MINNEAPOLIS, October 1 – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) announces the launch of its all-new Service Advisor Certification Program – a high-demand, position-specific certification designed to elevate a dealership’s service department by boosting technician efficiency, driving up revenue and profits, and transforming customer experience. “Not only does the service advisor spend the […]
Author: Jerrod Kelley
Future-Proofing Your Workforce Webinar
• October 9 — Using AIMIE to Connect with the Next Generation Acquiring and maintaining a steady, talented workforce is a tall task. We understand! That’s why Jennifer McLachlan, MRAA Membership Specialist, is hosting an MRAA webinar to share with you innovative ways that AIMIE (our AI for Marine Industry Education content platform) can help […]
4 Ways to Advance Your Business
• Help build careers and strengthen your dealership with continuing marine-industry education As a dealership owner or general manager, we know you want to put your business in a position to win. You want your employees to have long careers and remain loyal to your store(s) while also needing your business to stay efficient and […]
Fortify Your Service Department
• ABYC / MRAA Service Management Certification helps dealerships improve their service department’s performance, while advancing their team’s careers. To keep your dealership operating like a well-oiled machine throughout the market’s ups and downs, you need a service department that is performing at its best. Whether you have one service manager leading that effort or […]
Dealers Share Pre-Owned Boat Sales Strategies
In the August 2024 MRAA Pulse Report, a monthly marine retailer survey we partner with Baird and Soundings Trade Only to produce, we found that 2024 continues to be challenging due to soft retail demand, high inventory levels, inflation, consumer hesitancy to purchase and more. This has led to a continuation of negative industry sentiment […]
Confessions About Fishing and Your Newly Improved Dealership Assistant
I have confession to share with you. Back in the early 1990s, a buddy and I went fishing quite a bit on an Iowa farm pond. Our boat of choice was a flat-bottom, two-person vessel, similar to the PELICAN Boat Bass Raider 10E. We powered it with a trolling motor. Even though it was not […]
MRAA Adds Three Partner Members in Boatmate Trailers, Rightboat, teamMarine
MINNEAPOLIS, July 31, 2024 — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) announces the addition of Boatmate Trailers LLC, Rightboat LDT, and teamMarine as its newest Partner Members. Marine manufacturers, suppliers and service providers, through Partner Membership, commit to aligning their brands with the programs and opportunities that MRAA offers in its efforts to […]
21 Dealership Insights into What’s Working Today
• Your fellow dealers share effective strategies for conserving cash, managing inventory, connecting with customers and more As a dealership owner or manager, it would be easy to view the glass of marine retailing today as half empty, particularly when compared to the spike in demand during the pandemic. Case in point, one dealer recently […]
Lights, Boating, Action!
We own a 14-foot 1936 Lonestar fishing boat with a low-horsepower outboard named “Crappie Style.” My son, Sam, just celebrated his golden birthday, turning 15 in June. One of his summer goals is to pass the online course from BOATERexam.com, approved by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, so he and a friend can create […]
Where Are They Now? Ashley Read
• Checking in with 2016 MRAA Educational Foundation Duane Spader Leadership Development Scholarship Recipient Ashley Read, Colorado Boat Center Co-Owner A lot has happened in Ashley Read’s (Smith) career since she received the MRAA Educational Foundation’s Duane Spader Leadership Development Scholarship eight years ago. She married, bought a lake house and succeeded her parents as […]
