Archive for September, 2005
We are pleased to announce that Veer Interactive has completed the Sport Aviation Industry Website Analysis report and it is now available for just $287.
The report includes a 30 point analysis of 179 companies in the sport aviation industry. In addition, a search engine effectiveness study for each company is included with five category terms and five company specific terms for each.
The report also includes a 50+ page introduction that describes each of the 30 analysis points in detail with an explanation for each potential score.
The Sport Aviation Industry Website Analysis report was highly researched to provide relevant and useful information to business owners in improving their web presence to deliver real business value. All of the information included in the report is practical, accurate and actionable.
Please note: this report is not intended for potential, current or past customers of the companies included in the report. It is not an analysis of products or services offered. Rather, it is an analysis of the effectiveness of online marketing and sales efforts of the included companies.
To learn more about the report visit: www.sportaviationmarketing.com/sport-aviation-industry-website-analysis-report/
To learn more about the author visit: www.veerinteractive.com
[tags]Aviation Marketing, Online Marketing, LSA, Sport Pilot, Light Sport Aircraft[/tags]
September 24th, 2005
One surprising aspect of the majority of sport aviation is the general lack of quality features. This is especially critical considering the price point of many sport aviation products. Simple avionics such as a comm radio can easily meet or exceed the cost of high-end kitchen appliances. A basic multi-function display or engine can cost more than a new car. Basic airplanes and homes are often in the same price range. However, if you go online to research appliances, cars or homes the quality of the websites and their features greatly exceeds that of the sport aviation industry.
Obviously there is much a larger market for kitchen appliances than comm radios and surely Maytag’s marketing budget is larger than yours. However, it is important to meet the expectations of your site visitors. There are dozens of strategies for delivering valuable information online that can be done quickly and affordably. Many of these affordable strategies will be discussed on this blog over the next weeks and months.
For now, it is time for the sport aviation industry to recognize that the Internet is integral to business success and that overall, today’s effort fall woefully short of customers expectations.
Which sport aviation company is going to break away from the pack first and deliver a truly exceptional online presence?
[tags]Aviation Marketing, Online Marketing, LSA, Sport Pilot, Light Sport Aircraft[/tags]
September 17th, 2005
Veer Interactive recently conducted an analysis of 179 websites in the sport aviation industry. 54 of the sites had a broken link or image on the home page alone. That’s over 30% of the sites! Would you get into an airplane from a company that can’t even build an error free website home page?
The quality of your website and the quality of your products are the same. That’s right - exactly the same.
Anytime you communicate with a potential customer you reflect the qualities of your product. As it relates to many customers, your website may be their only point of contact with your company. It needs to be good. It’s on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
So here’s a simple question: Does the quality of your website live up to the quality of your product?
If it doesn’t, you have some work to do. While this is true for any company, it is especially true in the sport aviation industry. Safety is a critical factor in everything we do. If your website is riddled with 404 errors (file not found) what does that say about the reliability of the plans/kit/engine/prop/instrument you’re trying to sell?
Here’s the good news, running an error free website is not difficult. In fact, it shouldn’t take any longer to build a well-tuned website than it does to build a broken website. There are dozens of free link checkers on the web. Just do a quick Google search or use the following:
http://validator.w3.org/checklink
Don’t forget to run it on each page of your site. If you find any problems, fix ‘em up and don’t let a broken site reflect poorly on your excellent product line.
[tags]Aviation Marketing, Online Marketing, Aviation Website, LSA, Sport Pilot, Light Sport Aircraft[/tags]
September 10th, 2005
Change is in the air – literally.
It is an exciting time for the sport aviation industry. The sport pilot rule is now one year old, the support from organizations like the EAA and AOPA is strong, and momentum continues to build. The promise of new categories of aircraft and pilot certification are quickly becoming a reality. Along with this new reality comes incredible opportunity and challenges for all businesses in the sport aviation industry.
Factor #1: A new market is here.
The new sport pilot rule will make flying a reality for countless people. During Airventure 2005 alone nearly 400 sport pilot student certificates were issued. As the infrastructure becomes available to train these students, an entirely new market will open up to the sport aviation industry.
Factor #2: The current fleet is aging fast.
The Pipers and Cessnas that most of us learned to fly in are not getting any younger. New design and construction technologies have increased performance and safety over the last 30 years and it is time to leverage those advances. The success of Cirrus illustrates that the appetite for new designs is abundant. LSA has the potential to make technologically advanced designs affordable for the masses.
Factor #3: New avionics add functionality and safety.
The last few years have witnessed an explosion of new instruments to replace the traditional steam gauges. The new glass cockpits are affordable (becoming more so everyday) and enhance safety by providing relevant information to pilots in a meaningful way. Everyone is interested in these new instruments and as prices continue to fall the demand will be met.
Factor #4: New services are needed.
All of these factors also result int he need for new services. Already the sport pilot rule has created high demand for training with no infrastructure to support it. Aircraft categories such as the LSA and E-LSA will also lead to new support services such as transition training, maintenance support and aircraft accessories.
Factor #5: New competition is here.
As a result of the sport pilot rule, more than a dozen new S-LSA certified aircraft hit the marketplace in just a few months. Dozens more are on the way. Once final standards are established E-LSA aircraft will also be available in abundance. But it isn’t all good news… As sport pilot increases the size of the market, competition is also increasing.
A perfect storm.
These factors taken together point to a massive revolution in the sport aviation industry. The next months and years will see massive change in the industry. It is very likely that companies we’ve known for decades will not survive the storm, while new players will emerge and thrive.
Opportunity everywhere.
Change is good. Now is not the time for business as usual. To thrive, sport aviation businesses must assess their marketing efforts to ensure they thrive.
Opportunity online.
The majority of sport aviation websites are below average at best. This leaves ample opportunity for companies to differentiate themselves and rise above the crowd. This blog will focus on the opportunities related to online marketing for the sport aviation industry.
September 3rd, 2005
