By Wanda Kenton Smith, Kenton Smith Marketing

Smart companies know marketing is something they cannot afford to live without, which is why when budgets get tight, they find ways to stretch their dollars further. After three decades in the business, Wanda Kenton Smith has learned how to do just that and will be sharing a number of proven marketing strategies at this year’s Marine Dealer Conference & Expo.

Kenton Smith, a trained journalist with a 30+-year publishing, marketing and media career that includes 11 years as vice president of marketing for a major independent marine manufacturer, 14 years as president of a $20 million full service ad agency/PR firm, national marketing columnist and current marketing consultant, will present an eight-point strategy to teach attendees how to maximize their marketing with minimal investment. The presentation is part of the Sales & Marketing track at the 2010 MDCE, scheduled for Nov. 14-17 in Orlando, Fla.

In her presentation, Kenton Smith will cite real-world examples from successful dealers to drive home her message about how to get the most from your marketing dollar.

“Some dealers make the mistake of cutting back on or eliminating their marketing altogether when times get tough,” Kenton Smith said. “A much better strategy is to market smarter, and there are proven methods, which I’ll share in this presentation, to spread your marketing message without a huge investment of time or money.”

Attendees will learn about the power of customer retention, the power of connection, the power of high market visibility, the power of PR, the power of special events, the power of cross-promotions, the power of Web-based marketing strategies and the power of going viral. All the strategies discussed will focus on getting high returns from a minimal investment.

To learn more about “Power Forward: Eight Proven High Impact, Low Cost Marketing Strategies,” make plans to attend the 2010 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, to be held in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 14-17. With three concurrent educational tracks and more than 20 individual educational sessions, this event has been designed to help dealers return to the growth phase they knew prior to the economic downturn.

Kenton Smith’s “Power Forward” is preceded by “The Myth of Price,” a presentation on how to make more money by simply discounting less and charging more, as part of MDCE’s Sales & Marketing track. It will be followed by presentations on the keys to succeeding as a 24/7 marine dealer, converting online leads into sales profits, immediate results using search engine marketing and closing sales in a difficult economy. The Service Department track will be held concurrently, with a focus on how to be a successful service advisor, solving your most troubling service problems, Web strategies for service profits, operational excellence and financial management for service managers and more.

While the Sales & Marketing track is perfect for sales managers and marketing managers and the service track will help strengthen any service manager or advisor, the newest, most exciting news for the 2010 MDCE is the addition of a third track, geared specifically toward dealer principals, titled Powering Profits. In this track, the educational topics will cover such pressing issues as pay plans, (re)building your culture, how to adopt best practices in your dealership, fact-driven dealer management and of course, myriad best practices to go with them. The event will also feature a general session and two keynote sessions, as well.

“We’ve covered all the bases with the education this year, making quality content, specific to service managers, sales managers, marketing managers and dealership principals alike, available in an unprecedented format,” explains Matt Gruhn, publisher of Boating Industry magazine, which partners with the Marine Retailers Association of America to produce the MDCE. “This will, without question, be the best line-up of education this event has ever produced.”