As part of an expanding educational partnership, Grow Boating and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas are excited to announce a three part series of e-learning courses titled: Grow Your Dealership with First-Time Boat Buyers.
The purpose of the series is to put education, tools and resources in the hands of marine retailers and their employees to help them provide a dealership experience that will allow them to sell more boats to and generate more loyalty among first-time boat shoppers.
In 2017, the Discover Boating arm of Grow Boating Inc. released a comprehensive report on “Tomorrow’s Boat Owner,” sharing the insights gained from its in-depth research into first-time boat buyers. Among other things, the report outlined key strategies that can be embraced to reverse the decline in first-time boat buyers.
“The research we’ve conducted suggests there is tremendous opportunity for those businesses who understand the first-time boat shopper and can use that understanding to lead those shoppers on a customized path to purchase,” says Carl Blackwell, president of Grow Boating. “We’re thrilled to work with MRAA on educational programming designed to not only develop that understanding, but apply it to how we care for the unique needs of this critical group.”
This series of courses will represent the first time the Discover Boating research findings have been transformed into dealer education specifically designed for the way the brain learns and made available to the entire industry.
“We believe that dealers who can create strong relationships with first-time boat shoppers will be able to outperform the competition now and moving forward,” says Liz Walz, Vice President of the MRAA. “That’s why we’re so passionate about this project. These powerful online courses will lead dealers and their employees through the steps to put this research to work. The way we see it, education is only worthwhile when it’s capable of delivering real results for those who invest their time in learning.”
During the first course in the series – Understand and Guide the First-Time Boat Shopper – the MRAA’s Jim Million will walk boat dealers through the process first-timers like to use to buy and how they can apply that information to attract more first-time boat shoppers into their dealership. Click here to watch a video on the first course in the series, which will be officially unveiled at the 2018 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, December 9-12, in Orlando, Fla.
