The Marine Dealer Conference & Expo recently announced its dates and locations for next year. If you missed the news, it will be held November 11-14 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel and Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Those of you who attended the event in 2010 will remember that this is the second time the event has been based ...

HOUSTON, Texas - Unpredictable circumstances, including an NFL playoff game and major flooding due to heavy rains, caused attendance to drop at this year's Houston International Boat, Sport and Travel Show. Houston Boat Show President Ken Lovell said in a release that despite the closing and the weather, the show saw larger than anticipated crowds and a 15-percent boost in ...

VALENCIA, Calif. - Howard Custom Boats is teaming up with Dustin Richter of Menace Marine to provide full service repair and factory authorized Mercury Marine/Mercruiser service out of its new, larger facility in Valencia, Calif. Richter is a certified Mercruiser technician with five years at GT Performance and a background in motor repair and service, stern drive repairs and upgrades, ...

WASHINGTON - New amendments to the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act are set to go into effect on Jan. 30 that define the scope of act within the recreational marine industry. The new guidelines set rules for what constitutes a recreational vessel and what the definition of an employee is for industries covered by the act. With the new ...

TARBORO, N.C. - The PowerCat Group is launching a new DemoACat promotion in 2012, beginning at regional boat shows and leading into a final launch at the Miami International Boat Show in February. The promotion offers boat buyers a chance to ride in one of PowerCat's boats. To help dealers push for the on-water demonstrations, PowerCat will reimburse dealerships $100 ...

KENT, Wash. - Sunstream Boat Lifts is hoping that after a year of record sales growth, the company can continue to build on its momentum with the introduction of new products. Sunstream achieved 30 percent year-over-year growth in sales in 2011, which it attributes to its increase in sales of new products in both the recreational and government sectors. The ...

OAHU, Hawaii - A small boat harbor in Oahu will receive $1.48 million from the the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for repairs to two broken piers damaged during a tsunami last year, according to HawaiiNewsNow.com. To read the full story, visit New funding to fix tsunami damage at Oahu harbor - HawaiiNewsNow.com.

Promotions can be a great tool to bring people to your dealership or generate sales leads. But, are you sufficiently promoting your promotion? In a Hubspot Blog article titled “17 Silly Missed Lead Generation Opportunities,” Pamela Vaughan lays out 17 different locations you should be promoting and linking to your special offers. For one, Vaughan recommends strategically placing call-to-action buttons ...

Here's a preview of what you'll get if you attend the 2012 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo.

By Christopher Kourtakis, director of sales and marketing, 360° Industry Solutions — It is hard enough as a business owner to keep up with the day-to-day tasks of running your business.  Add in new sales and marketing practices and there is not enough time in the day to do everything.  Now, with digital profiles and social media, you need to ...