By Jonathan Sweet When people talk about diversity, the first thing that usually comes to mind is ethnic and racial diversity. But the truth is most of us are now facing a workforce that is also diverse when it comes to generational differences. Consider that for some businesses, there are five generations in the workforce: the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, ...

By Jonathan Sweet Here at Boating Industry, we have been recognizing the best boat dealers in North America for 15 years. Every company on this year’s list is worthy of recognition. And I’m thrilled to see a record number of new applicants bring a fresh perspective to the program in 2019. At the same time, we’d be remiss if we ...

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 ...

This year we will be celebrating the 15th year of the Top 100. Since 2005, Boating Industry and the Leadership Alliance have recognized the best boat dealers in North America for their financial success, marketing, customer service, industry advocacy and overall business acumen. The 2019 Top 100 will culminate with the annual Top 100 Gala, Nov. 24, at the Rosen ...

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 ...

Over the last decade the boating industry has seen both sides of the inventory challenge.  In the 2007-09 period, we saw dealers stuck with way too many boats when the housing market – and then the rest of the economy – crashed. With dealers dropping left and right and consumers defaulting on loans, excess inventory and repossessed vessels flooded the ...

When we look at the dealers that apply for the Boating Industry Top 100, one of the most important factors is how they improve from year to year. No matter how good a company is, it can always get better. That is what makes the best dealers stand out from the thousands of boat dealers in North America. And like ...

Mark’s Marine Hayden, Idaho The dealers in the Top 100 represent the elite of the boating industry – those that are judged by the team at Boating Industry to be the best dealers in North America. Within that 100, many dealers are called out for special recognition – the Dealer of the Year and the Top 20 that qualify as ...

This month’s issue features Boating Industry Magazine’s Top 100 as we honor the best boat dealers in North America for the 13th time. This year’s Top 100 is stronger than we’ve ever seen in the history of the program. Total revenue for the 2017 Top 100 dealers and Hall of Fame topped $3 billion for the first time – up ...