In a news cycle that’s heavy with bad news, it’s important to underscore the positive things happening around the marine industry. And there’s a lot to take note of, so I thought I’d spend some time sharing what we’re hearing.

 

Little by little, politicians are noting the importance of outdoor recreation in today’s physical distancing culture. In Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz recommended from the early days of his shelter-at-home order that getting outside, and notably fishing and boating, was important. Last week, he backed up those words with actions and transitioned boat retailers to “essential” status, allowing them to service boats and sell by appointment.

 

Within days, Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York reversed a decision to exclude marinas and dealerships from the essential list, collaborating with governors from New Jersey and Connecticut to announce that marinas, boatyards and marine manufacturers will be allowed to open for personal use as long as strict social distancing and sanitation protocols are followed. (Find 49 best practices for creating your strict protocols here.)

 

In what has been the most restrictive state in terms of boating limitations, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer relaxed boating restrictions on Friday and allowed for prep, delivery, launch and/or curbside pickup of boats in storage or boats ordered online or remotely, provided the business and employees adhere to social distancing guidelines.

 

And then Miami-Dade County Mayor announced a three-phase plan to reopen public ramps and marinas in south Florida, reversing restrictions he had placed on them a month earlier.

 

For the dealers around North America, navigating these on-again, off-again restrictions and re-openings has no doubt created challenges, but what we’re seeing is that consumers are turning to boating for the ultimate physical distancing activity.

 

On Lake Minnetonka outside of Minneapolis, boating activity has rarely, if ever been as heavy as it has been through mid-April. Boat sales reports in the state have been better than expected for many dealers.

 

“There’s way more interest in boats than I can ever remember there being in April,” says Dave Briggs, who owns Wayzata Marine located on Lake Minnetonka.

 

MarineMax, Inc., who also has a location on Lake Minnetonka, as well as 60-plus other locations across the United States, reported revenue growth of almost 2 percent in the quarter ended March 31^st. While MarineMax noted its results were partially impacted by the pandemic, the company noted that its online engagement with customers has been stronger than usual.

 

Similarly, Discover Boating, the industry-led marketing campaign to grow participation in recreational boating reported strong performance and growth this week, compared to the same period last year. The Discover Boating team has been tapping into real-time data on consumer interests and providing relevant, helpful content, resulting in record site traffic. Compared to March of 2019, site traffic in 2020 has shown a 30-percent increase in website visitors, 44-percent increase in organic traffic, a 118-percent increase in visitors to the Boat Loan Calculator, a 45-percent increase in female visitors and a 78-percent increase in visitors age 18-24. And things look to be getting even better, as early April saw a 300-percent spike in organic traffic following the release of new content.

 

While soft spots remain in the market place, the desire to get outside and go boating seems to be on the rise as people remain on shelter-from-home orders and spring temperatures move upward. At Norris Marine in Oklahoma, sales picked up over the last week, and the service department has been busy.

 

“I’m cautiously optimistic we can get things going,” said owner Shawn Easton. “People’s attitudes change with the direction of the news, but at some point, they’re going to get a little stir crazy and want to get out on the lake.”

At FB Marine Group in Fort Lauderdale, they’ve had to deal with the ramp closures in Miami-Dade, and that has caused a hit on the company’s service work. At the same time, however, boat sales have been solid, and when I spoke to owner Kim Sweers last week — before the ramps had opened back up — the company had sold a couple boats that day.

 

While certainly cautious optimism will be key, I’m a firm believer that boating could help lead our economy out of this slow down, as people look to socially and physically distance themselves from each other and from the confinement of their homes. And this upward trend for boating could last for years!

As the CARES Act stimulus program was running out of money last week, nearly 60 percent of the boat dealers that responded to MRAA’s research reported that they had applied but had yet to receive their funds.

 

As noted in an early-April survey, close to 90 percent of boat dealers had already applied or planned to apply. This, according more than 450 survey responses.

 

By the end of last week, more than 420 dealer responses showed that 57 percent of dealers had applied and had still not received their funds, while 30 percent of the respondents had already received their funds.

 

Nearly 60 percent of boat dealers who applied for a federal loan under the 
U.S. stimulus program have yet to receive their funds.

 

 

“We were told we should have the funds next week,” reported one dealer.

 

“The SBA approved us, but we have been waiting over seven days for loan documents from the bank,” said another.

 

“How long should this take?” asked another.

 

Many of the dealers who had not received their funds reported frustration and confusion with the process of applying and receiving their loans.

 

“We are approved and have a loan number,” noted one dealer. “Since we have this info, are we guaranteed the money?”

 

“This is taking too long,” commented another. “The process, as far as communication, is very poor!”

 

“The SBA has funded us, but now it’s on to the necessary bank documents before we get the funds,” said another. “It’s been weeks and a damn-convoluted process.”

 

“My CPA said that since I have not received a PIN number yet to re-file,” one dealer explained. “She said the SBA sent a memo out that if no PIN was received that the business should re-file. Some applications got lost in confusion.”

 

MRAA wrapped up the survey results the day the CARES Act ran out of money. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate approved a nearly half-trillion-dollar additional aid package that includes $380 billion for small businesses. There’s hope that the U.S. House of Representatives will pass the bill later this week.

 

Thirteen percent of last week’s respondents reported that they had not applied, which falls in line closely with the combined 12 percent of early-April survey respondents who said they were undecided or didn’t know enough about the loans yet or that they did not play to apply.

No matter what your dealership’s situation – business as usual or otherwise – in most places around North America, traffic is likely to be slower than normal for a while as the COVID-19 crisis runs its course. While it’s certainly not the time to take your eyes off of finding revenue, there’s always time to train your team and today’s slower environment may offer you the perfect opportunity to do just that.

 

In our efforts to help dealers strengthen their teams and come out of this slowdown stronger than they were when they went in, MRAA has made all of its standard educational courses at MRAATraining.com FREE to any dealership personnel – MRAA Member or not — through the end of May 2020. We believe if your team taps into these courses, which have received world-class net promoter scores, you’ll be able to ramp up more quickly when the economy begins to rebound. (Learn how to access the courses on the home page of MRAA.com)

 

Theresa Syer’s Customer Experience Workshop from Dealer Week 2020
is one of the top-four most purchases courses at MRAATraining.com 

 

 

So, to help you get started, here are the four most popular courses dealers are watching on MRAATraining.com as well as the four courses I personally think they would find equally, if not more valuable. (Please note: In order for the links below to work, you must be signed in at MRAA.com).

 

Here are the four most-popular courses right now:

 

A Is For Attitude

If ever there’s a time that your attitude is critical, it’s in the midst of a crisis. Sure, there’s a lot on your mind today, but if you’re walking around letting fear or anxiety show up on your face, that’s not going to work for anyone. A crisis like this calls for a leader with a positive attitude and lots of optimism. Tap into this course to learn how the beliefs and attitudes of you and your team members will directly impact the rest of your team, your customers and your company’s bottom line.

 

Master The Write-Up

Many brick-and-mortar boat dealer locations these days are operating only their service and parts departments. And there are times where it looks like the service department is the best opportunity to drive revenue in today’s climate. So getting your service department to operate at its highest level of effectiveness is critical. Check out this course to learn how master service advisors build rapport, identify needs, make recommendations address concerns and reach agreement with their customers, one write-up at a time.

 

Service CSI & Upselling: Not an Either/Or Proposition

Today’s intense focus on driving service revenues and profitability has many dealers turning to this great course by service expert Valerie Ziebron. When done right, a service department’s CSI and profitability go hand-in-hand. This course will give you insights into the strategies that top service and parts advisors use to improve both metrics at the same time, and you’ll learn the key elements within an advisor’s control that can keep the customer loving your dealership with each service and parts experience.

 

Supercharge Your Customer Experience Workshop

One of MRAA’s newest courses, this in-depth workshop shot at the 2019 Dealer Week, will share 7 Key Emotional Motivators that can shift the tide emotionally for customers. Noted customer experience expert Theresa Syer will also show you how to develop your own Key Emotional Drivers that will affect those Emotional Motivators and keep your dealership’s customers coming to you, working with you and ultimately buying from you.

 

 

There’s no denying that those are four great courses that you could learn a lot from. But here are four courses that everyone should be watching to help them navigate today’s market place:

 

The Agile Dealership: Confidently Responding to Change & the Unknown

The original description for this said, “no one knows exactly when the next recession will hit…” So, let’s start with an update: It’s quite likely we’re in the midst of a recession as I type this. And this course was designed specifically to help you through such a scenario. It will help you identify, monitor and respond to the key issues you face now and into the future. It covers the characteristics of agile leaders, concerns employees have during change and indicators you can use to ensure your business is on track.

 

Buyer Motivation: The Key to Building Value

In any sales environment, the key to closing the deal is building value. In today’s abnormal marketplace, it’s even more critical that you understand buyers’ personal motivations. Through this course, you’ll learn the four main buying motivations that govern most purchases, how to translate features into personalized benefits to those motivations, and the six magic words to use as a transition statement for personalized presentations. Now’s the perfect time to refine this critical sales technique. And you’ll be impressed with the format and comprehensive approach of this course, which mimics our Dealership Certification continuing education.

 

Master Your Time & Stress

In the new work-from-home world we’re living in, particularly with health concerns surrounding us, there may no better time to learn how manage both your time and your stress. In this course, you can learn how to gain control of your day, manage stress that can improve your job performance and satisfaction and avoid the most common dealership time crushers – even if you’re not quite back into the dealership full time yet. Please note that in addition to this great course, we recently published a guide to working from home, complete with resources that will help you manage your time.

 

Increase Closing Rates with Content Marketing

As dealers look for ways to cut costs with the sudden market slow down, they typically look to non-revenue-producing departments like marketing to make that happen. Experts like highly regarded Marcus Sheridan advises differently, and in his course here you will learn how content marketing can be the greatest sales tool in the world. In the ever-blurring lines between sales and marketing, you need this course to help you learn the powerful effect that great content has on the buying process, as well as how it impacts leads, appointments and closing rates.

 

Tap into these courses — FOR FREE — to help you power through this downturn and into a brighter future.

 

Over the course of the last month, MRAA has been in touch with thousands of dealers, through one-to-one contacts and surveys that are keeping the pulse of their businesses throughout today’s market place. It became clear in week one that the top concern on their minds was their cash flow. It makes sense — it’s the simple question of whether or not they have enough to pay their bills … and for how long?

 

But through our charting of every conversation, every email, every question on our dozen-plus webinars to date, and more than 1,000 open-ended responses to our weekly surveys, we’ve identified the five most critical issues on dealers’ minds. I encourage you to think about how your business can support dealers in these areas:

 

1.     Cash Flow
It’s the topic on every business leader’s mind today. How much cash do I have? How much cash will be coming in? And how long can I keep my business running under various scenarios … scenarios created using greater levels of uncertainty than ever before. MRAA responded with a series of webinars to help dealers manage cash flow, but they’re looking for other creative ways their partners can help them through this crisis. It should come as no surprise that three of the other four hot buttons (if not all four) directly impact their cash flow.

Dealer Insight: “Independent dealers are going to be most concerned about money. Cash flow is drying-up and debt payments are due and will soon become the most significant disrupter in their business.”

 

 

2.     Government Support
The first three stimulus programs are out, and while the Paycheck Protection Program has run out of money, there’s hope that a fourth stimulus may arrive as soon as this week. The programs are directly aimed at helping small businesses – with fewer than 500 employees – get through this downturn, providing for funds that can be applied to payroll, health care benefits, employee compensation, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, or importantly, “interest on any other debt obligations that were incurred before the covered period.” READ: Floorplan financing interest. Read MRAA’s analysis of the stimulus programs here, including an FAQ.

Dealer Insight: “My worries are about my business being able to pay the flooring interest as we go on hold. And as we go back, will there be an economy that will give people confidence to buy? I cannot sit on inventory for long periods of time.”

 

3.     People
There’s a really difficult balance right dealers are striking at the moment. Through the workforce crisis of the last decade, they have worked hard to build great teams. They want to keep them on the payroll. They also have to navigate the risk of people working in a public setting and potentially being exposed to the virus. How does one balance the safety of their employees with the needs of keeping those employees paid? How does a dealership keep employees on the payroll if they are deemed “non-essential” businesses and are not allowed to work? There’s a lot to figure out. MRAA’s Legal Insights Ask the Expert webinar, along with our FAQ on the subject can provide some of the answers.

Dealer Insight: “We work really hard to hire amazing people. We don’t want to be in the position where we can’t employ them. How can I keep our awesome employees if we aren’t working? I need to pay them. How do we balance, we want to keep people safe AND work/stay afloat?”

 

4.     Industry Support
MRAA has heard a steady rhythm, particularly in the early days of the slowdown, of dealers wondering how their partners would rally to support them. While many announcements on that topic have circulated and the support has become clearer (and we’ve included those we’ve gathered on this page), the questions have slowed. Still, like it did in the midst of The Great Recession, the sentiment remained that it will take strong dealer-supplier partnerships to help companies through this crisis.

Dealer Insight: “We need to bring the industry together — manufacturers, dealers and lenders — to all take a breath and think this through. We can win, collectively, and it will help with calming those who are panicking.”

5.     Best Practices

This crisis hit so fast and so hard that dealers didn’t have much time to react. And every time they adjusted their business, external conditions changed, and they were forced to react again. Mix in the fact that brick-and-mortar retail’s No. 1 ingredient for success is to have customers swing open the door, and today’s “essential-business-only” mandates make for an extremely confusing and challenging environment. Dealers need answers on how to conduct business under these new rules of retail. Check out the resources and blogs MRAA created to highlight such best practices.

 

Dealer Insight: “What are creative ways we can float through this time but keep the business somewhat active (while being shut down)?”

 

MRAA’s Action Guide for Responding to Today’s Crisis is
jam-packed with best practices and resources for dealers.

 

 

As dealers continue to navigate these challenges, they can turn to MRAA’s Action Guide for Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis. They can tap into MRAATraining.com – for FREE – which is packed full of best practices and insights. They can access all MRAA webinars that were specifically produced to help them sell, service and market their business during this crisis. They can access numerous best practices and insights on the opportunities available to them today. And if you have resources available for them, we’d be happy to include them on our Industry Support page.