F&I has earned a bad reputation, thanks, largely, to the way it was handled for far too long in the automotive industry. The recreational industry can and should refresh the way people think about F&I. For purchasers of recreational vehicles – boats, RVs, ATVs, off-road, Powersports – F&I should not, cannot, be a pressure-filled, must […]
MRAA Blog
Dealer Week 2020: More Accessible Than Ever
If you’re like most dealers, you can simply shake your head in amazement over what happened in 2020. A fast start, a sudden stop, and an unparalleled, dizzying re-acceleration to the business of selling boats. The pressing question now appears to be: What does 2021 have in store? There’s so much to consider […]
“Second Opinion Service” – Business and Personal Wealth Evaluation Now Available To MRAA Members!
The Marine Retailers Association has announced a new benefit for members designed to assess their personal and business wealth to bring them closer to their most meaningful financial goals. The “Second Opinion Service” benefit is provided by with The Stanek Group at Morgan Stanley. Many of you have built up successful dealerships and concentrated on […]
New Boater Interest Drives Boat Leads to Soar Past Expected July Fourth Peak
New visitors to Boat Trader, YachtWorld and boats.com up more than +50% in July Leads flourished across U.S. with over +200% YoY growth in nearly all regions Boats Group’s soldboats.com database shows boat sales increased +30% YoY Data from July for Boat Trader, YachtWorld and boats.com show traffic (+49% YoY) and leads (+193% YoY) continue […]
Level Up Your Customer Experience Efforts by Getting Certified
As your dealership begins turning up the dial on customer experience efforts, you’re likely looking at several options to better serve your customers and prospects. You may be considering steps, such as adding a customer experience representative, outsourcing some of your follow-up efforts, integrating more digital retail into your processes, and more to improve the […]
Continue to Train Your Customers in Boating
When your customer received their boat, hopefully you were able to give them an in-depth orientation and demo at delivery. But, as many of us know, one hour or a couple hours of training do not make for an expert boater. Now is the time to think about how you can offer additional training opportunities […]
Certified Dealers Share How They Care for Customers
Customer experience is one of the three pillars of the
Dealer Case Study: Be the Resource for New Boaters
Attracting new buyers is essential in the effort to get more people on the water and keep them there. Despite all the economic impacts and health concerns, 2020 seems to be banner year for first-time boat buyers and the new-to-the-marine industry types. We all welcome the growth. And by growth, we’re talking about boat sales, […]
Give Your Service Advisor an Assist for an Improved Customer Experience
Operation: Keep Your Customers Boating has been focused on providing exceptional customer experience to your new boat buyers, so they have a better boating lifestyle, stay in the sport, become loyal customers of your dealership and refer their family and friends to you. And the service department is an integral piece in that equation. Service […]
Help Your Customers by Helping Your Techs
While the sales team has been cranking out boats all spring and summer, we all know your service team is just as important to your business. As the old saying goes, “Sales sells the first boat; service sells the rest.” (And dealers in 2020 Continuous Certification have a great course coming out in October with […]