The moment a student diver takes that first breath underwater, you’ve reached a pivotal juncture. After this (often life-changing) event, you have the unique and exciting opportunity to transform a novel first experience into a lifelong passion – it all depends on what you do next.
In today’s fast-paced, distraction-filled world, connections with new divers can fade fast, and opportunities to continually evolve your relationship with your students can be missed. Before you know it, that new diver becomes another I-got-certified-years-ago-but-haven’t-dived-since certification holder.
So, how can you ensure diving stays at the forefront of your new divers’ minds? How do you re-engage divers who have drifted away? One proven tool is PADI Club™.
PADI Club delivers real value, regular inspiration and motivational incentives to divers – all underpinned by a sense of community and belonging. Being part of the world’s largest diving community can fast-track or reignite a bond between divers and the underwater world. And not only does this grow their love for the sport, but it also keeps them engaged with your business beyond that first certification card. Through benefits like PADI eLearningTM discounts, a subscription to Scuba Diving® magazine, and an included annual PADI eCardTM, PADI Club keeps diving from getting lost in myriad other distractions. In short, it can help transform one dive into a lifetime of diving.
Proving the Value
For PADI Members, any diver enrolled in PADI Club is an asset. A recent survey of Scuba Diving magazine readers found that 78 percent of PADI Club members plan on continuing their dive education, with 87 percent planning to book a dive vacation in the next 12 to 14 months. More than half of PADI Club members also indicated an intention to make a gear purchase over the next 12 to 24 months. PADI Club membership contributes to an increase in customer lifetime value (CLV), which for dive businesses means fewer one-off transactions and greater repeat engagement.
It’s not just reengagement, either, but new engagement. The survey found that more than 90 percent of PADI Club members said they would recommend Club to friends and family. If each diver sign-up creates a ripple, you may quickly find you have a wave of lifelong divers.
PADI Club helps reinforce diver loyalty through increased touchpoints. By signing a diver into PADI Club, the dive operation that does so becomes present in the member experience in several places, including the mailing label of the member’s print Scuba Diving magazine subscription, engagement emails, the PADI Club benefits portal and during eLearning purchases.
High Customer Value
PADI Club is a benefit-rich membership, offering practical value and an emotional connection. When a diver joins PADI Club, their membership benefits include:
- Subscription to Scuba Diving Magazine
- 20 percent off select PADI eLearning courses
- Exclusive PADI eCard design.
- Access to PADI Club’s “Speaker Series”
- PADI ReActivate® eLearning
- DAN Prepared Diver course
- 25 percent off a standard certification card
Beyond tangible perks, being a part of PADI Club delivers something deeper. It gives divers a sense of belonging and provides the inspiration to get back in the water or to dive regularly. Communication with divers through PADI Club member correspondence and exclusive content ensures divers remain connected between dives and keeps diving on the brain. “I love being a member of PADI Club because it keeps me included and in the know with all of the happenings in the dive community,” said one Club member. “Being a member makes me feel like family.”
Positioning PADI Club
Each PADI Club benefit can serve as its own selling point, but some resonate more strongly with potential members than others. Scuba Diving magazine readers ranked the 20 percent off eLearning discount and subscription to the magazine as the most appealing benefits, followed closely by the discount on certification cards and the online ReActivate materials.
Pitched in a friendly, confident and well-timed manner, these benefits and the low-cost, high-value structure of the membership can become a compelling sales tool. “PADI Club has been a great tool for encouraging new and returning divers to continue their training,” says PADI Master Instructor Heather Tallent (MI – 272797), owner of PADI Five Star IDC Blue Planet Scuba (S – 22073) in Washington DC, USA, who’s seen PADI Club’s appeal in action. “The discount on eLearning is a fantastic incentive.”
Other benefits, like the included PADI ReActivate online refresher, are ideal for enticing lapsed divers back into the water, especially since the standalone eLearning costs more than the price of an annual PADI Club membership. Meanwhile, perks such as the donation of five percent of the PADI Club membership fee to the PADI AWARE Foundation® appeal strongly to eco-conscious divers looking to give back.
That said, potential Club members have cited confusion over exactly what benefit makes PADI Club worth joining. Role playing succinct, clear pitches delivered at appropriate times in the customer journey with your staff can eliminate any confusion and increase conversions.
Encouraging PADI Club Bundling
The topic of course bundling has been written about a lot over the years in the pages of The Undersea Journal; it’s a powerful tactic to keep customers engaged and excited for their onward journeys. PADI Club can be offered as a stand-alone membership, but also as part of a course bundle.
Many PADI Members have found success in bundling PADI Club membership with a PADI course; this is appealing to customers when it starts offsetting training costs right away for applicable courses or encourages future enrollments if bundled with the Open Water Diver course. PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer™ Dick Scott (MSDT – 421422), owner of PADI Five Star Dive Center Portsmouth Scuba (S – 27600) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA, has seen the effectiveness of this approach. “We have been bundling PADI Club with our classes, and our divers have loved it,” Scott says. “They have also been signing up for additional courses, including Rescue and Advanced Open Water Diver.”
Blue Planet Scuba’s Tallent echoes this experience. “We regularly sign students up for classes who want us to take into account their PADI Club eLearning price,” she says. “We’re even considering changing our class pricing structure to make it easier for students to do so! Based on a suggestion during a Northeast Campfire Chat, we’ve also started giving a PADI Club membership to all our ReActivate students. Hopefully, between the Club incentives and communications from both PADI and Blue Planet, we can keep them engaged in the dive community long term.”
To support these efforts, turn to the PADI Club Marketing Toolkit for in-shop visuals, customizable online content and general guidance on positioning PADI Club to divers. This toolkit includes several downloadable assets that can be used in digital and physical marketing to generate interest.
Keep Divers Diving and Coming Back
As divers, we know exactly how worthwhile diving is, but even the most unforgettable experiences can fade into memory without something keeping us engaged. By weaving PADI Club into your customer journey, you might be able to stop divers from moving away from diving. More than that, each successful sale of a PADI Club membership can deliver lifelong returns, not only from a business perspective but also for a diver who finds belonging in the dive community.
