Blogs

By Bill Yeargin If you lead an organization and care about the boating industry, you need to join me May 8-10 in Washington D.C. at the American Boating Congress (ABC). It may be the single best way you can help our industry and your business. ABC is a unique opportunity to meet with congressional leaders, congressional staff, and others from ...

By Wanda Kenton Smith While some industries took a beating during COVID, many in the outdoor power and marine space were clobbered by unprecedented product demand. While sales and profits spiked, retailers grappled with the challenge of inventory limitations, associated supply chain and manufacturing production slowdowns.    As we venture into 2023, the cycle has shifted, inventory is building and ...

By Mark Overbye I want one. A flamethrower. Not sure why, I guess I’m intrigued by how they came to be.  There’s a guy over there I’d really like to start on fire. Too far away to use a match. If he sees me approaching he may not ignite while he’s running away. So it’s best to be further away. The element of surprise ...

By Ryan Kloppe From raising a boat’s sails on the wide-open ocean to spending a day cruising the lake, recreational boating has been more popular than ever over the last few years. Recreational boating saw record sales in 2020, with more Americans spending time on the water to escape from the hustle and bustle on land. According to the U.S. ...

By Jeff Backus So you're working with a customer, and they have decided on the perfect boat. They are ready to buy, you submit to the banks, and boom: decline, decline, decline. Dead deal and everyone goes home unhappy. So what happened? Let's talk about everything you can do to get more deals bought and more customers out on the ...

By Erin Ruane How should dealerships approach emerging technology, like electric boats, that may be unfamiliar to shoppers? To help dealers craft informed strategies, Boatline, an online marketplace for buying and selling watercraft, is sharing insight from a recent survey of marine consumers to identify current electric boat trends and tips for selling them. Current electric boat trends Among survey ...

By Sarah Prellwitz If you’re struggling with your website’s SEO, you’re not alone. A HubSpot survey revealed the top three challenges for SEO in 2022 are 1) staying up to date on changes to search engine algorithms, 2) ranking highly in search results and 3) identifying useful keywords. These challenges aren’t surprising – because they aren’t new. Brands have struggled ...

By Sarah Prellwitz If you manage multiple store locations for your dealership, you understand the importance of maintaining a consistent brand experience across all locations. After all, it doesn’t bode well for your brand’s reputation if customers have a vastly different experience when they visit another location. The expectation for brand continuity extends to your online presence. Odds are, your ...

By Bill Yeargin Many people don’t realize how close the pandemic and related supply chain issues have come to both shutting down the U.S. economy and putting our national security at significant risk. And the risk was largely related to semiconductor chips. 92% of semiconductor chips are made outside the U.S., and these chips are in almost everything. According to ...

By Mark Overbye Confusing innovation with novelty can be lethal. When I started Gekko Boats years ago there were plenty of daily reminders that we swam in a pool filled with sharks. A young company in a capital intensive, seasonal and cyclical business meant continually sharpening our knives. Committed to our craft, we eagerly showed up. When Toyota entered the ...