What is the most impactful lesson you learned about consumers during this selling season?

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“That everything I thought before about consumers is still true…when people feel like they have money and economy is good, whether they really can afford it or cannot, they wish to spend money and spend it less frugally.” – Ray Fernandez, Bridge Marina

“Today’s customers sure know where to find us when it comes to – close to – DEMANDING immediate gratification when it comes to service but, when asked about their recent parts/accessory purchases, have all kinds of reasons/excuses why we seem to have been forgotten. We do our best to compete with the Amazons of the world but today’s mobile purchase habits are getting stronger by the minute.” – Ken Grabowski, Custom Marine, Inc.

“We have learned the following about consumers during this selling season:

• Many don’t want to own they want to rent boats
• People do have money to spend
• Many consumers we are finding are looking for more family time
• We are finding our old customers are getting old, retiring and getting out of boating
• Finding a lot of consumers are very rate/payment conscious
• Consumers are not buying at the shows, they are very educated on the product before they even get to the showroom” – Carlton Philips, Prince William Marine Sales
  

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Each month, MRAA connects with dealership management on a timely and relevant topic and publishing their insights at MRAA.com. Tell us what you have to say about this month’s question by commenting below and participating in the conversation. Also, watch for next month’s question.

One of the original founders of the MRAA and of its Annual Conference, Don Galey of Galey’s Marine Supply, has collected awards like these at MRAA’s Annual Conference as far back as the 1970s and as recently as last year. Straight-ahead, Don.

Q: You have been in the boating world for some time, what is the most interesting decision you’ve made while in the boating business.

Lewis: To stay in the business! (Kidding). The most interesting was to get into the business as a full service marina/dealership instead of a land-based dealership. It cost more up front, but it’s paid dividends over the years.

Q: Your family works along side you in the dealership. Do you have certain family values you carry over into your business?

Lewis: At the risk of sounding a bit cliché’, yes.  We try to treat all our customers like family, but not like your brother or sister!

We’re are also a marina so we see our customers a lot more than the average dealership. Our goal is to make all those customer experiences as easy, as fun and enjoyable as possible.  Not sure you’d call them family values, but whenever issues arise that get in the way, we treat people the way we’d expect to be helped if we found ourselves under the same circumstances.

That’s one of the dividends I was talking about in my first answer. We’re able to build relationships because we see them much more than the sales or service experience once or twice a year.  We’re able to connect with our customers, boating and local communities more often.  Each time we deliver a positive experience our stock goes up and we achieve a level of trust that’s hard for the competition to beat.

Q: As the MRAA Board of Director’s Chairman, what do you see for the future of the association?

Lewis: A very bright and exciting time ahead.  Over the last decade MRAA has become a trusted and valuable resource for marine retailers interested in improving their businesses.  Since forever sales and product information has been readily available from manufacturers.  But information about how to structure and operate a successful dealership business has been hard to come by. MRAA has stepped in and is providing these resources in a “BIG” way.

Look for us to continue to expand these offerings as we begin to work on big picture issues like work force development.  Plus we’ll be making an announcement soon about something we believe will have an enormous impact on the success of our dealers and our industry.

Q: In addition to being the MRAA Chairman, you are also the Chair of Discover Boating. What is one thing you hope to see the industry get behind in regards to attracting more people to boating?

Lewis: I’d love to see dealerships with access to the water rent boats.  The First Time Boat Buyer research DB did two years ago revealed an incredible amount of information about who our FTBB’s are and what motivates them to buy a boat. We learned about the five “D’s”(Develop, Desire, Dream, Decide & Do), stages they experienced in their journey to boat ownership. The most important, that moment when Desire to own occurred, was during a boating experience.  The more we can do to get people on the water for the “AH HA” moment to occur the better.  Boat rentals is just one way that we’ve seen some success at our dealership.

Q: Let’s finish this interview on a lighter note! What are 5 things that people may not know about you?

Lewis:

1. Just celebrated my 26th anniversary with my wife Susan.
2. We’re expecting to meet our first grandchild any day; Connor will be Julia’s first baby.
3. I’m a model railroader and collect HO model trains.
4. Enjoy scuba diving with my son Jay, wreck & cave diving especially.
5. I’ll be reaching retirement age in two years.  People tell me I look much older!

My 13-year-old son, Nathan, and I spent an hour yesterday in a car dealership, signing the papers on a new vehicle. Nathan is passionate (obsessed is probably a better word for it) about anything that has a steering wheel, from the boat and the lawn tractor to his go-cart and the family cars.

While my lease didn’t expire until October, Nathan began researching new vehicles last Christmas break, and he hasn’t let up. If we had it my way, we would have waited to turn in our lease until the day it was due – and probably would have saved a few thousand dollars. But that would have meant enduring another three months of debate with a 13-year-old over the benefits of this feature vs. feature and this model vs. that one.

So, Nathan accompanied me to the dealership, partly out of his passion to be in a business full of cars, and partly so I would choose a vehicle that met his standards. As I was signing the papers, I shared with the salesman that Nathan has considered a career in car sales. He has a natural way with people. He loves to be behind the wheel. And all his time researching cars online has made him an encyclopedia of specifications and options.

I’m thinking that this guy has the opportunity to give my son the encouragement to chase his dream, to get paid to pursue his passion. He has the power to not only influence him to follow in his footsteps, but also to change my kid’s life.

Or not. The salesman – a 60-something who has been selling cars since he was 19 – rolls his eyes and says: “Go to college, kid!”

Opportunity lost. Experience ruined.

 As dealers, it’s our job to focus on the customer experience. A big part of their experience is determined by whether they’re interacting with people who love what they do for a living. Your employees’ passion can not only attract people to want to buy from you and to engage at a higher level in boating (or driving), but it also can inspire people to want to work alongside you. Or not.

When it comes to careers, boating actually has a BIG advantage over other industries. Whether you’re selling or servicing boats, you get the chance to bring people together on the water with their friends, their family and the natural world to have fun and to escape from the stress of life on land.

If your dealership hires employees who believe in the incredible value of what you provide to your customers and train them to apply that enthusiasm to delivering a great customer experience, we can not only attract and retain more customers, but also spark more interest in working in our businesses and our industry. If other industries fail to do the same, their loss, our gain.