATE
LOYALTY AT SCALE
1. INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC
2. TELL YOUR STORY
3. EXCEED EXPECTATIONS
4. GENERATE WORD
OF MOUTH

66. EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
24 TO 298 REVIEWS IN ONE YEAR

67. THE END RESULT
BEST SEASON IN 20 YEAR HISTORY

68. KEY UNDERSTANDING
INCREASE SITE TRAFFIC
DIGITAL MARKETING
TELLING YOUR STORY
EXCEED EXPECTATIONS
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
EACH MUST CO-EXIST FOR BUILDING TRUST & LOYALTY
DOESN’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT
BUT WHEN IT ALL COMES TOGETHER……….

69. Become
The
Obvious
Choice
www.dropzone.marketing

70. TEXT: “USPA”
to
345345
to receive this presentation and be entered
to win an RTIC Cooler.

71. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Dropzones are marketing utilizing three techniques: Reactive
Selling, Low Price and Building Loyalty. Few are marketing
with a loyalty mindset.
• Loyalty drives word of mouth. Word of mouth is the most
powerful form of marketing within the skydiving industry.
• Building loyalty doesn’t happen by accident. It is strategic.
The question one must ask at every customer point of
interaction is: “Does this exceed customer expectations?”
• The “smoking gun” for marketing is online reviews because
they are highly trusted.

72. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Win Hearts, not wallets. Do this and the money takes care of
itself.
• Drive Site Traffic: Invest in SEO, Google Ads, Content Marketing,
E-mail Marketing, Social Media, build Online Reviews.
• Tell Your Story - It’s More Than What You Do or How You Do It -
It’s Who You Are and Why You Do What You Do
• Exceed Expectations.
• Customer experience is not customer service. It’s part of the
marketing strategy.

73. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• This marketing plan only works if you combine all of these
elements = digital marketing, storytelling, customer
experience. It’s not as effective if all three aren’t at play.