As a business owner, you have seen and heard about scams that others have gotten caught up in. These increasingly sophisticated deceptions can create a lot of headaches for your staff and your finances. Your industry peers within the marine and powersports markets are experiencing the same pressures as you. To maintain a healthy business, you should understand all the potential threats to your dealership.
Fraud is a mounting hazard that needs your full attention. But it’s not always easy to detect. It’s not as simple as seeing a snake oil salesman roll up in his horse-drawn wagon and start hawking foul-smelling hair tonic. Modern-day swindlers aren’t as easy to spot and their ploys are more calculated and persistent.
The pace of technology creates a constant race to keep up with the latest scams. You must properly train your team and have the correct resources to help you avoid wasting time and money.
The MRAA has partnered with 700Credit, an MRAA Education Champion, to create the free, 10-page MRAA mini guide “Fraud Detection and Prevention in the Marine & Powersports Industry.” This resource will help your team understand what fraud is. Use it to gain insight to identify and combat the types of fraud most likely to affect your dealership today, offering you preventative solutions to reduce risk and maintain profitability.
Multiple types of fraud are impacting marine and powersports dealers. The four most prominent are:
Identity theft
Synthetic ID fraud
Driver’s license fraud
Misrepresentation of income and employment
Because fraud is here to stay and clever offenders continue to evolve their tactics and implement new attempts to deceive, you must know what to watch for and install defenses and processes to shield your dealership. Stay in tune with companies like 700Credit, which monitors fraud and provides solutions to help your business improve at both detecting and preventing it!
The past 12 months saw the launch of the new Discover Boating strategy, taking the industry’s collective effort to expand the market for recreational boating from a six-month marketing campaign to a robust, year-round brand experience beginning with winter boat shows and continuing throughout spring and summer. Powered by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and MRAA, Discover Boating invites the next generation –a key focus to help expand the market for boating – and retains current boaters, and with its new strategy delivered more than 3.6 billion impressions between October 1, 2022 and September 31, 2023.
As a result of this extended reach, Discover Boating engaged 5.4 million people on the brand’s websites, and introduced nearly 2 million of them to manufacturers and dealers through website referrals, boat shows, and leads. Additionally, the brand is reaching its target audience with DiscoverBoating.com traffic from the 35 to 55 age group up to 45% of audience, compared to 42% last year.
“This year we successfully transitioned to a fully integrated omni-channel strategy, where Discover Boating was in front of consumers all year round, supporting their boating interests wherever they may be in their journey, whether it was through our See You Out Here awareness campaign, our growing digital community, boat shows, brand partnerships and the buying/ownership experience in partnership with MRAA,” said Ellen Bradley, Chief Brand Officer for NMMA. “We touched more people, connected manufacturers and dealers with more potential buyers, and for every dollar invested by the industry in Discover Boating, NMMA made that dollar perform like four as a result of our multi-channel strategy. Making our industry’s dollars work harder to ensure recreational boating is the number one recreation activity is especially important as we face an increasingly crowded marketplace and time strapped consumer.”
Matt Gruhn, MRAA President
“The Discover Boating campaign delivered on its influential objectives to generate consumer interest in boating by producing content, messaging and events to educate first-time boat buyers and welcome a diverse audience of new boaters,” noted Matt Gruhn, MRAA President. “Our dealers represent the core of the recreational boating community, playing a significant, multilayered role as ownership guide, service expert and faithful industry ally. That’s why generating avenues for dealers to connect with their customers helps establish trust and improve engagement. Providing an unsurpassed customer experience is paramount because it not only aids boater retention but also ensures future generations view boating as meaningful outdoor adventure.”
Highlights of the campaign’s success include:
Reached 3.6 billion impressions (the number of times the campaign was served to people), driving our industry’s voice in the market to expand to new consumers and build positive awareness for boating with 5.4 million people coming to Discover Boating websites and 2 million introductions made to boat manufacturers and dealers.
Created targeted video content for different boating audiences (including Float On, I’m a Boater: Ask Me Anything, Seeking the Present, Discover Boating Safety Basics Presented with Progressive® Insurance) generating more than 5 million views.
Launched enhanced features and functionality on DiscoverBoating.com making it easier for people to navigate, particularly from mobile devices, while providing a variety of digital touchpoints to connect the site’s visitors to NMMA member boat brands.
Leveraged strategic media partnerships, including YouTube, SHAPE, Complex, The Root, Uptown, Telemundo, Golf Channel, NBC, Vevo and other emerging Hispanic media platforms to help tell our story to new audiences through the influential voices of these outlets.
Generated 32,000 news stories, including a public service announcement, driving $11.8 million dollars in media value (equivalent cost to secure the same media “real estate” if the news coverage were paid advertising).
Grew social media audiences across all platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Meta/Facebook and X/Twitter with more than 800,000 followers.
• Recreational Boating Industry Meets with Paul Jahnige, Director of Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation
By Chad Tokowicz, MRAA Government Relations Manager
Last week members of the recreational boating industry met to welcome Paul Jahnige as the inaugural Director of Massachusetts’s Office of Outdoor Recreation (OREC), making the Bay State the 18th state in the nation to stand up an OREC. To highlight the importance of this office with the recreational boating industry and small boating businesses throughout the state, representatives from the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR), Massachusetts Marine Trades Association (MMTA) and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) attended the meeting.
Paul joins as Directorafter a long career with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, where he served as the Director for the Greenways and Trails program. He has 25 years of experience in environmental restoration and community development and a Master’s in Environmental Studies from Yale. With his past experiences and a keen understanding of the Massachusetts outdoor recreational landscape, Paul is an excellent choice to lead the office.
Given the popularity and impact recreational boating has throughout the state, it was beneficial for MRAA and other stakeholders to meet with Jahnige, who was named director Sept. 12. We underscored our need to work together and shared the recreational boating industry’s current priorities, including mandatory boater education and workforce development. These priorities resonated with Paul, who believed OREC and our industry could find synergy on a variety of overlapping priorities and projects.
Established in December 2022 by the Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the office helps elevate and enhance outdoor recreational opportunities in Massachusetts. The OREC creation follows more than six years of administrative and legislative advocacy on its behalf and marks a major investment in the state’s outdoor recreation economy and the many small businesses that support these pastimes.
To support and enhance Massachusetts outdoor recreation, OREC will:
Coordinate outdoor recreation policy.
Identify funding opportunities for programs and infrastructure.
Enhance public access and recreation infrastructure.
Support the outdoor recreation economy.
Advance equity and access to outdoor recreation opportunities.
Promote Massachusetts as a great place to work, live and enjoy outdoor recreation.
Outdoor recreation at large in Massachusetts plays a significant role in the overall economy, adding $9.5 billion to the state’s GDP and directly supporting more than 93,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account. However, with more than 3,000 lakes and ponds, 1,500 miles of coastline and 129,699 registered vessels, recreational boating alone contributes $5 billion to the Bay State’s economy while supporting 17,500 jobs at more than 1,000 businesses.
As additional states establish ORECs, the MRAA will support these efforts and build relationships to ensure recreational boating remains a priority within the greater outdoor recreation landscape and conversation.
If you have any questions about your state’s office or the efforts to create one, please email me at chad@mraa.com.
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 23, 2023 – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) announces that its annual Dealer Week Conference and Expo has set an all-time high for exhibitors, suppliers and manufacturers that have committed to display at the event held Dec. 4-7, 2023, in Tampa, Fla.
The Expo Hall at the Tampa Convention Center is nearly sold out. Of the147 businesses currently committed to exhibit at the 2023 event, more than 40 exhibitors will be displaying at Dealer Week for the first time. Not only has the attendance bar been raised by 18 percent over the previous record of 124 exhibitors set last year in Austin, Texas, but amongst the exhibitors are 45+ boat brands, which sets another high-water mark. The exhibitor growth has made the Tampa event the largest show floor on record.
In addition to the exhibits within the Expo Hall, Dealer Week will feature 18 boat slips on the water. These in-water displays at the Tampa Convention Center Boat Docks will allow dealers to sign up for demos and view products in the Seddon Channel.
“We have built an impressive list of exhibitors this year for Dealer Week’s return to Tampa, Florida,” said Allison Gruhn, MRAA Vice President of Business Development. “Dealer Week connects manufacturers, suppliers and service providers with marine industry decision-makers and provides them an avenue to showcase their products, industry innovations and services. Networking and education, two staples provided to attending dealers at Dealer Week, are essential for growth, relationship building and increasing both brand awareness and trust.”
Dealer Week’s unmatched education and jam-packed Expo Hall provide dealerships with a two-fold solution to address their current struggles and implement tactics to improve their 2024 planning. This year, Dealer Week attendees can take advantage of a multitude of exhibitor categories, including CRM and dealer management systems, technology services, engine and boat manufacturers, finance and insurance providers and more.
“The ability for attendees to have direct access to industry contacts, resources and experts under one roof is as convenient as it is beneficial for their growth and the success of the marine industry,” said Gruhn. “We’re thankful for every exhibitor because a busy Expo Hall is crucial in providing an incomparable customer experience and producing a world-class event.”
See the complete list of 2023 exhibitors at Dealerweek.com.
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.
About Dealer Week For more than 50 years, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas has delivered world-class educational programming to dealers, retailers and service operations that power the boating industry and serve today’s boaters. Dealer Week exists to engage, energize and empower the dealer community. The MRAA envisions a brighter future for marine retail, and Dealer Week is the preeminent means for bringing that vision to life. Learn more at DealerWeek.com.
With the 2024 Discover Boating boat show season on the horizon, now is the time to get your brands listed among competitors in Discover Boating’s Boat Finder — putting your boats in front of potential buyers before, during and after the show.
This free tool, exclusive to Discover Boating boat show brands, features a new design and layout to drive more shoppers to boat brands and dealers. As part of this new design, all participating boat brands will receive a custom listing for each of the boat models they enter, providing an additional way to market new models to thousands of boat shoppers.
Don’t miss the boat (Deadline is Nov. 17!) More than 162,000 people engaged with Boat Finder in their search to buy a new boat in 2023. The average user viewed more than 53 boat models and spent an average of four hours and 30 minutes shopping — nearly five times industry averages.
4 Reasons Boat Shoppers Use Discover Boating’s Boat Finder
Efficiently isolate brands and models that match their specific needs to get to their desired product faster.
Take a deep dive into boat models with helpful descriptions, specs, and features.
Connect directly to the boat brand website and view complete model information.
Compare and contrast boat brands and types as they prepare to shop the show and visit dealers.
Adding or updating your boat info is easy with Boat Finder’s data portal system:
Current Boat Finder participants will receive an email from the NMMA Team including a custom URL to access the Data Portal and instructions. The system makes it easy to clone existing boat models and update with the current model year and pricing.
Note: Inputting data is easier than ever this year with fewer specs to input, helping to encourage more shoppers to click off to brand sites.
New to Boat Finder? Contact BoatFinder@nmma.org, and someone from the team will be in touch to help you get started.
To take advantage of Discover Boating Boat Finder, which is being promoted to hundreds of thousands of boating enthusiasts ahead of the 2024 winter boat show season, exhibiting brands must ensure they are represented at a Discover Boating boat or sportshow and update their boat data to reflect current model year and pricing. The deadline for uploading boat information is Friday, November 17.
Discover Boating boat and sport shows kick off in January across 10 major markets across the country including New York, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta.
Constant change, marketplace uncertainty and outside influences can make being a business owner or manager exhausting. But that’s the current state many dealerships find themselves in, seeking solutions to help them recalibrate and plan for 2024. Not only are they having to reassess their approach to sales training, lead generation and turning their boat inventory, but they have to deal with the continuous demands of resolving their workforce shortages and heightening the customer experience at every touchpoint.
Soundings Trade Only’s Alan Wendt spoke with Matt Gruhn, MRAA President at IBEX about the current state of the marine industry and more. (Image courtesy www.tradeonlytoday.com)
At the MRAA, we understand the current challenges you’re facing. That’s why we remain unwavering in our mission to fuel dealer success by delivering the tools, resources and educational programs you can use to strengthen your business and, in turn, help the industry improve. It’s also why we speak with dealers frequently on the phone, at manufacturer-sponsored dealer meetings and at industry events. We learn and discover industry pain points so we can develop education, resources and programs to help dealers triumph.
Recently MRAA President Matt Gruhn sat down with Soundings Trade Only’s Alan Wendt at the International Boat Builders’ Exhibition & Conference (IBEX) for a one-on-one session to discuss the state of the boating industry, the current issues on boat dealers’ minds and the value-driven framework of MRAA’s Dealer Week 2023 Conference and Expo.
The short, 14-minute interview covers many significant and relevant topics, including:
The importance of customer experience.
The need for a collaborative relationship between dealers and manufacturers.
How dealership success leads to industry success.
Why continued learning is beneficial for any business, but especially dealers.
The relationship between dealers and manufacturers plays a crucial role in building, selling, delivering and servicing great products and meeting customer expectations even amidst market challenges.
“It takes that united, collaborative approach between the dealers and manufacturers to make it happen,” says Gruhn. “The price points that we’re at, from a boating standpoint, we have to treat customers like they’re buying high-end vehicles. There’s a different level of expectation when you’re doing that. We have to up our game and deliver an even better, quality, customer experience.”
The video also highlights MRAA’s recent growth, flexibility and readiness to support dealerships with education, resources and world-class events. Gruhn emphasizes the MRAA’s mission to fuel dealer success and the MRAA staff’s passion for equipping dealers on their pathway to improvement.
The magnitude of Dealer Week and the professional experience it provides has proven to be impactful for attending dealers and exhibitors alike. “Our whole reason for existence is to enable the success of the dealer,” says Gruhn. “Because when the dealer sells a boat, and the dealer takes care of a customer and we win a customer for life in this industry, everybody wins. The whole industry wins. That’s why MRAA exists.”
Soundings Trade Only, an MRAA Partner Member and Dealer Week 2023 exhibitor, recently shared several interviews with other thought leaders within the marine industry.
Author and MRAA Certification Manager Liz Keener and MRAA Membership Manager Sherri Cuvala have built many relationships within the marine industry by attending events.
Time after time we’ve all heard it from great business leaders, inside and outside the marine industry: Relationships are key to success.
Just this past week, at a dealer meeting, Robert Oswell of Roswell Marine shared stories about his Employee No. 1 Richard, his mentor Ralph Meloon and others who had impacted his career. I also watched this week as two long-time industry friends, caught up, sharing how they’ve known each other nearly 25 years.
Relationships are the backbone for any successful person, including dealers. Just a few weeks ago, Sherri Cuvala and I were at a dealer meeting, when a women new to the industry lamented that there just aren’t enough other women at the dealership management level to connect with in the industry. But there are, we told her, as we started rattling off names of some absolute rockstars in the dealership world.
Soon, I ran into one of those standout women, a C-level team member at a four-location dealership. Sherri and I asked her if we could please connect her with this other woman, who was looking for a peer to share with. She gladly said yes, and we were excited to introduce them over dinner that evening. Turns out, that was the best idea. The two women know many of the same people, and they even do their recreational boating in the same area! By the next day, they had exchanged numbers, were texting back and forth and were grateful for having made that connection.
Being willing to put yourself out there and connect with others is key to being a strong leader. These connections can give you an ear to listen to you, a brain to bounce ideas off of, a shoulder to cry on, an arm to lift you up when you’re down, a hand to high-five when you’re winning and maybe even a partner to do business with. I’ve seen deep-seated friendships blossom from a simple hello, and I’ve witnessed business deals made from a genuine connection.
Great leaders surround themselves with strong peers and those they can look up to for an example of success. They call on these connections for help, but also give as much as they take. They are authentic in their motives and committed to small, acquaintance relationships, as well as resilient, long-term relationships.
So this is my challenge to you: The next time you’re at an event, whether it’s Dealer Week, a dealer meeting, a Chamber of Commerce meeting, or something else, sit at a new table, introduce yourself to some new folks, or ask a friend to make an introduction. Sometimes a simple handshake can lead to a big connection; otherwise, you’ll at least learn something new about someone new.
Good luck in making those connections. And let me know if you need someone rooting you on, or a quick introduction to a peer.
Last year, 27 MRAA Certified Dealers earned 90% positive responses on their annual Employee Satisfaction Surveys (ESS). They were honored with an MRAA Great Dealership to Work For award live on stage at Dealer Week in Austin, Texas. This year, on Wednesday, Dec. 6, dozens more Certified Dealers will receive this valuable recognition amongst their industry peers, friends, partners and competitors.
Getting this level of recognition is treasurable for numerous reasons, but I will cover three. The first is that the dealership employees provided the feedback that led to the award. Artificial Intelligence (AI) had nothing to do with the results. True leaders cherish the wholesome, honest feedback for the insight and direction it provides for the dealership. I know because the MRAA staff has done an ESS, and our leadership team studied the results and implemented tactics based on the input. Participating in it gave me a voice and helped me feel more engaged as an employee.
The second is scoring 90% positive responses, which reveals that you must be doing something right by taking care of your workforce. We have all heard the phrase, “employees are the lifeblood of your company.” For many of these dealers, that sentiment rings true. If not, the results would reveal it. In fact, a 90 percent score leaves room for improvement and identifies areas for enhancement even for top dealers like these. As a leader, that, too, should excite you. When you can learn ways to improve your communication and processes and boost staff morale, then your employees, in turn, feel connected and will take care of you and your customers!
Third, Certified Dealerships are already considered top decision-makers and influencers within the marine industry because of a commitment to their staff, business and everyone they interact with, from suppliers to clients to local municipalities. But taking home a Great Dealership to Work For award reinforces why they enrolled in Certification in the first place. They have a growth mindset. Along with the blood, sweat and tears spilled by these teams comes humility, accountability and unwavering trust.
All leaders, particularly those with deep-seated moral integrity, know that they should have goals and objectives in both life and business. They can help their employees take a similar approach by showing empathy and providing encouragement.
“People are built to walk uphill,” says Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, Canadian author, psychologist and podcast host. Essentially, he references our need to reach the mountain top, to take in the view and feel rewarded. However, he adds that it is also natural for us to seek another hill to climb – to go higher still – when we reach the summit because that is where we obtain value.
The MRAA Certification team created an outstanding resource for your dealership to use to start your journey or speed your pace up the hill your team is currently ascending. The seven-page MRAA Dealer Certification Guide to Common Workplace Culture Challenges resource (Members Only) shares more details about the role of the ESS in the MRAA Dealership Certification program as well as three notable pain points revealed by dealership staff within the ESS and solutions to each. Most impressive, these results stem from six years of surveys completed by more than 16,000 dealership employees!
This invaluable resource, complete with data, best practices and implementable solutions, will help you invest in the heart and soul of your business. At the very least, it should inspire you to mountain climb to build a unified front and an indisputably positive culture.
As an MRAA Member, you can take a survey to assess your employee satisfaction and find out how you stack up against others. After completion, you will receive a copy of the MRAA Certification Guide to Common Workplace Culture Challenges. Email Stevie Cook, MRAA Certification Specialist, today to sign up for the survey and begin your journey.
• Create a more efficient, effective and resilient dealership that delivers an industry-leading customer experience
To properly evaluate your dealership, you need to think like an eagle. According to allaboutvision.com, raptors (birds of prey) have superb vision at a distance, but the eagle is supreme with the ability to see roughly eight times as far as humans! Precision eyesight like this allows it to spot and pick off a slow-moving fish swimming near the lake surface from a couple of miles away. The equivalent would be you sizing up that Five Guys bacon cheeseburger, fries and chocolate milkshake sitting in front of you on a food tray. All you have to do now is grab them and enjoy!
The eagle analogy gets you to take flight and soar above when viewing your business and aim finer when gauging your dealership’s current and full potential. As a leader, it’s wise to get in the weeds and get your hands dirty — as long as you don’t micromanage and hamper your workforce’s ability to do great things. That’s why it’s also sensible to pull back and give yourself a broader view to maintain a clear vision, control your emotions and focus on well-defined decision-making.
However, finding the time or committing time to focus on annual improvement is challenging in a boat dealer’s world. It’s even more trying when you lack the process, accountability and tools to improve in a manner you envision. But your development and refinement are necessary to reach the next level and become a true leader in the industry.
That’s why you need the guidance of a structural engineer to help you establish efficient and effective processes and craft your blueprint for success. That’s where the MRAA Certified Dealership Program comes into play. With its seven-week, step-by-step guidance and consultation, you’ll draft a design for improvement that produces more success, generates team harmony and helps you manager customer expectations.
3 Ways Certification Helps Your Dealership Stand Apart in the Marine Market
Standardize and publish your processes: Achieving program requirements helps you establish effective and efficient systems and processes.
Improve Your Team: Learn how to create a continuous-improvement culture and get your team on board while enhancing employee engagement and retention.
Bring in new customers: Certification, a commitment to your customers, helps you generate new business and enhance customer loyalty.
3 Certification Steps to Help Your Dealership Soar Above & Reevaluate Your Business
Guide & MRAA Consultant: Because accountability is essential to Certification, a personal consultant is assigned to walk you through the process.
Weekly Webinars: Work alongside your consultant and an assembly of your peers in 90-minute webinars over seven weeks to learn best practices for earning Certification.
Show & Tell: The hard work and dedication to the MRAA Certified Dealer Program ensure you produce a first-rate customer experience. So you need to tell your customers that their boat ownership and shopping experiences WILL be different when they do business with you!
3 Certification Program Requirements
Employee satisfaction survey (ESS): The ESS is taken annually by dealership staff at Certified locations. It asks employees more than 30 questions about your dealership’s culture, where they rate the dealership on a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
Tracking and trending customer experiences: A close examination of your dealership’s CSI numbers helps you compare your year-to-year numbers and to your competition to create an action plan for improving your customer experience and, ultimately, your CSI scores.
Sharing best practices: Peer-to-peer feedback, which includes business acumen and insightful reasoning, will help bolster Certified Dealers’ operations.
Make the Commitment; Reach New Heights The MRAA Certified Dealership Program provides you with absolute determination to improve the critical facets of your operation. It will help you stay composed and more resilient to change, even when facing market uncertainty. Much like the eagle, striving to aim higher and soar above everyone will make you one of the highest-performing dealers in the marine industry.
The MRAA Certification Webinar Series will help you get there in only seven weeks! You can still enroll in the program, as spots are available in the October 18th and 31st sessions. Fill out the form and get started today!
• A Conversation with Jim Coburn, National Marine Lenders Association, about the 43rd Annual Statistical Report
By Drew Mick, MRAA Research Specialist
As a recreational marine dealer, it’s critical for you to have access to tools and analytics about market data so you can keep your business informed and adaptable. One valuable resource is the National Marine Lenders Association (NMLA) 2023 Annual Statistical Report (ASR).
For more than four decades, our industry’s only report shares insight to help businesses develop, understand and support quality recreational marine loan production and profitability. The annual publication benefits all businesses and associates involved in marine lending, and the entire recreational boating industry by supplying data, management tools and summaries that can be compared to peer performance.
In its 43rd year of publication, the ASR has shared detailed information and trends about:
Banks, credit unions and private lenders who originate and hold recreational boat loans
Service companies who originate, outsource and broker boat loans to portfolio lenders
We recently spoke with Jim Coburn, NMLA Annual Statistical Report Committee Chair, about certain aspects of the ASR data and its meaning. The question-and-answer conversation is below.
Drew Mick:What can we interpret from the slight drop in average turnover for all boat loan contracts? Previous years had it hovering around 47 months, and, in 2022, we saw it at 44.
Coburn: Not much to interpret as it’s been very consistent based on survey respondents’ answers. Expect turnover to shorten during periods of rate lowering where increased sales activity, trade-ins, and refinances would play a role.
Jim Coburn, NMLA
Mick: There are two charts representing both “Average originated term for all boat loan contracts” and “Average turnover for all boat loan contracts” that seem to show different numbers. Will you help me interpret the difference between the two charts?
Coburn: We asked each survey respondent “what was average term for all of your boat loan contracts originated in 2022?” The answer was 183 months, meaning the average loan term was 15 years, 3 months. It’s been consistent over the past 5 years. However, I believe the number will move up slightly as certain events play out, such as economic conditions, affordability, CPI and inflation.
Turnover is defined as the period of time from boat loan’s inception (the contract or funding date) to its payoff date. Over the decades of boat lending, turnover has performed in the 34–54 month range. Lenders like to use this number as a profitability/pricing/yield guide. Dealers can use this as a sales/return sales guide. Turnover has been consistent of late, performing in the mid-40s.
Mick: In 2022, there was a significant increase of boat loan customers in the 55–64 age range. Can we hypothesize what is happening there? Is it people aging into it from the 45–54 group? Is this primarily people buying bigger boats?
Coburn: Yes, aging into it a little bit, and some non-participation for those two special years [2020-2021] could be part of it too. The higher-income, bigger-boat buyer is reflected in the finance broker/service company originator responses on page 43.
I’m always amazed that the 45- to 64-year-old segment has consistently carried the big load in boat finance. It was 95% and 82% aggregate last year and the year prior. It was not really like that prior to the Great Recession (as a point-in-time reference) and way back in the 80s.
Mick: What do you think led to the elevation in 2022 for both delinquencies and charge-offs?
Coburn: Loan volume and outstanding balances dropped a bit. Consumer Lending 101 tells us when this happens, pressure is directed at loan performance. Employment events were “fluid changed” that year as well. The loan performance trend was same for all types of consumer installment loans.
Mick: Is the reason that the majority of delinquencies and charge-offs left at the end of the year is marine? Is it simply that most of the places involved in the reporting are majority marine?
Coburn: No, to your majority question. Most banks and credit unions, with minor exceptions, produce consumer installment loans of all kinds. They are typically auto, some RV, some powersports and other types of secured installment loans.
Visit the MRAA Data Center to find additional marine industry insights, infographics and interviews.
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