Tag Archives: Marketing Strategies for Growth

By Mark Overbye Confusing innovation with novelty can be lethal. When I started Gekko Boats years ago there were plenty of daily reminders that we swam in a pool filled with sharks. A young company in a capital intensive, seasonal and cyclical business meant continually sharpening our knives. Committed to our craft, we eagerly showed up. When Toyota entered the ...

By David Gee Do you make – and sell – boats, or family memory-making machines? Are you focused on turning glass into cash, or do you see your role as something loftier, such as playing a part in improving people’s mental health, or reducing stress in demonstrable ways? When I was at the recent Miami International Boat Show I ran ...

By Mark Overbye Setting speed, capacity and size records, the straight-deck bulk carrier Edward L. Ryerson plied the Great Lakes for over 50 years. At its completion, the steamer was 730 feet long, containing four cargo holds and reaching a service speed of 16.75 miles per hour. Its crew totaled 37, and it could accommodate eight additional guests, in lavish ...

By Myril Shaw Let’s start with this – 80% of “cash” buyers are not using liquid cash. What does that mean? When a customer walks in and says that they are paying cash, the odds are that they talked to their local bank or credit union, that they are using part of a home equity line, that they are selling ...

By Mark Overbye If you are subject to a management team that identifies and potentially leans on having a Plan B, run away. They’re not committed and will be outrun and gunned by those competitors more devoted to their own success. They doubt. There are lots of stories about doubters, famous even, like Doubting Thomas. Doubt is the opposite of ...

By Harry Casimir In the United States, one in five people have a disability. And yet, only 10% of the internet is web accessible. The American Disabilities Act was developed in 1990 and declares that all places of public accommodation remove any access barriers that would inhibit a person with disabilities from accessing the business’s goods and services – including ...

By Joe Iribarren These are hard times for many businesses across the globe, including obviously boat dealers. Local governments are forcing some to close completely, some are open for parts and service alone, others are selling virtually, and so on. Regardless of your particular situation, everyone is trying to figure out how to adapt to this ever-changing landscape quickly. I ...

By Myril Shaw Are you offering all of your customers all of the optional protective products you can? If the answer is yes, congratulations…you are part of a pretty small club.  If the answer is no, you are probably leaving money on the table. Going back to the “yes” answer, are you making sure your customers know they have been ...

By David Gee Stories and sales go together. Stories connect us. They can be your differentiator in a crowded, chaotic, commoditized marketplace. That’s because your story is unique. No one else has your founding myth, your organization’s DNA. Stories will help your current or potential clients and customers listen longer and buy quicker. But you – or your products or ...