Best In Class: Clark Marine

Clark Marine (Ranked 31) is small, and owner Rob Brown loves it that way. Brown has made a conscious decision not to branch out into other markets to avoid watering down the effectiveness of his company. “By understanding our personnel and financial abilities, we have chosen to remain exceptional in one territory as opposed to being mediocre in two,” he explains. And being exceptional is no joke. For its size, Clark competes right up there with the best of dealerships when it comes to making the customer happy. Most of that is due to Brown’s never-ending desire to improve and his belief in what is most important to him and his company. Although he may joke at a good portion of what many others take so seriously, he buckles down and studies the key ingredients to success, then he takes it upon himself to teach his employees what he has learned. That ranges from sales and service tactics to the ultra-complex subject of Six Sigma. It’s a philosophy that is built upon his No. 1 belief: “I feel the single most important measure of a business’ success is not found in the ‘hail to the bottom line’; it is contained in the lives of the people that make up that company.” For Brown, that philosophy has delivered to the bottom line and has made Clark the highest-ranking dealer with revenue under $3 million.