MINNEAPOLIS, May 5, 2022 — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas announces its most recent package of resources devoted to guiding marine retailers to greater business accomplishments. For May, as part of its monthly Spotlight on dealership development, the Association will add information, tools and education to help marine retailers drive success in their pre-owned boat business
“Along with the massive size of the pre-owned boat market — one that saw 1.1 million units sold in 2021 — comes massive potential for dealers to capitalize on opportunities within this $10 billion segment of the marine industry,’” explains Matt Gruhn, MRAA President of Education. “Dealers can fuel their bottom line and diversify their revenue by creating an effective process for securing, servicing, marketing and selling pre-owned inventory. With proper pre-owned boat system in place, businesses can set themselves up for long-term stability.”
To help dealers overcome hurdles and to enhance their current pre-owned boat market efforts, MRAA has built a designated landing page complete with new tools and custom content. The page — MRAA.com/PreOwnedSuccess — provides members and non-members educational resources and content in the form of dealer conversations, articles and blogs, expert interviews, informational videos and more. The content is designed to be evergreen, like all the MRAA Spotlight pages, so site visitors can bookmark the page and revisit the topics to help them work through current issues.
In addition to the Pre-Owned Boat Market Spotlight page, the MRAA also has created “The Ultimate MRAA Guide to the Pre-Owned Boat Market” and a pre-owned boat market article series. They are filled with expert analysis, tactics and implementable processes that will help MRAA members navigate all of the unknowns and capture the business they deserve. Furthermore, MRAA launched its Certified Pre-Owned Boat Market Program this year to provide dealers and their customers with the confidence they each deserve in buying (and selling) pre-owned boats. This exclusive CPO program provides a proven process, quality third-party inspections and analysis, and a direct pathway for dealers to both differentiate their inventory AND make a sizable margin.
“Focusing on the pre-owned boat market offers dealers a competitive advantage and a chance to capture new customers,” said Jason Walz, MRAA Director of Programs. “The MRAA Certified Pre-Owned Boat Program eliminates some of the guess work for marine retailers by providing a universal standard for fluid testing, boat history documentation and inspection that will clearly differentiate a dealership’s used boat inventory from non-certified inventory and private sellers. In turn, both dealers and their customers gain confidence in the certified pre-owned boat process, while retailers can add to their much-needed profit center.”
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.