When we sent this out in January 2009, we had already laid much of the ground work for www.jetowner.com.
The trick with marketing in the private aviation space is knowing a couple of things:
- The Internet is big - Too big.Think of it like the ocean and of the 34 billion herring in the sea. There are 34,000 that might need your aviation service. Hunting them via pay per click campaigns, etc., is almost guaranteeing you to spend more on each client than they generate for you.
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Popularity: 19%
Admittedly this is one of the toughest times on record for the industry, be it operator, manager, or owner. When we launched the Fractional Forum in 2003, we had already laid much of the groundwork for the Jet Owner Group. The idea was to fill the void: Give the person in back truly objective and honest information on how the industry worked.
The key to navigating uncertain times is to understand what you already know. The private air charter industry exists at the pleasure of those who are generous enough to buy an aircraft for the local, regional, or national charter operation of their choice. Being smart about investing in that aircraft typically means understanding all the dynamics that erode the fixed, variable, and true depreciation costs.”
Popularity: 19%
The reality of spam is that it is so common to your mail server is that you don’t get to see a lot of mail.
In the aviation paradigm this leaves me wondering how will any FBO, charter firm, etc. actually get anyone to read mail. We are an industry of spammers. The NBAA lists and empty legs alone are a testament to vacuous mail that has little or no value, but yet swamps your inbox.
When you misbehave with email, it can get serious, since filters will just blacklist your vapid and unwanted content.
For the record, misbehaving means sending email without explicit permission. That one statement encompasses 99% of aviation marketing mail. Have you ever noticed that Netjets never spammed you, nor Pfizer or McDonalds? That’s because their marketing folk have serious accountability for long term damage they cause to their brand.
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Popularity: 16%
NO ONE LOVES UPDATING
Our lives have become filled with more usernames and passwords than we can track. It seems that every vendor, marketing venue or tool on the Internet requires us to participate in the confines of a username and password, the necessity to login and then take some of our time. » Continue Reading
Popularity: 22%
Four years ago, when we launched our directory service we noticed that some airports were way more appealing than others and that some salespeople fared better than others in developing air carrier interest in passenger laden areas.
Through perception or reality, some airports were just more popular. Most charter firms want top billing (and sponsorship) at their airport. But when we started these sponsorships (for an example, click here or here) the first problem we ran into was that your best airport to sponsor isn’t always obvious.
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Popularity: 21%
Don’t you hate losing your keys? It is one of the most time honored modern struggles. You are late, you need them, and you can’t find them. If it is not your keys it is some PDA or phone thing you’ve grown attached to. Or, if you are really absent minded, like me, it is your wallet, … and keys.
A recent informal poll of air carriers in the hardest hit economic zones offered a resounding revelation that made us think about keys. Sales. Finding new customers is a bit like looking for your keys. When you need them, they are hard to find. Then we got a slug of these responses while doing the informal poll: “Things are slow.. we can’t / won’t advertise now…”
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Popularity: 23%
While many FBO and air charter folk may defend the alphabet groups for all the “good work” they do in Washington on our collective behalf, I have to admit the evidence is weak - especially when it comes to the world that I work in: People who charter airplanes, buy fuel and aircraft. That’s who feeds me.
Popularity: 26%
The core of Taosim is about balance. I’m not certain of that, but it certainly sounds important and authoritative.
Richard Aboulafia is also important, and depending on the day of the week, he’s even an authority too. When he sent out his December 08 newsletter he touched on one of the most important Yin and Yang elements of aviation evolution and history.
The ROMANTICS vs. The ANALYSTS
While he castigated Vern for the Eclipse debacle and the herd of drunken followers, he was quick to point out how important this seemingly dysfunctional animal is. Were it not for the string of failures that romantics generate (for the occasional victory, like the Learjet, the 747, etc.) there would be little risk taking and innovation in aviation. In other words, the crushing blow to private aviation, air taxi, micro jets, etc. is all part of the larger evolutionary picture.
Popularity: 30%
I spent a good chunk of the weekend trying to decipher “short cuts” of marketing. I wondered about Facebook and Twitter and a lot of sites that consume a lot of time, but have questionable value in building the critical mass of awareness that marketeers seek.
Saturated with buzzwords that remind us how unhip we really are, many in aviation stumble along, grasping at new ideas looking for the short cut. You know… the one that is “hot” right now amongst the bleeding edge of the New York marketing geniuses. But then I thought, isn’t this the same culture that is responsible for Credit Default Swaps, Hedge Funds and other strange hollow promises? So why do people always look to the marketing savants of 5th Ave for answers they already know?
Popularity: 25%
Whether you believe it or not, the price of your service or product is one of the last things a customer considers.
Any price is fair, so long as value is there.
When the guy jumps into the convertible for a test drive, at what point does he start to get hung up on price? (Usually after he’s decided he has to have it.) Or better yet, ever noticed someone in Home Depot refuse to touch the latest drill until he knows the exact price? Nope… never.
Price comes into the equation at the end of the process, after inspection and desire have played their part, when it comes time to fine tune and make an assessment on the value of the item versus its price tag. Everyone wants the best, it’s just a matter of justifying how valuable it is to them versus what they can actually afford.
Popularity: 28%