MINNEAPOLIS — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has unveiled an all-new MRAA Rewards Resource Center on its web site, MRAA.com, to give dealers first-hand access to tools and resources necessary to succeed in today’s competitive marine environment.
This members-only area of the MRAA site contains dozens of resources in each of five topic areas: Sales, Marketing, Finanical Management, Operations, and Finance & Insurance, with plans for more sections to be announced soon. In addition, the MRAA Rewards Resource Center houses MRAA’s growing series of guides, including a 44-page Federal Regulatory Compliance Guide, a 40-page Guide to Success for 2013 and coming soon, 30 Days of Social Media Content.
“MRAA is dedicated to being the No. 1 resource that marine retailers turn to when they are problem-solving, researching a project or developing a new strategy for growth,” says Matt Gruhn, MRAA President. “Not only does this online Resource Center offer an incredible collection of content, forms, documents and other tools, but it also provides it in a logical, easy-to-find manner.”
In the Financial Management section, for example, some of the most comprehensive and valuable tools include a one-page dealership budget spreadsheet and an inventory management worksheet, both of which have pre-programmed formulas and allow dealers to simply plug in their numbers to help them create a budget or management plan.
“Nowhere else can dealers find so many templates, expert ideas and proven practices designed specifically for use within their businesses,” says Liz Walz, MRAA Director of Membership & Marketing. “There are hundreds of pages of insight within this area of our web site, and we expect that this growing benefit will quickly become one of the most valuable in the MRAA Rewards Program.”
MRAA Retail Members and their employees can access the MRAA Rewards Resource Center 24/7 by logging into MRAA.com with their personal username and password and clicking on the Resource Center tab on the left-hand side of the page. MRAA Member employees who have yet to be granted access to their company’s MRAA membership can be added for free by the dealership’s master account holder by logging into MRAA.com, clicking “Manage Profile,” selecting “Subaccounts” and following the instructions there.
Some of the content in the Resource Center was created by MRAA for its members, but other content was created, compiled and contributed by industry experts and partners, including Parker Business Planning, Kelly Enterprises, the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, the Discover Boating campaign, and speakers from the annual Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, among others. MRAA will continuously build this section of its website and encourages dealers who are looking for specific tools and resources to contact MRAA directly so we can work to find or create those tools.
About Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2012, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is the only North American association dedicated to furthering the interests of boat and engine dealers and other marine-related retailers throughout North America. Under the umbrella of MRAA Rewards, the MRAA offers a host of cost-saving, revenue-generating, business-improvement, and professional-development benefits exclusively for its members. MRAA is the united voice of marine retailers. For more information, visit