Outperform in Service & Parts
Your service and parts departments can be the backbone of your business, providing financial stability while bolstering customer loyalty. It’s vital to continually analyze and refine your performance in these two critical profit centers as they can help your dealership outperform the market no matter the conditions. This Spotlight, along with the Dealer Week 2024 Service & Parts Pathway Sessions, will help you focus on making the necessary improvements so you can maximize profit and enhance customer experience.
BLOG
Improving Your Parts Department Performance
You need to improve your dealership’s parts department because it’s a critical yet often undervalued component of your profitability.
This MRAA partner blog by Erick Jauregui, Fixed Operations Training Specialist for EasyCare. provides you with a comprehensive plan for improving your parts department that includes understanding market dynamics, inventory management tactics and leveraging the service department.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Dealer Week 2024 – Outperform in Service & Parts
Your service and parts departments are the backbone of your dealership because they ensure financial stability and increases both customer and employee loyalty. Now is the time to focus on improving performance and your processes to plug profit leaks and elevate the customer experience.
Dealer Week 2024 Service & Parts Pathway Sessions will guide you through fine tuning your service and parts operation for maximum profitability.
Check out this year’s courses:
- “Return to the Peak of Service Success & Stay There” – Valerie Ziebron (Pathway Host)
- “Maximize CX & Create Stability by Strengthening Your Store” – Luke Yehlen
- “4 Innovative Ways to Put Your Parts Department in the Lead” – Pat Weekly
- “Grow Your Bottom Line by Mastering Offseason Scheduling” – Max Materne
- “Turn Service Stories into Tools that Drive Performance” – Valerie Ziebron
SURVEY
What Influences Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT) at Marine Dealerships?
You have an opportunity to participate in an industry survey about Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT). Your anonymous responses can help shape the report.
There are several known factors that influence RECT at marine dealerships: Out-of-stock parts, technician shortages and warranty authorization wait times. But given that a dealership is a complex system of many moving parts, what are some of the hidden factors that influence RECT? What commonalities do dealerships with the shortest RECT share?
IDS, an MRAA Education Champion, and the MRAA are partnering to share a report on the top hidden factors influencing RECT at marine dealerships.
CERTIFICATION
Position-Specific Certification
A strong service department provides stability to dealerships navigating a soft boat market. Through two position-specific Certification programs (Service Management Certification and Service Advisor Certification), participants gain the training and tools to advance in their careers and fine-tune your dealership’s service department results during a time when your business needs it most.
Service Management Certification
As a dealership professional, your ability to successfully manage the shop’s performance is critical to customer loyalty, employee retention and the dealership’s stability and health. Service Management Certification was built for you in partnership between the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) and the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC).
It is designed to help you improve as a leader and arm you with the knowledge, skills and tools to guide your service department and your entire marine business to higher levels of performance. Enroll today!
Service Advisor Certification
Service Advisors are the cornerstone of dealership success, directly influencing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
As the key link between your customers and service team, your ability to manage communication, schedules and work orders is essential to delivering exceptional service. Our Service Advisor Certification Program will equip you with the knowledge, skills and tools you need to excel in your role, boosting your confidence and driving measurable improvements across your dealership.
The Service Advisor Certification program is structured into easy-to-follow modules, offering the flexibility to learn at your own pace while providing key takeaways that you can immediately apply in your service department as you progress through the program.
EVENT
Expanded Service Department Special Event
Your service team is the backbone of your dealership and a critical contributor to your profitability. To stay ahead of the competition, it’s vital to give your team the tools and knowledge it needs to outperform others. That’s where the special educational event, “How Service Management & Advisors Can Work Together to Outperform,” comes in.
Hosted by industry experts Valerie Ziebron, President of VRZ Consulting, and MRAA Senior Education Developer Bernie DeGraw, this gathering of minds will help you build a high-performance service department when you need it most.
Key takeaways for your service managers and advisors:
• Exclusive marine service department benchmarking data
• Insights into the drivers of top shop performance
• Proven tactics for success from leading service pros
• A customized action plan to improve your Key Performance Indicators
• Best Practices for attracting, retaining and growing top-tier technicians
Give your service team the competitive advantage it deserves. Join us on Sunday, Dec. 8, at Dealer Week, and take your service department to the next level!
RESOURCE
MRAA Service Management Special Report
Imagine if you could better understand how your dealership measures up against others in the marine retail industry but also gain actionable steps to improve your service department.
As a service manager or general manager, having access to your service data is invaluable. The Service Management Special Report explores everything you need to know about optimizing your service department. Obtain critical data, insights and a wealth of resources on dealer demographics, workforce challenges, key service metrics and pain points that affect service performance.
Is your department’s proficiency above industry averages? Wondering how a process map can reduce service pain points? Gain these answers and more!
Not ready to purchase?
MRAA Members Only: Download the Executive Summary!
RESOURCE
Fixed Operations: Lead with Efficiency
Your service and parts departments are interdependent upon one another. That’s why it’s essential for you, in an effort to become more efficient in service, to enhance communication, nail down scheduling and identify delays. By streamlining your operations, your dealership can reduce your Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT).
By improving RECT, you will get. your teams on the same page while enhancing customer satisfaction and building loyalty. Creating a standard checklist, or using this helpful checklist from Motility Software Solutions, an MRAA Platinum Partner, can help you identify areas for improvement, ensuring your processes are efficient and aligned with your objectives.
RESOURCES
Service Process Maps
Formal process maps in service are the most effective way to define and refine your service department formula for success. You have to create, implement and follow a service process map to see results.
We understand you may not have created a process map to document your service systems. That’s why we built this page, to guide you and to you incorporate best practices into the processes you do have. MRAA Members can explore the resources, links and eight-step process at the link below.
MRAA Members ONLY:
Not an MRAA Member? Sign Up Here.
RESOURCE
Warranty Claims Tracker
To improve your warranty results, download and maintain this Warranty Claims Tracker – provided by Paula Crosbie of PCLM Business Solutions – for each manufacturer your dealership represents.
RESOURCE
Use Communication & Technology to Boost Your Service Efficiency
Tracking repair event cycle time (RECT) is essential to running an efficient service department and getting your customers back on the water faster. Learn how Lauren Woodard-Splatt, owner of Woodard Marine and an MRAA Certified Dealer, improved RECT at her dealership. Gain practical tips and insights that helped her team streamline processes, go paperless and enhance both service quality and customer experience.
MRAA Members ONLY:
Not an MRAA Member? Sign Up Here.
EDUCATION:
Upselling in Service Course Package
A series of tactics to help you maximize profits and enhance customer satisfaction through the services you offer
Generating additional revenue streams and steady cash flow helps your dealership remain profitable even in the slower seasons. We understand there’s value in upselling your services like customization, upgrades, power-ups and your seasonal offerings like boat storage and winterization packages.
When you strategically address your customers’ needs (and wants) through upselling, your engaging them while securing additional work for your service and parts teams. By committing to them, you’re gaining their trust and loyalty, which leads to future return visits.
Training included in this course bundle:
- Increase the Profit of What’s Already On Your Lift Package
- Guerrilla Marketing for Service
- Master the Write-Up
- Guide to Building a Service Menu
Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
MRAA Bronze members can upgrade to gain access to courses? Email Director of Membership Sherri Cuvala.
Not an MRAA Member? Sign Up Here.
EDUCATION:
Take Your Service Writing Skills to the Next Level
A seven-part course package for dealership service advisors
As a Service Writer, your skills and abilities can have a tremendous impact on the performance of not just the Service Department, but the dealership as a whole.
By excelling in your role, you help enhance customer loyalty, grow revenue grow, increase profits and contribute to new levels of success and stability for the dealership as a whole.
This course package includes tactics, resources and expert-led advice to help service writers or advisors ascend to the next level.
Topics included in this course bundle:
- Service CSI & Upselling: Not an Either/Or Proposition
- 3 Ways to Earn Your Service Customer’s Trust
- Turn Upset Customers Into Loyal Ones
- 3 Tactics to Turn Your Shop Into a Customer Loyalty Machine
- Fix It Right: Then and Now
Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
MRAA Bronze members can upgrade to gain access to courses? Email Director of Membership Sherri Cuvala.
Not an MRAA Member? Sign Up Here.
EDUCATION:
Develop Marketing & Growth Plans for Your Parts Department
with Sara Hey
Your parts department is essential to your dealership’s success, impacting every area of your business. But how can you grow it without adding extra costs? Educator Sara Hey, Bob Clements International, shares strategies to expand your parts department, build a marketing plan and improve customer experience – all with your current team! Watch now to support your dealership’s growth.
Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
Not a Silver Member? Learn more about Silver Membership!
EDUCATION:
How to Prevent and Address Parts Obsolescence
with Stve Jones
By identifying slow-moving inventory before it becomes a problem you can discover how to reduce parts obsolescence at your dealership. Learn how cycle-counting creates better accuracy, shrinkage reduction and smarter stocking decisions. With insights from veteran consultant Steve Jones, you’ll leave this session equipped to increase inventory turns, free up cash and boost the efficiency and profitability of your Parts and Service Departments. Avoid future build-up of aged, costly inventory.
Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
Not a Silver Member? Learn more about Silver Membership!
