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www.BoatingIndustry.com www.BoatingIndustry.com 16 | Boating Industry | March 2014 MONTHLY RESEARCH whether it be through their own website, social media outlets or email marketing. Although its already the top marketing method, 61 percent of respondents plan to put more attention on their website this year. Only 1 percent expect it to be less important to their company's marketing efforts. Fifty-seven per- cent plan to use email marketing more this year and 55 percent expect to spend more on inter- net advertising. Social media will also get more attention, with 54 percent saying Facebook will be more important to their marketing in 2014. Twenty- pany website as the most important tool, com- pared with only 18 percent of manufacturers. (For a complete breakdown by category, check out the charts above and on p. 17.) Overall, boat shows and email marketing also scored well. Sixty-four percent of respon- dents participated in boat shows in 2013 and 61 percent reported using email marketing. Facebook (at 55 percent) and print advertising (50 percent) were the only other marketing methods used by at least half of respondents. While Facebook continues to get the bulk of attention from marketers in the marine (and other) industries, other social media sites were not as popular: only 16 percent reported using outlets such as Twitter, Pinterest or YouTube. When it comes to effectiveness, 19 percent cited boat shows as their most effective form of marketing in 2013. That was second only to the 25 percent listing the company website. Website advertising (14 percent) and email marketing (12 percent) were the only other two to be identifi ed by more than 10 percent as their most effective tactic. Website adver- tising is particularly interesting, as only 44 percent reported using it in 2013. That means nearly a third of those who did buy website advertising last year found it to be their most effective tactic. Of the other marketing methods, 8 percent said events were their most effective, while no other one topped 5 percent. Going digital Most companies expect to put a lot more emphasis on their digital marketing in 2014, New research shows blending of new and traditional BY JONATHAN SWEET Companies in the marine industry are increas- ing their digital marketing, but still rely on more traditional methods as well. That's according to the latest monthly sur- vey of Boating Industry readers, which focused on marketing. We surveyed dealers, manufac- turers, suppliers and others in January to fi nd out about their marketing efforts and how they expect them to change this year. We also asked respondents to identify their primary business. For simplicity's sake in this article we've divided them into two groups of "dealers" (boat and engine dealers, marinas, boatyards and other retailers) and "manufactur- ers" (manufacturers, suppliers, service provid- ers, distributors, etc.). Websites, boat shows top list More than eight in 10 respondents reported using a company website for marketing their business in 2013. That was easily the most popular way to market last year, according to this month's sur- vey. It was also ranked as the most useful mar- keting tool, cited by nearly 25 percent as the most useful in 2013. That was one area where dealers and manufacturers differed, though. Among those retailers, 29 percent cited a com- Websites, boat shows top marketing tactics CURRENT CONDITIONS January 52.8 December 49.6 FUTURE EXPECTATIONS January 68.1 December 58.6 BOATING INDUSTRY In our new recurring feature, we'll be tracking the optimism of Boating Industry readers to help us get a read on the industry. A reading of zero means equal numbers of people expect growth as do contraction, so any number above zero is a positive. INDEX MANUFACTURERS 1. Company website ........................... 79.5% 2. Email marketing .............................. 59.0% 3. Boat shows ..................................... 58.5% 4. Print advertising .............................. 48.7% 5. Facebook ........................................ 45.1% 6. Web advertising .............................. 41.0% 7. Events ............................................. 39.0% 8. Direct mail ...................................... 25.6% 9. Other social media .......................... 17.4% 10. TV/Radio ........................................... 9.7% 11. Yellow pages ..................................... 6.2% 12. Billboards .......................................... 4.6% TOP MARKETING TACTICS PERCENT WHO USED IN 2013 MARKETING TACTICS FOR 2014 MANUFACTURERS DEALERS Boat shows 21% Company website 18% Email marketing 16% Web advertising 15% Events 11% Print advertising 7% Direct mail 5% Other 7% Company website 29% Boat shows 19% Web advertising 13% Email marketing 8% Events 7% TV/Radio 6% Facebook 5% Direct mail 5% Other 8% MOST SUCCESSFUL MARKETING TACTICS PERCENT THAT RANKED IT AS MOST USEFUL IN 2013 MORE IMPORTANT SAME LESS IMPORTANT Print advertising 13% 58% 29% Web advertising 55% 36% 9% Company website 61% 38% 1% Email marketing 57% 39% 4% Facebook 54% 41% 5% Other social media 22% 59% 19% Direct mail 23% 58% 19% Billboards 5% 65% 30% TV/Radio 12% 59% 29% Boat shows 20% 68% 12% Events 38% 56% 6% Yellow pages 1% 52% 47% P16x17-BI14MAR-MonthlyResearch.indd 16 2/7/14 10:16 AM