Professional development program created specifically for boat dealers by MRAA and Boats Group
Norfolk, VA – (October 9, 2013) – The 2013/2014 Marine Retail University series, sponsored by Norman Spencer Insurance, is now underway. The curriculum was created by Boats Group, the division of Dominion Enterprises that operates YachtWorld, Boat Trader and boats.com, and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. The season’s first Norman-Spencer Marine Retail University was hosted by the Northwest Marine Trade Association in Seattle on September 25.
This professional development program, created specifically for boat retailers, provides in-depth current market data, including industry statistics and trends on a national, regional and specific state basis. The data includes details of the 3% year-over-year increase in fiberglass boat sales and 6% increase in aluminum boat sales, both broken down by brand. Additional presentations range from the “Marine Industry Outlook” to “Decoding the New Sales Funnel” to “The Generation Drives the Strategy.”
“Dealers who attend these Universities walk away with a competitive edge,” said Courtney Chalmers, director of marketing, Boats Group. “The information and statistics we share let them compare their performance against industry standards and make any adjustments necessary.”
Comments from dealers who attended the Seattle session included: “I picked up ideas to implement immediately, especially how to generate more reviews online;” “It was certainly beneficially to bring our entire team;” and “Glad that you shared regional and specific city data about how consumers were searching for boats.”
“The Marine Retail University events expose attendees to a unique combination of local data, national trends and insights into how to use that information to outperform their market competitors,” said Liz Walz, MRAA director of education. “When you add the opportunity to interact with and learn from experts in dealership operations as well as their peers, it’s easy to understand why these events have been so well received.”
The next Norman-Spencer Marine Retail University will be held in Grapevine, TX, on October 13-14, hosted by the Boating Trades Association of Texas. To register for this event, click here . This will be followed by one in Charleston, SC, on Monday, December 9, 2013.