The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has completely revamped its membership structure and created a new benefits program — MRAA Rewards — that will simplify membership, making it easier to understand and easier to become a member.

In the past, the MRAA dues structure included multiple membership tiers and multiple price points for dealers. Effective with November renewals, MRAA retail membership is available at one price: $300.

“Our research and conversations with members suggested that our tiered pricing structure was confusing and likely prevented dealers from becoming members,” says Matt Gruhn, MRAA president. “We believe this new approach will simplify membership and will make it easier to identify the value that dealers receive through MRAA membership.”

With the introduction of the new pricing structure comes the introduction of the MRAA Rewards Program, an all-encompassing, overarching umbrella for all of the association’s member benefits. Retail members of the MRAA are automatically enrolled in the MRAA Rewards Program, giving them easy access to all of the benefits they have come to know over the years, in addition to all of the new benefits that the MRAA introduced at last week’s Marine Dealer Conference & Expo.

The MRAA doubled the number of benefits it offers its retail members with those introductions last week. Historically, the MRAA has offered discounted legal representation, shipping and freight discounts, exclusive health and business insurance, CSI tools and discounts, and MDCE registration discounts in addition to the united voice it provides marine dealers in Washington, D.C. The new member benefits, which are being rolled out in more detail over the next few weeks, include discounted, customized marketing opportunities; boat and yacht consumer insurance programs; performance dashboards and profit production tools and resources; market penetration reports; an MRAA Certified program for used and serviced engines; and a new credit card processing program that promises to meet or beat your current rates or pay you up to $500.

“We’ve had incredible response to these new programs and benefits,” Gruhn explains. “Along with the new MRAA Rewards program and the one-price dues structure, we expect to re-energize our members and provide them an even greater return on their investment in membership. And we’re seeing results with that already with a number of new members that signed up during the MDCE.”

The marine dealer association formerly known as the Marine Retailers Association of America has changed its name to the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, signifying an expanding focus on the North American dealer body.

The name change is also accompanied by the expansion of the MRAA board of directors, which now represents 11 regions, including a newly created Canadian region. Paul Nickel, president of Pride Marine Group in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada, was appointed to represent the newly created Region 11. Each region is represented by its own director, and four officers and four “At Large” directors also hold seats on the board.

“These two seemingly small moves signify a big change for the association,” says Matt Gruhn, president of the MRAA. “As we look to create a greater, more unified voice for marine dealers, we are focused on inviting more marine retailers from Canada into the association. This will provide them access to many of the outstanding benefits that the MRAA offers, and it will provide all of our membership better connectivity with other leading dealers.”

The MRAA has always accepted Canadian members. In fact, the association currently has a handful of members from Canada and saw some additional Canadian registrations at the recent Marine Dealer Conference & Expo.

“The Canadian market has been greatly underserved by a formal dealer-specific organization,” says Nickel. “And as we create greater exposure for the MRAA, I believe Canadian dealers will quickly realize the opportunities available to them through MRAA membership.”

The Marine Retailers Association of America and Dominion Marine Media have partnered to create Marine Retail University, a series of one-day, regional, educational conferences designed to extend professional development opportunities to dealers across North America.

Working through regional marine trades associations and other dealer groups, the MRAA and Dominion Marine Media will plan a handful of events as a satellite series to the MDCE, and the events will launch in 2012.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer dealers another avenue for professional development,” says Matt Gruhn, president of the MRAA. “These events will highlight areas of opportunities for dealers to pursue and will give them the knowledge and the tools to capitalize on those opportunities.”

The one-day conferences will include four to five educational sessions focused on regional data and information, dealer principal roundtables and keynote presentations that share best practices, trends and timely strategies.

Attendance at the one-day conferences will be free for MRAA dealer members, and non-members can register at a reduced rate. All dealer attendance will be supplemented by Dominion Marine Media.

“It’s our goal to deliver opportunities for long-term success to our customers,” says Courtney Chalmers, director of marketing for Dominion Marine Media. “Marine Retail University is another example of how we do that, and we’re excited to be partnering with the MRAA to extend educational opportunities to dealers across the country.”

Two industry suppliers have already signed on to support Marine Retail University. Boating Industry, which partners with the MRAA to produce the annual Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, has signed on to be the exclusive media sponsor of MRU. Boating Industry will use its marketing expertise and reach to help MRU drive dealer attendance and will play a role in content creation, as well. Statistical Surveys has also signed on to support MRU by providing regionalized data, trends and insight into the specific markets MRU will reach. A number of MTAs have already expressed interest in hosting the series.

“The early support we’ve received for Marine Retail University has been phenomenal,” Gruhn says. “Our members have told us that the education provided at the MDCE national event is among the top benefits they receive from their membership. And there’s an obvious need for a satellite series like MRU to reach into the far corners of the industry and educate dealers. At the same time, MRU will work to complement opportunities at MDCE and work to promote additional dealer attendance there.”

MTAs or other dealer groups that are interested in bringing Marine Retail University to their meetings should contact Matt Gruhn at 763-315-8043 or matt@mraa.com.

About Marine Retailers Association of America
The Marine Retailers Association of America is the only national association dedicated to furthering the interests of boat and engine dealers and other marine-related retailers. Under the umbrella of MRAA Rewards, the MRAA offers a host of cost-saving and revenue-generating benefits exclusively for its members. For more information, visit www.MRAA.com.

About Dominion Marine Media
Dominion Marine Media is the recreational marine industry division of Dominion Enterprises – a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, marine, enthusiast and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, travel, and employment industries.  Dominion Enterprises’ businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, CRM, website design and hosting, and data management services.  The company has more than 60 market-leading websites reaching more than 20.9 million unique visitors monthly. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 3,300 employees in more than 186 offices nationwide.

About Dominion Enterprises
Dominion Enterprises is a leading marketing services and publishing company serving the automotive, recreational and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, employment, parenting, travel, and daily deals industries. The company’s businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, CRM, website design and hosting, and data management services. The company has more than 60 market-leading websites reaching more than 20.9 million unique visitors monthly, and more than 280 magazines with a weekly circulation of 2.4 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 3,300 employees in more than 186 offices in the United States, Canada, England and Italy. For more information visit www.DominionEnterprises.com.

Conference and expo breaks dealer attendance records.

November 7, 2011

ORLANDO — For the fourth year in a row, the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo is growing. The event,which kicked off with a networking reception last night at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, not only offers a record-breaking 22 educational sessions and the largest expo hall in the history of the event, but also more than 470 dealers have already registered for the event, a slight increase compared to dealer registration numbers in 2010, and on-site registration continues to build.

“This event continues to deliver the content, networking opportunities and products and services that the market needs during these challenging times,” said Liz Walz, editor-in-chief of Boating Industry magazine, which co-produces the event with the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. “The dealers here this week understand the role education and training play in their ability to grow in today’s market, while the industry’s manufacturers and suppliers are here to support dealer success, knowing that it drives their business success.”

Today, the MDCE Expo Hall opens for the second day, and a trio of bonus sessions began at 10:30 a.m., leading up to this evening’s keynote address and another networking reception. On-site registration remains available — with both single-day and full passes — for the four-day event.

“We continue to be gratified by the importance that dealers are placing n attending this one-of-a-kind event to educate themselves,” said Phil Keeter, president of the Marine Retailers Association of America. “Even in this slow market, an increasing number of dealers take advantage of the value offered to them through the MDCE and continue to invest in their business and in their future.”

A total of 96 marine industry suppliers have signed up to sponsor and exhibit at this year’s event.

Once again, MDCE offers three educational tracks, Powering Profits, Sales & Marketing and Service & Marina. The marina content, new for 2011, is offered through a partnership with the Association of Marina Industries and the American Boat Builders & Repairers Association. All three tracks begin on Tuesday and run through Wednesday.