Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/601416
TOP 100 www.BoatingIndustry.com 52 | Boating Industry | December 2015 AS THE FIRST MEMBER of the Boating Industry Top 100 Hall of Fame, MarineMax has been setting the standard for marine dealers for years. The 2005 and 2006 Dealer of the Year, while certainly aiming for growth, also sees the importance of the industry working to- gether to further its goals. "We're all thinking globally and then act- ing locally," said Abbey Heimensen, director of marketing. "Of course everyone wants to make money and we all want to sell boats, but we also know that if we don't have clean water, if we don't have the right prices on fuel, if the taxes get out of control when they buy a boat, it's not good for any of us." Participating in industry associations and education are all part of those efforts. "Working with our counterparts through- out the United States … and being part of MDCE and part of Top 100 and part of Dis- cover Boating is really important, just to get more people into this crazy thing that we all just are absolutely in love with," Heimensen said. "How can we all work together and support this industry and get people into something that's going to absolutely change their lives?" MarineMax has also continued to im- prove its marketing, a major emphasis in 2013 and 2014. Most recently, the company launched MarineMaxYachts.com, a site built from the ground up by its in-house IT and marketing team. With the yacht segment of its business continuing to grow, it was important to make sure that those customers knew about all of MarineMax's services, Heimensen said. "We understand that we have an array of customers from 19-foot jet boats to 100-foot yachts … and they need to be treated in differ- ent ways," she said. "We needed an outlet to let that big boat owner and prospects know that MarineMax has the staff to have you covered." To help its more than 50 locations im- prove their marketing, MarineMax expanded its marketing team to include seven regional marketing coordinators. "Not only do we need a team here, we also recognize that we need to have someone on the ground to help grassroots efforts," Hei- mensen said. The company also added an in-house digital marketing specialist to handle all of its search engine optimization, pay-per-click and more. MarineMax wanted someone who would be able to work directly with the stores and react quickly to the company's needs. "We needed to have somebody who was right here on the ground and could under- stand it – someone who would be able to work directly with our analytics team, our IT team," Heimensen said. "As fast as the boating industry moves, we don't have time to call a third party [company] if we want to get some- thing done right away." Those investments are important as Marine- Max continues to see a growing market. "We're seeing people talk about boating, they're shopping, they're coming to boat shows," Heimensen said. "They really are finally ready to commit." MARINEMAX IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT industry than it was just five years ago when Prince William marine won its first Dealer of the Year award. The two-time (2010 and 2011) winner, though, has continued to innovate as it looks to find ways to get better every year no mat- ter what the market throws at it. "Keeping a positive attitude toward the recovery in the industry and keeping a positive atmosphere among the employ- ees pushes us to continue to improve," said owner Carlton Phillips. The dealership added Bayliner boats late in 2013, giving it an entry-level offering to pair with its flagship Sea Rays. Prince Wil- liam has already grabbed a double-digit market share since adding the line. Another addition was the Gibbs Quadski. "Having that product has opened up ac- cess for us to attend other boat/car/motor- cycle shows along the East Coast with this new product," Phillips said. "With the new product lines we made substantial changes to our boat show footprint and display … focusing different areas in the booth on different brands." Having experienced great success with the Sea Ray/Costco partnership, Prince William looked to another warehouse store – BJ's Wholesale Club – and contracted with the chain to display its Sea Ray, Bayliner and Quadski products at local stores. One of the strengths that sets Prince Wil- liam apart from most dealers is its marina club and how it has leveraged that strength to create a powerful brand. Prince William continued to invest in the marina and restaurant in 2014, upgrad- ing and replacing lighting, signage, furniture, rails, docking and more. Additional storage has also allowed Prince William to perform more winter service work, just one of several changes to the parts and service departments in 2014. The company added a new parts manager and service dispatcher and launched a re- vised wash/detail service with discount packages, which has driven increased sales in that department. Prince William also revamped its weekly service and parts meetings to make them more productive. By reviewing weekly parts and open work order reports, the management team has been able to im- prove departmental efficiency and batter manage expenses. "This weekly meeting is vital to keeping an eye on the parts/service/sales aspect of re- pairs so things don't get missed or slip through the cracks during busy times," Phillips said. PRINCE WILLIAM MARINE WOODBRIDGE, VA.