Leading Edge Aerial

Leading Edge is a startup headed by a 26 year old. Why would you spend your hard earned dollars here?  (Hint: It involves your profits going up.)

Because we will produce increased sales for you. Because that 26 year old has a voracious appetite for aviation, marketing, and business systems that work. A lifelong love affair love affair with general aviation coupled with an information systems and marketing background provides you with a highly effective marketing solution.  Sign up for flight school marketing today!

Why would you let someone else plan and execute your marketing for you?  To minimize your time and maximize your profit.

I firmly believe you should always understand your marketing, and know that it matches your flight school. If there is a disconnect between marketing and reality, customers will be distrustful, and rightfully so.

With that said, if you agree with the plan and methods, why should you let someone else do the work? I personally can write HTML, and I can use Photoshop. I am not very fast at either, and I certainly wouldn’t win any design awards. That’s why my website is based on a well supported package and uses a slightly modified template. That’s why I send my print work to an excellent designer, and complex web work to web designers.

You have to use common sense and find a good price to quality ratio. Here’s the stick against which I measure – If I can reasonably expect to make more money from the finished professional piece than I would save by doing it myself, I outsource. Time counts in this equation, too. How many opportunities did you miss while working outside your strengths?

How do you decide when to employ a professional? May I save you time and make you money?

The local EAA chapter holds a vintage fly-in each June. It is an awesome event, with close to 80 vintage airplanes in attendance.  The fly-in always draws a crowd, but most of the attendees are pilots.

This year, we decided that the flight school should have a presence at the event. In February, I found several new places that we could spread the word. We posted on the local digital newspaper’s calendar, in the city’s bi-monthly mailing to residents, in the local paper, and on the city’s website. As the event drew nearer, I posted ads on Craigslist. In each ad, I emphasized the wide variety of aircraft and family-friendliness. I also mentioned that the flight school was offering discounted flights.

The Craigslist ad said slights were from 8 am until 1 pm. I had people waiting to sign up at 8!

The weather was great, and we were able to use the school’s Citabria. After the first flight, we had a quiet period while the world woke up. From 10:30 until 2:15, though, that little bird was making the rounds. In all, it introduced 9 people to the flight school.

On top of that, I signed up 2 others for future Discovery Flights, where they will be able to take the controls. I spoke with 4 others who said they would call to schedule a Discovery Flight and my wife and I talked to at least a dozen other people who are just starting to think about flying. It was a marvelous day.

What did it cost? Time, effort, and a long lead time. By starting early, I was able to spread the word in effective but free channels.  We already had the professionally designed and printed brochures, and this was a perfect opportunity to use them. The flights were discounted, but they were above cost. Since the owner volunteered to fly, the instructor time was free.

Saturday was the successful realization of long-term planning and work. Saturday was magnificent.

Let’s talk about planning. You don’t take off without knowing where you’re headed, what the weather is supposed to do, how much fuel is in the airplane, the length and surface of the runways, and a myriad of other relevant details. You always keep your mind a least five minutes ahead of the airplane.

With airplanes, you plan for safety. With marketing, planning offers a consistent message, brand recognition, and cost efficiency. As Jay Conrad Levinson says, cost sensitive marketers must avoid rushes like the plague.

Planning in marketing allows your message to sink in, and let’s your customers learn what you are about. An authentic, consistent message persistently delivered is gold. Sporadic and changing messages leave customers confused and your resources scattered.

Proper planning encompasses what message you communicate, as well as how, when, and where you share that message with others. Herein lies the challenge – create a concise and authentic message, and then repeat and reinforce that message with your audience often and appropriately. Do that, and watch the magic.

Leading Edge is experienced with marketing plans for flight schools and we can create the magic for you. If you are looking to increase your revenue, let us know.

Have you tried CraigsList? It rocks! For the uninitiated, CraigsList is a collection of online classified ads. Ads are posted for the local community.  It’s wildly popular, due to it’s singular purpose, ease of use, and the fact that it is completely FREE.

Over the past 2 weeks, I’ve scheduled 3 discovery flights and have 2 more queued up. I talked to the flight school owner tonight, and he’s absolutley delighted with how much his phone is ringing.

How much did we put into this campaign? We already had an identity for the school and we already had a marketing plan in place. The addition on CraigsList – $0.00. Time investment? About 30 minutes posting the ads and answering email. Rock on.

The best part of it all? Since they’re part of a larger plan, the ads are building the local brand awareness. Even if a customer didn’t schedule a flight this round, the thought was planted. They may even visit the website or drop by the school for a brochure. Each component is reinforcing the others; each tells a different part of the same story.

Tip of the day: Try CraigsList.  Check out how other schools are using it.  Then, go to CraigsList.org, select your city, and click “post to classifieds”.  All you need is an email address and a plan.

I fired the rented 150 up, ready to fly, and listened with disdain as the engine sputtered. I quickly ran through my checklist – maybe I missed something. No dice – everything was right, except, of course, the engine.

It’s rhythm was off. It just didn’t sound right. Every few seconds it would sputter and almost die. It was inconsistent, unreliable, and not to be flown.

Does your marketing fit you? Is it in rhythm with your business? Is it consistent, or does it come and go?

Marketing is the engine that powers your business. Intentionally or unintentionally, planned or accidental, your marketing let’s prospects know you exist. It tells them who you are, what you do, and what you stand for. It communicates your identity.

What makes your airplane right for your mission? (You’ve identified your mission, right?) Is it speed? Minimal required landing distance? Aerobatic abilities? Docile handling? View from the cockpit?

(Why is your school the best choice? Is it the small town feel or that you are tailored to the sleek and fast? Are you located on grass strips, which are more forgiving and provide smoother touchdowns, or that you’re base in Class D airspace couples plenty of tower time with scenic downtown views? Do you have economical 150′s, nostalgic tailwheels, or brand new 172′s with shiny glass panels?)

By knowing you strengths and weaknesses, you can position your school as the school of choice. Highlight your strengths for your customers, and authetically position yourself as the best choice.

What are the V speeds? How fast can it climb, and what’s the optimal speed for the climb? What are the maneuvering and never exceed speeds?  What’s your service ceiling?

(What are the key indicators for your school? How many students can you handle? How many do you want? How few do you need, and how high above that line are you? If you want to increase your capacity, how quickly grow? How fast can you sustainably grow?)

Whether they’re steam gauges or on a glass panel, your instruments provide feedback about where you are and where you’re headed. With defined parameters and instruments to measure them, you can take your flight school where you want to go.

Brian Landsberg  posted a disturbing article about declining numbers of pilots.

I am nuts about airplanes and love to introduce people to general aviation.  My goal is to work with flight schools to improve their marketing and business processes in order to attract more students.

I am not flush with extra cash, nor do I have a surplus of time.  I was bitten by the aviation bug at a young age, though, and nothing was to stand between me and my license.  My monthly budget for flight is meager ($160), but it keeps me in the air and it usually gets me to a greasy breakfast.

In the comments following this article, there are a lot of “causes” addressed.  What are the solutions?  What can we do to address the problem?  If over-regulation causes inordinate security restrictions, high gas prices, and expensive maintenance, what is left for us to do?

We can:

• Take friends and their children for flights
• Build friendly flight schools
• Talk to everyone about flying and its benefits
• Refer interested friends to quality flight schools

The more people we hook with the flying bug, the more pilots there will be.  The more pilots there are, the louder the GA voice.  The louder the GA voice, the greater power we have in regulation.  The larger the demand for affordable aircraft, the more motivation and ability for manufacturers to build lower cost aircraft.

I will not wait for the government to solve our problems.  Let’s be proactive!  Let’s turn the tide!

Please feel free to post comments and ideas.