In This Issue

The seventh annual Boating Industry Top Products brings to you 50 of the recreational marine industry’s best new and innovative products and services to recently hit the market, ranging from boats to engines to electronics and much more. To be eligible for consideration, products or services had to have been introduced or significantly updated since January 2019. With over 175 ...

40 young leaders blazing a trail of success in the recreational boating industry By Adam Quandt Boating Industry’s annual recognition program of outstanding young leaders in the marine industry highlights a unique group of individuals that stand out from their industry peers. Selected from over 200 nominations from across the industry, this year’s group features strong young leaders from all ...

By David Gee The boat buying public is fully on board for outboards. Retail sales increased for the eighth consecutive year in 2019, nearly reaching pre-recession levels with a 13-year high. “We’re seeing the trend in consumer demand for higher performance engines continue with outboard engine sales growth in 2019 led by engines 200hp-plus, accounting for 27% of sales, and ...

By David Gee Start a marina by following these nine steps. 1) Plan your business. 2) Determine your costs. 3) Figure out your ongoing expenses. 4) Figure out your target market. 5) Figure out all the different ways to make money. 6) Figure out how much to charge. 7) Figure what your profit might be. 8) Figure out how you ...

By David Gee The economy, consumer confidence and the elections. Those three things will to a large extent likely determine what kind of year boat dealers are going to have in 2020. “Overall economic conditions” once again topped the list of biggest concerns for those Boating Industry readers who responded to this year’s industry forecast survey. About 82% of the ...

Boating Industry has recognized eight companies with special “Best in Class” awards, for Top 100 companies that particularly excelled in one area of their business. Below are the Best in Class award recipients for 2019. Best Customer Service — Jerry’s Majestic Marine, Lake Geneva, Wis.Best Service Department — Causeway Marine Sales LLC, Manahawkin, N.J.Best Marketing — Marine Sales Group, Memphis, Tenn.Best ...

By Adam Quandt The statement powering through would be an understatement for Johnstown, Colorado’s Colorado Boat Center and its perseverance through both good and bad. Located about 40 miles north of Denver, the Colorado dealership is laid out over three acres, with two buildings totaling 16,000 square feet of space. Construction of the dealership’s main, 14,000-square-foot building was completed in ...

By Jonathan Sweet From landing sales to managing expectations in the service department, communication is essential to keeping customers happy. Poor customer communication can sink a company. It’s a simple undertaking, but one on which companies consistently fall short. Customers will quickly bail on a company that doesn’t deliver a good customer experience. Nearly two-thirds of customers rank customer experience ...

By Matt Sellhorst The other day I was researching some Facebook boating groups to keep up to date with the conversations real consumers are having with each other. One post in particular caught my attention. Here’s the short version of the story. A gentleman was looking for the updated 2020 pricing for some options he wanted on a boat he ...

By David Gee To paraphrase something Mark Twain may – or may not – have once said: The rumors of the death of the sterndrive are greatly exaggerated. Now before we get a bunch of angry emails asking who in fact declared the category dead, the answer is no one. Not today. Maybe not ever. Though it’s a fact that ...