Tag Archives: Column

By Jonathan Sweet What a difference a month makes. The last time I wrote a column for the magazine, the topic was the labor shortage. That is hardly at the top of most businesses’ concerns today. (The long-term trend hasn’t changed, of course, so even now we should be thinking about it.) I have been hearing a surprising number of ...

By David Gee “Words, he decided, were inadequate at best, impossible at worst. They meant too many things. Or they meant nothing at all.” ― Patricia A. McKillip, In the Forests of Serre. To say the world has changed since the printed edition of Boating Industry went to press a couple of weeks ago is an understatement to the point of ridiculousness. ...

By Jonathan Sweet A recent study from The Conference Board paints a disturbing picture of the future of blue-collar labor. For markets like the boating industry that are already facing major shortages, that’s a concerning development. Most notably, the study’s authors say the labor shortage will last until at least 2030 and could develop into the worst labor shortage in ...

By Jonathan Sweet The most important question on the Top 100 application is what dealers have done to get better over the previous years. It’s a recognition that no matter how good a dealership is, it can get better. We’re looking for that constant effort that shows a dedication to continual improvement. At the same time, it’s important that we ...

By David Gee Take a look at that photo. It’s me standing underneath the SE 17th Street Causeway Bridge in Fort Lauderdale, just across the street from Pier 66. As this particular image was taken, the spot where I was standing also served as the entrance to the Superyacht Village at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Behind me at ...

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 ...

As some of the best boat dealers in North America, the Boating Industry Top 100 dealers – and those who apply for the list – offer us great insight into the top issues facing the industry.  As I write this, we're deep into evaluation of this year's applicants. (By the time it's published, the 2018 list will be done.) Here ...

One of the services we offer our clients is to mystery shop their competitors. When traveling, I typically stop at a dealer or two to shop them in person and attend multiple boats shows each season. It's part market research for my clients and part industry research for my team and me.  One of the biggest areas of opportunities I've ...

In late August, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke stole a historical page from John Wesley Powell’s book in issuing a reorganization plan that will divide the agency into 12 regions. Powell was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions.  Powell served as second director of ...

Have you ever been on the Internet and noticed ads following you around everywhere you go? Then, you remember you’d been searching for that exact thing or visited that company’s website. It happens virtually every day. What is it, you ask? The technical term is re-targeting (Facebook/Instagram) and re-marketing (Google Display Network). Imagine someone visits your website and views your ...