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18 | Boating Industry | April 2014 [ 18 Solutions to Boost Sales ] www.BoatingIndustry.com www.BoatingIndustry.com showroom. The approach drove people to the showroom, where Traverse Bay could display more than they ever could at the show. The dealership closed nine more units during that time than they had the previous year. In fact, the booth concept worked so well that Traverse Bay leased a 10x10 booth at the Detroit Boat Show, 250 miles south of the dealership. The exhibit allowed Traverse Bay to reach large number of boaters and boat prospects that have summer homes up north but live in the south Michigan area, and resulted in five units sold, plus marketing exposure. CUSTOMER SERVICE Great customer service aims for more that sat- isfaction – it's about creating those raving fans that will tell their friends, family and coworkers all about you and drive more business your way. Davey Marine, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., started taking video of the prep and delivery of clients' new boats. Those videos can then be shared by the buyers with their friends, social media networks and more. "Our clients, especially the ones that are wait- ing to have their new boat shipped to them, have told us how much they appreciated these simple videos," said marketing director Rosanna Aiello. Pride Marine Group, a 10-location dealer headquartered in Bracebridge, Ontario, launched the Pride Passport program to stimulate customer loyalty. The Pride Pass- port is included with every new boat sale, to give the customer "worry-free boating" through the first boating year. The passport includes storage, maintenance and various discounts from Pride and third-party suppliers. "The customer's get in the habit of coming to us in their first year of boating so that they are now coming back in subsequent years to have Pride maintain their boating needs," said owner Paul Nickel. Alberta Marina, Nanton, Alberta, cre- ated a VIP Program to encourage its customers to do more business with them. Cus- tomers that join the program get a VIP card, notice of special sales, welcome gift, storage and service discount and more. "The storage itself makes us little money, but the boats are here so we get fall winterizing and winter service," said president Greg Beauchamp. "We also will be using a tag, with a string to tie onto winches on trailers parked at the area lakes. When the boaters get back from a day on the lake, they will find a coupon attached to their trailer, with a special on it." Rambo Marine approaches each cus- tomer as a new boater. "Even if the customer has been around boats their entire life, we feel it is our responsibility to give a thorough introduction and explanation of operating procedures," said Bennett Rambo, 5. 7. 9. 10. 11. 8. 6. P16x20-BI14APR-18Solutions.indd 18 3/13/14 4:18 PM