Are You a Luddite?

The dive store owners I know seem to gravitate toward two extremes.

• Some eagerly embrace technology, seeing anything digital — be it digital cameras, high-definition video, computer-based learning or the Internet — as being among the most exciting aspects of doing business today.
• Others resist technology. If they could turn the clock back 20 years, they’d do so in a heartbeat. These are the people who let someone else answer their e-mail and blame the Internet for every perceived lost sale.

The very fact you are taking the time to read an on-line magazine on dive retailing suggests you are most likely not a computer-hating Luddite. Still, you may be making one or more critical errors that are more typical of those wishing the “good old days” will somehow return than they are of the dive retailers who will still be in business in 2010 and beyond.

The fact is, things like the Internet, e-mail, iPods and instant messaging are not going away. You can either take advantage of the opportunities these technologies represent — or you can sit on your butt and blame them for everything that’s wrong with the dive industry. Your call.

Here are the four “most Luddite-like” mistakes:

• No website or (equally as bad) an ineffective website.
• Poor e-mail response.
• Relying solely on direct mail for promotion (or not promoting at all).
• Teaching classes straight out of That 70s Show.

Let’s look at each one in a little more detail.

Website? Who needs a website? »

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