Communicating with customers right now is complicated. From your end, you want to sell more boats, book more service appointments and increase revenue (or at least stop it from slipping too low), so you can pay your staff and keep the lights on.

But it’s a sensitive and confusing time in the world, so any communication you send must be carefully vetted.

If you’re going to address COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, you must do so while taking the seriousness of the disease into account.

If you’re going to talk about the services you’re still offering, you should do so with the mindset that you’re doing all of this to help your customers have fun, relax and social distance somewhere other than home. You can also share the message that you’re supporting your employees, who are members of your community as well.

The following are a few messages we’ve seen from dealers that we think express the right messaging:

• Action Watersports, in Commerce City, Colorado, opens its website scroll bar with this message: “Your safety and that of our staff is our main priority at Action Watersports. We are committed to stopping the spread of this COVID-19 virus.” The screen then goes on to show what temporary policies the dealership has adopted, including free concierge services, changes in service and changes in sales.
• Frank Bongiorno of Staten Island Yacht Sales in New York and Rhode Island wrote a letter about the closing of two of his locations. He updated customers on deliveries and offered ways for customers to stay in touch. He opens the letter, “I hope this note finds you and your family in good health. As of Monday, March 23rd, our facilities will be closed in Staten Island and Freeport, New York. In addition to complying with all government mandates, our goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of our valued employees, of our customers, and our community.”
• Baert Marine of Middleton, Massachusetts, shared this note in its customer email and Facebook post about its government-required closing: “Together if all work together and practice social distancing we know that as a Nation we will get through this crisis. We look forward to opening soon and continue ‘Making Fun on the Water’ as we have for the past 47 years!”
• Nauset Marine of Orleans, Massachusetts, said in its mandatory-closure Facebook post: “Our most important focus is the health and safety of our employees, customers, friends and family.”
• AMC Marine Sales & Service in Hamilton, Indiana, posted a COVID-19 statement on its website, that pops up when logging on to the dealership’s site. It starts, “With the emergence of COVID-19 in the U.S., we wanted to personally reach out to provide an update to the actions that AMC Marine Sales & Service is taking to address the Coronavirus pandemic. AMC considers the health and safety of our employees, their families, and our customers as our number one priority.”

There are a lot of other examples of how dealers are sharing COVID-19 news and plans with their customers, and we at the MRAA would love to see yours, if you could pass your communications along.

Video is another option that I discussed in an MRAA blog, and Sam Dantzler of Garage Composites suggested overcommunicating in his recent MRAA Ask the Expert webinar. Both are great resources when considering what you’ll communicate with your customers next.

What’s important is to communicate frequently, share your dealership’s current status, show the community how you can help them and your employees and be thoughtful with your words. If you do these things, you’ll offer the right types of messages for your area, and your customers will hopefully respond positively, when they’re ready to buy.