The
Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is off to a great start in
2012! I’m thrilled to let you all know that not only is 2012 the
association’s 40th anniversary, but we’re expecting this year to be one
of our best years yet.
Why? Well, we have numerous initiatives
underway that will make membership all the more valuable to you and your
business. Here’s a quick look at what you should expect from us in
2012:
New website
Just before the turn of the
new year, we locked in on a deal with a new association management
system provider. In the dealership world, this would be the equivalent
of a dealership management system, a customer relations management
system and a new website provider rolled into one product. We’ll be
launching a brand new website, hopefully by mid February, which will make
finding information about your benefits and other happenings at MRAA a
lot easier. We’ll be creating a series of new email newsletters so we
can stay in contact with you more effectively. And behind the scenes,
we’ll be running a new database that will allow you to manage your
account, register for events and pay your dues online. All with the
click of a button.
More benefits
In the last
three months of 2011, the MRAA more than doubled the number of benefits
that it offers its members. Couple that with our new membership
structure, and it’s extremely easy to see the clear return on your dues
investment. But wait! There’s more. We have a series of new benefits
we’re about to make public in the coming weeks, all of which
will add even more value to your membership. Stay tuned.
New educational events
At last year’s Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, we announced the
creation of Marine Retail University, a series of one-day dealer
education events that we’ll be hosting regionally across the United
States. These events will provide dealers with trends and data specific
to their region, in addition to other expert advice and best practices
the MRAA has accumulated. We just announced the title sponsor
for this series — Norman-Spencer Marine Insurance Services — and we’re close to announcing the first two marine trades associations
that have locked in an event to be held in their region.
An even better MDCE
Last
year’s Marine Dealer Conference & Expo was the best yet. The
interaction between dealers and the suppliers, above and beyond the
always-strong mix of educational sessions has created a great deal of
excitement about the 2012 event. We’re moving back to the Orange County
Convention Center in Orlando, which will facilitate the growth we’re
expecting. If you haven’t yet attended an MDCE — where nearly 500
dealers and 1,000 industry people gather each year — you should make
plans right now to do so in 2012.
All of these developments have
been created to provide you a greater return on your membership
investment. Watch for many great things to be coming out of the MRAA in
2012!
