5 resources to help dealers combat bad habits

5 Resources to Help Dealers Combat Bad Habits

    It’s often been said in business that good habits are created during the tough times and bad habits emerge during the good times. What happens, though, when the good times are so good that we grow comfortable or unwittingly lazy? 

    MRAA Dealer Resources
    In today’s boating marketplace, there are very few repercussions for bad habits like mismanaging leads, skipping steps in the sales process, short-changing the pre-delivery inspection, failing to follow up with customers or botching the service cycle. 

    These shortcuts often feel necessitated and are even sometimes rewarded in a high-demand environment, especially when the outcome means capturing business now vs. prolonging an inevitable sale. The reality, though, is today’s bad habits cause tomorrow’s problems— leads are lost, mistakes are made, unnecessary expenses creep into our P&Ls, the customer experience suffers, CSI scores drop, and repeat and referral business dry up quickly. What’s worse: Those bad habits become an accepted part of our culture.

    While it’s safe to assume the incredible demand of 2020 will continue through this boating season, and possibly longer, it WILL come to an end. Unchecked, these lazy habits will lead to a rude awakening once the pandemic is over. Dealership leaders should be thinking about what that reality would mean for their business, and start preparing for it now.

     

    Here are five ways MRAA can help dealers combat those bad habits and strengthen their business for the post-pandemic market.

    1. Tried-and-true methods of running a dealership have been crafted over many decades and work well in most any market place. Dealers can tap into many of those opportunities, by way of how-to guides and useable tools such as job descriptions, marketing assets, and budgeting templates in the MRAA Resource Center. This free compilation offers the lowest hanging fruit for someone who wants to go grab a resource and shore up something that’s not working in their business.
    2. Strong, adaptable dealers need a deeper understanding of the most critical challenges and opportunities, along with the solutions that can help attack them head-on. That’s where Dealer Week, MRAA’s annual conference and expo, comes into play. By way of 30-plus educational sessions on the day’s most important topics, this in-person and online event offers dealerships the insights and inspiration and tactics to stay on top of their game and adjust their business for current realities. It also keeps them on their toes for whatever tomorrow may throw at them.
    3. Dealers face challenges and opportunities in all market conditions and at all times of the year, so MRAA created MRAATraining.com to offer dealerships on-demand access to the leading solutions on the topics that most impact their success. Featuring the top courses from the last seven years of MRAA’s annual conference, the platform also offers a turnkey, monthly solution for training and strengthening dealership teams: MRAA’s Training and Tactics, featuring expert-recommended courses.
    4. The root of most bad habits in business stem from the lack of sound processes. MRAA compiles the best resources and training opportunities together into one efficient program to help dealers establish systems and processes that lead to consistency, team unity and customer loyalty — Dealership Certification. Through this program, dealers gain access to templates, best practices, consultants, exclusive continuing education, employee satisfaction surveys and more, all of which work together via a proven template and roadmap for running a world-class operation.
    5. Having entered the pandemic understaffed, the truth is some dealers just didn’t have the choice but to cut corners. The opportunities above are all designed to help with the realities of running a small business. MRAA also recognized that dealers were dropping the ball with the No. 1 most critical need in the customer experience cycle — post-sale follow-up. So, we created the MRAA Virtual Business Development Center, a resource where MRAA and its partner Customer Service Intelligence will take the follow-up load off of dealers’ plates and do it for them, complete with great reporting and immediate transfer for hot issues.

    In the midst of this high-demand environment, it’s easy to view sales, profits and other results through rose-colored glasses. But there’s a negative impact lurking in the shadows, and it amounts to the bad habits we’ve created while business has boomed. 

    2021 should be the year that we focus on fixing those bad habits and developing the strengths necessary to help us capture repeat business once demand subsides. We better start preparing for that now. 

     

    Markel Commits to MRAA Platinum Partner Membership

    MINNEAPOLIS — March 22 — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas announces Markel has become a Platinum Partner Member.

    Markel logo With 90+ years of experience in niche insurance markets, Markel is dedicated to providing customized insurance solutions for a variety of insurance products, including coverages specifically tailored to meet the needs of most marine businesses. Markel’s ocean marine team aims to understand the lure of the water and provides high-level expertise in the marine insurance industry. They’ve developed marine insurance solutions that are designed to help simplify dealers’ insurance programs.

    “Markel has been in the underwriting marine insurance business for over 35 years, and we remain committed to providing specialized insurance coverages for the marine industry for years to come,” said Tim Lucas, Director of Underwriting – Ocean Marine. We are excited to partner with the MRAA who shares our goal of providing valuable tools, resources and services specific to the marine industry.”

    Marine manufacturers, suppliers, dealers and service providers, through Partner Membership, commit to aligning their brands with the programs and opportunities that MRAA provides the dealer body to help fuel the success of the industry. Support from partners allows the association to expand its offerings and create a positive, long-term impact in the business of MRAA members.

    “We welcome Markel as a Platinum Partner Member with the MRAA,” said Allison Gruhn, Director of Business Development at MRAA. “Markel’s extensive and diverse knowledge of marine insurance is an added resource for our MRAA members. We look forward to working closely with Markel and value its membership.”

    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 Markel Corporation
    Markel Corporation is a diverse financial holding company serving a variety of niche markets. The Company’s principal business markets and underwrites specialty insurance products. In each of the Company’s businesses, it seeks to provide quality products and excellent customer service so that it can be a market leader. The financial goals of the Company are to earn consistent underwriting and operating profits and superior investment returns to build shareholder value. Visit Markel on the web at markel.com.

    MRAA, RBFF and NMMA Extend Consumer Campaign Collaboration to Recruit and Retain Fishing & Boating

    The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation , the National Marine Manufacturers Association and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas today announced their second-year collaboration on the industry-wide Get On Board consumer marketing campaign to recruit and retain new participants during the upcoming fishing and boating season.

    “Fishing and boating have become important mainstays for consumers to keep up with their health and safety,” said Stephanie Vatalaro, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for RBFF. “Our top priority now is ensuring Americans continue discovering the wellness benefits of the water as conditions begin to transition. Consumer outreach by the entire industry is critical to securing fishing and boating’s continued growth this summer.”

    Get On Board is a partnership between two of the recreational boating and fishing industry’s leading consumer-facing brands: RBFF’s Take Me Fishing and NMMA and MRAA’s Discover Boating. An integrated effort, the campaign will include a national media spokesperson, influencer engagement, press outreach, paid advertising, social media promotion, digital marketing and more. The continued partnership reflects the success of RBFF, NMMA and MRAA’s first-of-its-kind collaboration in 2020, which helped the industry achieve historic results, including a year-over-year increase of 3 million new fishing license sales and the highest single-year sales volume of new boats in 13 years.

    “The past year taught us that, together, the Take Me Fishing and Discover Boating brands can unite the industry and amplify our collective voice in a powerful way,” said Ellen Bradley, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for NMMA. “This year, our partnership positions us to drive an industry-wide focus on retaining the many boaters and anglers we welcomed in 2020, all while maintaining our momentum as we look forward.”

    The initiative will supply the industry with a variety of free, customizable tools to support their existing customer growth and retention efforts. Available resources will include social media assets, promotional videos, press materials and more.

    “It’s incredibly rewarding to see so many consumers learn what we’ve known all along — that boating and fishing offer the best outlet for getting away from busy schedules to spend quality time with family outdoors,” said Matt Gruhn, President of MRAA. “As we look to share this lifestyle with even more people and simultaneously look to enhance the experiences of those who’ve already discovered the benefits of being on the water, I encourage every organization in our community to support boating and fishing’s future by making use of the new resources available through this campaign.”

    Visit www.GOBToolkit.com to download a variety of customizable assets to help promote fishing and boating to consumers. New materials will be made available on an ongoing basis, so users are advised to check back often. Questions may be directed to Bruna Carincotte, RBFF’s Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communications, at bcarincotte@rbff.org and Maggie Maskery, NMMA’s Director of Consumer Public Relations, at mmaskery@nmma.org.

    MRAA Partner Chaparral and Robalo Boats Awarded NMMA CSI Award

    For the 14th Consecutive year, Chaparral and Robalo Boats was awarded the NMMA CSI Award for customer satisfaction. Chaparral received the award for the following categories: sterndrive bowrider boats, fiberglass outboard boats, and deck boats while Robalo was awarded for fiberglass outboard boats.

    Award recipients were acknowledged this morning during NMMA’s 2021 State of the Recreational Boating Industry and Awards Presentation.

    “Consumer expectations of products and services are dramatically increasing across all industries. In recreational boating, we collectively continue to enhance our brand, product and dealer experiences to provide exceptional customer service and quality products,” noted Robert Newsome, senior vice president of operations for NMMA. “Today, we honor those boat and engine brands who deliver on these values and are examples of excellence in customer satisfaction.”

    “We are honored to receive this prestigious award on behalf of our employees, dealers, and vendor partners who have worked through very challenging times this year to continue to demonstrate our commitment to uphold the highest standards in customer satisfaction.” – Buck Pegg, Founder Chaparral Boats, Inc.

    The NMMA launched the CSI Program in 2001 to provide boat and engine manufacturers with an independently measured tool to help improve customer satisfaction in the boating industry. The program allows participating manufacturer companies to continue to monitor the customer experience before, during, and after delivery of the product for continuous improvement.

    The Marine Industry CSI Awards honor boat and engine manufacturers who actively measure customer satisfaction and pursue continuous improvement to better serve their customers. Award recipients achieved an independently-measured standard of excellence of 90 percent or higher in customer satisfaction over the past program year, based on information provided by customers purchasing a new boat or engine during the period between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Participating manufacturers must survey all new boat buyers during this period. For this reporting period, the program surveyed more than 175,000 customers.

    Dealer Profit Releases Compliance Preparation; Compliance Certification Program

    Dealer Profit Services Compliance Preparation and Compliance Certification Program Offers Marine, RV and Powersports Dealers with ability to demonstrate ‘good faith’ compliance effort

     

    ATHENS, GEORGIA, USA, February 1, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — “Compliance, when it comes to identifying and protecting against identity theft, protecting against any form of trafficking with terrorists, terrorist organizations, and sympathizers, and protecting against any form of entanglement with money laundering activities, is always important for dealers – and it is also hard to manage correctly,” states Myril Shaw, COO of Dealer Profit Services. “We developed our Compliance Preparation and Compliance Certification Program to make compliance a ‘no-brainer’. It is on-demand. It is available when and as needed. It is comprehensive. It is easy!”


    With the newly released Compliance Preparation and Compliance Certification Program (CPCPP) annual subscription, Dealer Profit Services (DPS) provides all Marine, RV, and Powersports dealers with the following tools, capabilities, and content:

    • Complete Compliance Documents available whenever and as often as needed and fully branded for the Dealership including:

    • Red Flags Rule – Policy and Procedure Manual
    • Disposal Policies and Procedures
    • OFAC Policy and Procedure Manual
    • Safeguards Rule Policies and Procedure Manual
    • USA Patriot Act Policy and Procedure Manual

    • Full Compliance Training via video content available whenever, as often as needed, and to as many dealer personnel as required – content is comprised of seven distinct video units in lengths ranging from 20 minutes to 45 minutes which may be watched on-demand and at the convenience of the viewer, with the ability to pause and return to the viewing at a later time – on completion a document in the name of the viewer is produced and made available to the dealership showing when the videos were watched by each viewer and suitable for inclusion in both the personnel file and with the Compliance Documents

    • Compliance Certification Exam to be completed by those who have completed the Compliance Training made available as a 20-question multiple-choice exam the results of which will be made available to the dealership showing the exam results, including the score and whether the exam was passed or failed, and suitable for inclusion in both the personnel file and with the Compliance Documents
    • Compliance Checklist suitable for use by the Compliance Officer and other Dealership management and designated personnel to ensure that best efforts are being made to demonstrate “good-faith” efforts in meeting Compliance rules and regulations as they pertain to protecting against and identifying Identity Theft, protecting against any form of trafficking with terrorists, terrorist organizations, and sympathizers, and protecting against any form of entanglement with money laundering activities
    • Supplemental Compliance Training Slide Deck for use as and where desired to reinforce compliance training principles
    • Social Security Area Information which helps dealer personnel identify potential identity theft through casual conversation by referring a customer’s place of birth or residence based on the Social Security Number
    • Compliance “Hot Line” Email available to any Dealership personnel for compliance or program-related questions or suggestions – note that there will be no legal advice provided 

    During the period of the subscription any or all CPCPP is available on-demand and as frequently, as often as desired at the complete convenience of the Dealership and personnel.


    Pricing starts at $1,999.00 for the first year and $999.00 for subsequent years with discounts available for multi-location dealerships, 20 Group participants and DPS Financial Services customers.


    Additional pricing information, as well as sign-up information, is available by clicking CPCPPDPS.


    Questions may be directed to: compliance@dealerprofit.com.


    Myril Shaw

    Dealer Profit Services, LLC

    +1 678-641-8419

    email us here

     

    MRAA Outlines PPP Taxability Fixes to State Legislators

     

    Last week, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas submitted letters signed by recreational boating and recreational vehicle (RV) industry organizations to 15 state legislatures urging them to come into conformity with federal tax guidance on forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to ensure that small businesses would not face unnecessary, and unexpected, tax burdens.

     

    Each letter outlines that:

    The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (H.R. 133) — which was signed into law on December 28, 2020 — authorized a second round of PPP loans, and clarified the original intent of PPP loans as tax-free stimulus with the Internal Revenue Service to ensure that (1) forgivable PPP loans are not included as taxable income at the federal level; and (2) businesses can claim normal tax deductions for business expenses paid for with forgiven portions of PPP loans.

     

    The letters also contain references to the amount of PPP loans were distributed in each state, as well as the economic impact of the outdoor recreation community on each state’s economy.

     

    Absent legislative action to conform with federal tax guidance, forgiven PPP loans would be included as taxable income for small business owners, going against the very intent of the program.

     

    Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have come into conformity with federal guidance on forgiven PPP loan taxability. Maine will not tax the first $1 million in a business’s forgiven PPP loan. MRAA put together a resource outlining what states were taxing forgiven PPP loans.

     

    The letters that were submitted to each state’s legislative leadership can be accessed below.

    1.     Arkansas

    2.     Arizona

    3.     Florida

    4.     Idaho

    5.     Massachusetts

    6.     Maine

    7.     Minnesota

    8.     New Hampshire

    9.     Nevada

    10.  Pennsylvania

    11.  Texas

    12.  Utah

    13.  Virginia

    14.  Vermont

    15.  West Virginia

    ‘Making Life Better: The Correct Craft Story’ Released

    ORLANDO, FL (March 3, 2021) – Today Correct Craft announced the publication of “Making Life Better: The Correct Craft Story.” This new book captures Correct Craft’s nearly century long story of perseverance, innovation, faith, and growth.
    CorrectCraft book
    Making Life Better, Correct Craft’s President and CEO Bill Yeargin’s third book, captures an insider view of the company’s incredible history. From humble beginnings in 1925 through the last decade of explosive global growth, the book shares the story of the company’s founders, employees and partners who together built a one-of-a-kind company that makes life better for people all around the world.

    Yeargin stated, “It is an honor to share the wonderful Correct Craft story. Correct Craft has navigated through the Great Depression, helping in WWII, a bankruptcy and many other formative experiences that make it the exceptional organization it is today. Those experiences have helped us grow to a company today with fifteen facilities across the U.S. and distribution into nearly seventy countries.”

    Yeargin added, “Our company is built on the shoulders of many exceptional people and I believe readers will enjoy the stories. More importantly, I hope the book will be an inspiration for those who read it.”

    Making Life Better is available online through booksellers across the web.

    About Correct Craft: Celebrating 96 years of excellence in the marine industry, Correct Craft is a Florida-based company with global operations. Focused on “Making Life Better,” the Correct Craft family includes Nautique, Centurion, Supreme, Bass Cat, Yar-Craft, SeaArk, Parker, and Bryant boat companies, Pleasurecraft Marine Engine Group, Watershed Innovation and Aktion Parks. For more information please visit www.correctcraft.com.

    10 Dealers Push Through Certification in 2020

    By Liz Keener, MRAA Certification Manager

    We all know 2020 will go down as one of the hardest years in our lives, and one of the most challenging, up and down years for our dealerships. Despite all of these positive and negative obstacles, 10 dealers not only persevered through the year, but they also pushed themselves to improve.

    These 10 dealers showed they have what it takes to become a Marine Industry Certified Dealership in an uncertain year. By going through MICD logothe Certification program, they discovered opportunities to improve their customer experience, employee engagement and dealership operations. 

    The 10 entities include: two dealerships that are now 75 years old, two Wisconsin stores, a Florida dealer that specializes in Yamaha outboards, four locations that have joined their flagship stores in going through the Certification program and a SkipperBud’s location.

    The newly Certified locations are:
    • Port of Egypt Marine, Southold, New York
    • Union Marine — Pacific Nautiques, Pacific, Washington
    • Strong’s Marine — Southampton, Southampton, New York
    • Strong’s Marine — Yacht Center, Mattituck, New York
    • Strong’s Marine — Water Club, Mattituck, New York
    • Eric’s Outboard Marine Service, Miami, Florida
    • SkipperBud’s — Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
    • Watercraft Sales, Three Lakes, Wisconsin
    • Manitowoc Marina, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
    • Norfolk Marine, Norfolk, Virginia

    Many of these dealers on the list above have shared with us that what they learned was invaluable.“The opportunity to hear about best practices and take an objective look at our operations has been enlightening. I know that Manitowoc Marina has benefited and will continue to benefit from the MRAA Five Star Certification process,” said Dean Senglaub, Manitowoc Marina.

    David Nichols of Eric’s Outboard said, “The MICD process is a dealership challenge. It can show you your strengths and your weaknesses. To take your dealership to the next level, start the MICD process. It is a personal and team challenge, with your dealership as a winner.”

    These dealers are winners indeed, but they each earned their Certification honors. They invested their time and money into meaningful improvements that will move their dealerships forward. They are now equipped with new tools and resources that will, in turn, bring efficiencies to their operations and bring in new revenue for their business.

    Congratulations and welcome to the Certified Dealer family!

    Certified Dealer Norfolk Marine Celebrates 75 Years in Hampton Roads

    This year marks the 75th anniversary of the formation of Norfolk Marine Company, a local family-owned boat dealership that still today remains in the same family that founded it. Norfolk Marine has become a landmark for residents of Southeastern Virginia in search of several premium recreational boat brands, their industry-leading full service center, and the area’s largest OEM marine parts center.

    Beginning in 1946, Garland Kight, Sr. opened the first location of Norfolk Marine Company on Boush Street in downtown Norfolk. At that time the company was mostly focused on wholesale distribution and did very little business with retail customers. With continued success came expansion, quickly outgrowing their existing facilities and moving to a larger location on Front Street in 1950. In the years following, Norfolk Marine’s growth continued at a rapid rate, opening two satellite locations, one in Hampton (Hampton Marine) and the other in the District of Colombia (Capital Marine). It wasn’t until 1965 that Norfolk Marine moved to its current location on E. Virginia Beach Blvd. in Norfolk where it remains today.

    1968 marked the year Norfolk Marine became one of the country’s first Grady White Boats dealerships, which they proudly maintain today as one of the only dealers to call the flagship boat line home for over 50 years. Shortly thereafter in 1972, the company welcomed the arrival of Garland Kight, Jr. to Norfolk Marine,  following closely in his father’s footsteps. In that same year under new command, Norfolk Marine made a bold move, deciding to alter their business model to become a full-scale retail operation. By the end of 1973 the company split into Norfolk Marine Company and Norfolk Marine Distributing, which would later be sold to form what we know today as Land & Sea Distributing. In 1975 the company purchased a neighboring building in order to form its first dedicated retail parts store which has grown today to house one of the largest and most diverse marine parts inventories on the East Coast. For 30 years Garland Kight, Jr. continued to modernize the business model and day-to-day operations, optimizing systems and the facility to accommodate their exponential growth in boat sales. Another key strategic move in the company’s history came in 1983 when Norfolk Marine became one of the first three dealers in the country to sign on Yamaha Marine Outboards, who they remain exclusive with today. By the company’s 50th anniversary in 1996 it had acquired two additional adjacent properties to accommodate growing inventories and became one of the first Carolina Skiff dealerships in the country.

    In 2005 Kight, Jr. was joined by his son-in-law, Jason Murphy, to further grow sales and develop a modernized digital footprint including website development and integration of their first true CRM system. The highly sought-after Sea Hunt Boats line was added to Norfolk Marine’s offerings in 2007, and Murphy purchased the business in 2010 after several years in a variety of roles including President. Today Murphy represents the 3rd generation of ownership under the same family, and the company continues to build upon the legacy of growth and innovation. In 2014 the company opened a brand new 20,000 sq. foot boat warehouse and showroom on its now 4.5-acre campus. In 2016, Norfolk Marine expanded yet again with the purchase of another neighboring property to create a larger stand-alone service department, and in more recent years added Bennington Pontoon Boats and Regal Boats. Norfolk Marine today maintains not only the highest levels of volume and market share for their respective brands, but they are an industry benchmark in Customer Satisfaction scores. Throughout 75 years, the company and its employees have also maintained their focus of giving back, by annually taking part in dozens of local philanthropic events and tournaments which support a variety of causes in our community.

    Dealer Week Campaign Wins Best Event Marketing Neptune Award

    Neptune Award Winner Logo MINNEAPOLIS — Dealers attended Dealer Week virtually in 2020, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t learn together with their teams — and a special promotion to help them do just that was awarded a Neptune Award by the Marine Marketers of America.

    The Neptune Awards, now in its 13th year, annually honors excellence in marine industry marketing. MRAA won a 2020 Neptune Award in the category “Best Event Marketing/Grassroots Promotion” for its Dealer Week “Lunch and Learn” promotion.

    The promotion was a collaboration with online solution provider OperateBeyond. In order to promote attendance and collaboration at Dealer Week, OperateBeyond offered to buy teams lunch — in the form of a $100 gift card that was delivered in a branded Dealer Week/OperateBeyond pizza box.  

    “We loved working with OperateBeyond on the Lunch and Learn promotion,” said Allison Gruhn, MRAA’s Director of Business Development. “In a year without in-person marketing opportunities, they knew they wanted to get creative, and the result was a fun campaign that was a win for everyone involved.”

    Dealers were so delighted with the gift when it arrived, many posted photos on social media. The promotion also helped drive Dealer Week to record attendance of 1,047 dealership personnel.

    Neptune Award judges wrote: “Love the idea of the lunch gift card and sending it in a pizza box was a great idea to make it social media worthy. Very engaging. Innovative idea to encourage teams to register for MRAA Dealer Week. Plus, it’s a fun way to promote sign ups.”

    MRAA’s annual goal with Dealer Week is to innovate in order to provide attendees the best possible experience each year. In 2020, that approach was particularly difficult but absolutely required. As a result, the MRAA team is especially honored to be recognized in this particular year.  

    “We had great feedback on our first online Dealer Week, and one of the things people liked was the ability to attend with more of their team,” said Mike Davin, MRAA Brand Director. “We’re glad to be recognized for the Lunch and Learn campaign because we enjoyed creating something outside the box, but also because it promoted a great team-based learning opportunity.”

    The entire list of 2020 Neptune Award winners is available at marinemarketersofamerica.org.