Tag Archives: 2017 Best in Class

Best Events Oak Hill Marina Arnolds Park, Iowa Community dedication comes to the forefront when Oak Hill Marina staff start looking at the coming year’s calendar. Many of the dealership’s year-round events are organized with the goal of raising money for entities and organizations in need. Marina staff joined forces with the Foundation for Exceptional Warriors for a new June event ...

Best New Idea Clark Marine Manchester, Maine  Incorporating video blogs into an overall dealership social media strategy has given Clark Marine owner and partner Rob Brown a new appreciation of content marketing’s staying power. The “Rob’s Vlogs” series also has given Clark Marine a personality, and created an advanced trust, especially with new customers, Brown says. During the 2016 calendar year, ...

Most Innovative Futrell Marine Nashville, Ark. Futrell Marine has a storied history filled with innovative approaches to business improvement. The dealership was founded in 1948 by Dan Futrell, who began selling Mercury outboard motors from a small store on Main Street in Nashville, Ark. Dan was a huge boat racing proponent in the 1950s and passed his love of boating ...

Best Service Department Off Shore Marine Branchville, N.J. Each year Off Shore Marine adopts a service department theme word to address an area that’s problematic. The goal is creating a new perspective when change is needed to solve a service department challenge. “The last two years have shown tremendous growth in our business,” says Off Shore Marine President Louis Cecchini. “With ...

Best Marketing Pride Marine Group Ltd.  Bracebridge, Ontario From social media to augmented reality, anything and everything digital was at the forefront of Pride Marine Group’s marketing strategy in 2016. The Canadian dealer group focused its marketing efforts – both increased digital and limited traditional – on their newly defined target market, known to the company as “Roger.” Pride Marine ...

Best Training & Benefits Legend Boats Whitefish, Ontario Legend Boats uses a two-prong approach in making sure new as well as existing dealership employees receive the best training possible to serve customers. A new team member does not start until they have a completed a detailed two- to four-week training schedule, says Legend Boats Co-CEO Jamie Dewar. That training begins with ...

Best Customer Service Port Harbor Marine South Portland, Maine Port Harbor Marine places customer loyalty above CSI scores when it comes to fostering a dealership service focus. “Our strategy is designed to improve the store first and then use mechanisms to insure we are getting the scores we deserve,” says Port Harbor Marine President Rob Soucy. “The first thing we work ...

Best Boat Show Strategy Lake Union Sea Ray Seattle, Wash. Lake Union Sea Ray’s flagship Seattle location might be in the shadow of the Seattle Space Needle, but the company’s presence and performance at boat shows over the past year scales an equally impressive height. The dealership dedicated between 50 and 60 percent of its marketing budget for three 2016 boat ...

Below are the Best in Class award recipients for 2017. Boating Industry recognized eight companies with special “Best in Class” awards, for Top 100 companies that particularly excelled in one area of their business. Best Boat Show Strategy – Lake Union Sea Ray, Seattle, Wash. Best Customer Service – Port Harbor Marine, South Portland, Maine Best Events – Oak Hill Marine, ...