November on the islands off Bali: the rains are beginning, the European summer visitors left long ago, and the Christmas period has not yet started. The boat that was full every day in August now leaves half empty, or not at all. Every dive shop on Lembongan and Ceningan experiences this at the same time.
This year, Mount Agung adds to the challenge. The volcano began erupting last week, the airport in Denpasar was closed for most of this week because of the ash, and guests who were booked on our boat are stranded elsewhere or cancelling. Nobody can plan around a volcano, but the situation makes one point very clear.
Walk-in customers and website bookings decline when tourist numbers fall. Ceningan Divers has now been through two low seasons, and what keeps a boat operating in the quiet months is a network of people who refer guests. That network must be built while the business is busy, not when it is under pressure. The low season is won in the high season.
Who sends guests to a dive resort?
Dive shop marketing is usually associated with the website, Facebook and TripAdvisor, all of which matter. However, many divers arrive because someone else referred them. In the dive industry, referrals typically come from a combination of the following:
- Travel agents and dive travel specialists, particularly those selling packages in Europe and Asia.
- Nearby hotels and guesthouses that do not operate their own dive centre and want an activity to offer their guests.
- Liveaboards and larger operators on the mainland that need a local partner for day trips, or that receive questions about the islands.
- Dive clubs and dive schools in other countries that organize group trips once or twice a year.
- Universities, marine science programs and school groups seeking field trips or courses.
Each operates differently. What they share is that none of them owe the business anything. They will send guests to whichever operator makes the process easiest and treats their guests best.
What do partners need in order to refer guests?
A clear commission and a simple booking process. The quickest way to lose a partner is to make the partner do calculations.
If a guesthouse owner must send a message, wait a day, receive a quote in another currency, calculate the commission and then follow up to be paid, that owner will stop after the second attempt, and understandably so.
What works is simple and clear: a one-page rate sheet for partners, with the commission stated as a percentage or a fixed amount rather than "we'll work something out"; a booking method suited to how partners actually work, whether a WhatsApp number that is always answered, a simple booking form or a shared calendar; and commissions paid on time, every time, without being requested. That last point builds more loyalty than anything a business can say.
On the islands, much of this is still handled on paper and in cash. The method works to a degree, but it makes it very difficult to know who is referring which guests.
Why visit partners in person?
Because people refer guests to people they know. Our team has spent years working online: a web agency in Vancouver, social media work and businesses managed remotely from the other side of the world. In business development, however, a personal presence is more effective than email.
At a partner hotel, the front desk staff are usually the ones who make recommendations, not the owner. They are the people guests ask, "What can we do tomorrow?" If they know the operator personally, have been out on the boat, or received a visit with coffee last month, they will mention the business by name. If the business is only a brochure on the counter, they will mention whichever name comes to mind first.
We therefore recommend visiting in person and bringing the rate sheet; offering the staff a free dive or snorkel trip in the quiet season so they understand what they are recommending; asking what their guests ask about; and returning regularly, not only when the business needs something.
The same applies to larger operators and agencies. Skype is suitable for the details, but a first meeting in person changes the relationship.
Why track which partner sends which guests?
Because without that information, a good partner cannot be distinguished from a poor one. Everyone agrees with this principle; very few apply it properly.
A business that does not know where its guests come from tends to focus on the most visible partners rather than those who actually fill the boat.
How can referrals be tracked simply?
Expensive software is unnecessary. A "source" column in the booking spreadsheet, completed for every booking without exception, covers most of the need. Every guest should be asked at check-in how they heard about the business, even when the answer seems obvious.
For online bookings, each partner should receive a dedicated link with tracking parameters, or a dedicated promo code. Google Analytics will then show which partner's link actually generates bookings. In marketing, this is called conversion tracking; most small operators in the area simply call it the notebook.
The data should be reviewed every month. After a year, it will show which three or four partners truly matter, and that is where visits and attention should be concentrated.
How should a business respond to an event like the Agung eruption?
With plain, honest updates to partners and flexibility on changes. A week like this one compresses the low season into a few days, and it is when the network either holds or fails.
The priority at present is clear, factual communication with partners, not a polished "Bali is open!" post: what is actually happening on the islands, whether diving is taking place, what the boats from Sanur are doing and what will be done for guests who cannot travel. Agents have clients asking them the same questions, and they will remember the operators who gave them straightforward answers quickly once the situation stabilizes.
Flexibility on changes is equally important. Dates should be moved without dispute. If a partner's guest cannot come, the partner should not bear the cost of the cancellation policy. These decisions are remembered and discussed later, favourably or unfavourably.
The duration of the situation is unknown. The partners treated well this month, however, will be the first to send guests again.
Where does effective business development come from?
From consistent tracking and personal presence more than from reading. Harvard Business Review's growth strategy section offers an article on almost every question, mostly written for companies much larger than a dive shop or a guesthouse. Some of the material scales down well. What matters most for filling a boat in November, however, comes from the notebook and from showing up.
A partner plan, or a structured go-to-market strategy for the quiet months, should be written during the busy season. That timing is the key principle.