Finding Aviation Businesses and Organizations

You've probably had the experience of walking around an airport and wondering what was inside all the hangars. You probably know that some are leased by individuals and partnerships, and others are leased by aviation businesses and organizations. In a few cases, the business or organization name is painted on the hangar or visible on signage nearby. However, this is not always the case. Have you ever read the business directory for your home field and realized that you have no idea where half of the businesses listed are located?

Have you ever had this conversation?

• Person 1: "I want to rent a ________ / have a ________ installed / buy a ________, but I don't know who can help me with that."
• Person 2: "Oh! I know someone who does that. Let me give you his/her phone number..."

If Person 2 hadn't been around, would Person 1 have ever found what he or she was looking for?

Be Seen!

If you rely on word-of-mouth as your primary means of advertising, you may be losing out on a lot of business! People of all ages have come to rely on the Internet as their primary means of finding information.

Suppose you run a radio shop. Someone wants a shiny new Garmin 696 and they've got cash in hand. They use a search engine to try to find a radio shop in your area. They get several results over a wide area, none of which are you. Unless they know someone who you also know, and happen to run into them, and happen to ask if they know anyone who does radio work, you've just lost a sale! Either that person will use the radio shop on their field (assuming it has one), or they will go to one of the shops they found in their search. You might have been able to do the job for less money, but that customer will never know!

The best person to create an aviation website is a pilot.

Structure 7 is operated by a private pilot who understands what other pilots need to know about you. A site can be created for your organization that will make it easy for people to find you online, and give them directions that will help them taxi straight to your hangar or other installation.