Sport Aviation Marketing

community matters in sport aviation

October 5th, 2005

Aero-News.net has a story today about the success of Seawind. With certification of the 300C nearly complete, Seawind has 46 orders, including sixteen orders placed during or shortly after Oshkosh. Wow.

In the article, Seawind President and CEO Dick Silva is quoted as saying, “Through our marketing efforts and attendance at aviation shows, we have added over seven hundred new enthusiasts and followers to our community.” What is interesting about that statement is that such prominent credit is given to the “community” that has grown around Seawind.

Anyone who has ever spent a night in the campground at Oshkosh understands how critical community is in the sport aviation industry. While Seawind is proud of the 46 orders (and rightly so), they are also very aware that 700 hundred new members have been added to the Seawind community. What I’m sure Seawind understands, that all other sport aviation businesses need to understand, is that the NEXT 46 orders are going to be from members of that community.

Beyond the campground at Oshkosh, the Internet is hands-down the best place to build community around a business or product. The proliferation of email groups related to aviation is evidence of this. When I ask around it is not uncommon for a homebuilder to subscribe to a half-dozen or more lists. Many production airplane owners subscribe to lists from multiple type clubs. There is a hunger for aviation-related online communities.

It is also worth noting that online community is beginning to extend beyond simple email groups. Due to the proliferation of spam there are exciting alternatives gaining prominence online everyday. As an example, there is tremendous opportunity in promoting community for sport aviation products through the use of Wikis. To learn more about this technology see the definition of “Wiki” on Wikipedia, the best example of the technology. Wikis present an incredible marketing opportunity in that they engage your customers (and potential customers), can be setup very quickly using low cost or free open source software, and are easy to maintain.

What is amazing (and surprising), is that sport aviation businesses are not leveraging the opportunities that exist in online communities. In our analysis of sport aviation industry websites, only 33 of the 179 websites analyzed offered more than static customer testimonials as part of their content. In terms of customer advocacy, the companies that succeed in the new sport pilot environment will have to do better.

Much more to come on this topic…

[tags]Sport Aviation, Aviation Marketing, Aviation Website, Online Community[/tags]

Entry Filed under: aviation marketing, aviation website, customer conversion cycle, online community, online marketing