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 to your customers to make them safer boaters and offer them a better experience going forward.

Here are few ways you can continue to train your customers:

Women on the Water classes: Popular among many dealers, Women on the Water classes take the recent female boat buyers and offer them a class with their peers to learn how to drive, dock and trailer a boat. These sessions are no pressure, allowing the participants to ask questions and try each skill themselves. While having large class sizes is not advisable during the COVID-19 outbreak, you may consider hosting one-on-one or small group classes (with local safety regulations in mind).

Boat captains: If you don’t yet offer a captain’s service, this may be something your dealership could offer. Pair your new boat buyer with a captain either on staff or a captain service nearby, so the new boat buyer can get a hang of boating and a better understanding of the rules of the water, while on their own boat with a trained captain.

Wake boarding, wake surfing, or skiing classes: Have your on-staff or nearby watersports expert take customers out on their own boat, or a similar dealership-owned boat, to demonstrate the best way to use the boat for watersports. Allow the customer and their family to have a chance to try wake boarding, surfing, or skiing themselves, so they can get a hang of the sport.

Safety courses: Host safety courses either on site at your dealership, or virtually. This offers boaters a better idea of what they should be thinking about when it comes to safety. Some dealerships even host courses after which attendees can earn a license or certification.

Video training: Many dealers are getting into video creation, and one of the great things to do with video is to offer product demonstrations. In each video segment, released periodically, teach your customer about a different part of the boat, offering them tips and tricks for a successful day out on the water.

Second orientation: We all know it’s hard to soak in all the information during the initial delivery orientation, so if you have the time, you can offer your customers a second demo, after they’ve gotten the hang of the general of the boat. During a second orientation, the buyer would be armed with questions that relate directly to what they’ve been experiencing, and it gives your team an additional touchpoint with that new customer.