2014 Best in Class: Best Marketing

2014 Best Marketing: 

MarineMax, Inc. 

Clearwater, Fla.

2013 marked the first full year for the in-house marketing team at MarineMax and the team has certainly made an impact. The marketing team has improved MarineMax’s digital portfolio and constantly researches new initiatives to reach current and potential customers, building upon MarineMax’s bar-setting reputation in the industry.

MarineMax’s marketing team is comprised of 12 individuals and supports more than 55 MarineMax stores across the U.S., building consumer awareness of the company as a premium brand. The team works on all of MarineMax’s design and production, website maintenance, email blasts and any other marketing aspects the company needs. The team is split in two and manages either the eastern or western region.

“That helps us stay really close to the stores when it comes to their day-to-day planning and needs locally,” said Josie Tucci, vice president of marketing at MarineMax. “That enables us to understand what’s going on in each region because they’re so different.”

Part of the marketing team is specifically responsible for lifestyle marketing. It manages relationships with manufacturers to keep ahead of new product lines and communication for these brands based on the customer’s interests.

The team utilizes Google Analytics with in-house reporting and market share data to follow industry trends. Some of the tools it uses include FANs (Net Promoter Score), Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Click Dimensions (an email marketing platform integrated into CRM), inventory position, market share, bottom line profitability and cash flow.

In 2013, the e-commerce team launched the brand new MarineMax website and has continued to expand to meet the needs of customers and develop creative ways to promote the website.

“We know that our customers and prospects lead very busy lives and the Internet is an excellent tool for us to meet their lifestyle needs,” said William H. McGill, Jr., CEO of MarineMax. “MarineMax has made it easy for visitors to find their perfect boat, boating lifestyle and favorite MarineMax events to attend.”

MarineMax has seen tangible results as a result of the implementation. Unique visit to the website grew 28 percent and total online leads grew 29 percent.

In conjunction with the website, MarineMax places a heavy emphasis on social media. Its social portfolio includes four Facebook pages dedicated to specific boating lifestyles – yachting, leisure, fishing and watersports – and over 30 store location pages. MarineMax’s social media presence has also helped the company market the Customer Getaway trips to its new boat purchasers.

“By using social media,” McGill said, “customers are able to share their boating experiences, access information and learn about the advantages that come with the MarineMax brand.”

MarineMax’s social media presence reaches further beyond Facebook, with active postings on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Thanks to the efforts of the in-house marketing team, MarineMax’s social media following has doubled in the past year.

“[Social media’s purpose] is to share people’s experiences on the water, get them engaged and learn what they’re interested in as well,” said Tucci.