Consolidation: Love it or hate it?

We live in a time of consolidation, as the news of Garmin’s bid to acquire Raymarine this week once again illustrates. Airlines, automakers and certainly media companies, among others, are combining forces like never before in hopes of increasing their returns in an uncertain economic future.

The boating industry has seen its share of mergers and acquisitions as well. That’s nothing new, change has always been a constant. Brands, and the companies that make them, change hands through the years, coming and going. Dealers change the lines they carry, manufacturers change dealers, finance and insurance companies enter and leave the market.

But if the pace of consolidation picks up in the marine industry and begins to mirror the trend seen in other industries, is that a good thing or a bad thing for boating? Read more »

Putting boat design in the buyer’s hands

Small numbers of boat buyers working together on the definition and specifications of a yacht and then, when several have expressed an interest in getting the vessel made, finding a builder to manufacture it for them: That’s the concept Truebuild Yachts is working to bring to the boating industry. Read more >>

Answers to your toughest Internet questions

One of the most popular topics of discussion in the industry this year seems to be Internet technology. Whether it’s SEO, mobile marketing, social networking or e-commerce, marine professionals want to know how to expand and improve their online efforts to drive efficiencies and increase sales in their businesses. Read more >>

We’re headed in the right direction, aren’t we?

When the Boating Industry team recently got into a conversation about how the industry is performing so far this year, there were some varying opinions. It turns out that we were each looking at the data to which we have access – from Spader Business Management and Info-Link Technologies Inc. – a little differently. Here are the conclusions we reached. Read more >>

Get ‘em OFF the keyboard!

By Jeff Scherer, Associate Partner, Callbutton LLC – Many years ago, before the Internet was “cool,” I was the Internet sales manager for one of the largest automotive retailers. This was a very interesting time because prior to this, no auto entities had really stepped out to try to market vehicles through this new budding medium known as “the Web.” To say that many of the old-school general managers in our dealer groups were skeptical would have been a tremendous understatement. They said over and over that this Web thing was a fad, and would never work to sell cars. Our team was often looked at as the “geek squad,” (no offense to the Best Buy’s guys) and as competitors to the retail sales team. Much of this doubt and fear was understandable as we were jumping quickly into territory that was undefined and unknown. Read more >>

Good news, for a change

During the first week of each month, Boating Industry publishes an e-newsletter that ranks the Top 10 most read stories from the previous month. Over the past year, nearly all the stories that have garnered the greatest attention have had to do with bankruptcies, layoffs, union disputes, etc. To put it more simply: bad news. Read more >>

The lessons that last

I recently bought a new book, “The Mom & Pop Store: How the Unsung Heroes of the American Economy Are Surviving and Thriving.” Because I have two other books I have to finish before I start this one, I’ve contented myself for now with only reading the introduction, which has sent me down memory lane. Read more >>

Anticipation: The key to customer service

This past Saturday was my five-year-old’s birthday party. Nine boys and their parents had pledged to join my husband, son and I for a two-hour romp at a warehouse full of inflatable slides, rock climbing walls and even a basketball court. Read more >>

One year of blogging: What do you think?

If you take a look at this blog’s archives, you’ll notice that they go back to March 2009. Specifically, our first post — in which Matt wrote about “Going Girly” — was published on March 27, 2009. Read more >>

Not just another buzzword: The degrees of “marine engagement”

By Gary Druckenmiller, Jr., co-founder, TheOpenSea.com – In marine marketing, retaining loyal customers has always been a hard thing to do. And in the age of media fragmentation — as hundreds of technologies and thousands of Web sites compete for audience attention — the traditional siege-mentality approach to marketing is giving way to a new paradigm known as “engagement.” This approach uses technology as the centerpiece to establishing and maintaining continual connections and conversations with key customers. Read more >>