Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/601416
December 2015 | Boating Industry | 9 [ 2015 Top 100 ] www.BoatingIndustry.com W hat makes the Top 100 stand out from the other dealers in North America? It's not just about being the biggest. While many of the Top 100 and Hall of Fame are among the largest dealers in North America, it's also about delivering great service, standout marketing and a boating experience that promotes the industry. These are some of the best practices that have helped this year's Top 100 and Hall of Fame achieve more than $2.5 billion in total sales. For more best practices and tips, be sure to read the Best in Class profi les starting on p. 30. Growing globally Recognizing that there is potential outside its home market, Miami Ski Nautique has focused on expanding outside the United States. Miami Ski Nautique continued to create market share in Latin America through exhibiting at boat shows in Colombia, Guatemala and Panama. The company also has worked closely with Florida Gov. Rick Scott's En- terprise Florida Department of Commerce Exportation Group. It sponsored multiple events and athletes throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the effort to create and grow market share through product recognition and relationship building. Representatives from the company also traveled to Cuba with other members of the National Marine Manufacturers Association. "This four-day trip gave us fi rsthand knowledge about Cuba and its boat- ing industry," said owner Kimberley Laursen. "We visited key tourist sites in Havana, a recently built marina in Varadero, older marina complexes and existing boating sites throughout the central region. This trip helped us gain a good understanding of Cuba's culture and market potential that will en- able us to plan for future opportunities." That international approach is refl ected in the staffi ng at Miami Ski Nau- tique: the employees represent 13 different nationalities and 94 percent of the staff is bilingual or trilingual. Streamlining CRM Marine Connection, West Palm Beach, Fla., partnered with Dealership 360 to implement a brand new cloud-based CRM software, which can be accessed by employees remotely via mobile devices, regardless of user's location. "We believe our CRM practices should be robust, accessible, user-friendly and help generate new sales," said owner Danny Goldenberg. "Our Dealer- ship 360 CRM system is simple to use and navigate, keeping all team mem- bers across all three stores up to date with sales opportunities and hitting every possible chance to close a sale or encourage a customer to buy again." The Dealership 360 email and SMS marketing tools allow Marine Con- nection to reach out to its customers in a more timely manner, keeping them informed of special events and new products, and allowing the dealer- ship to personalize its communication with them. "As a result, it has helped us streamline our lead-management process and gather more information about our existing customers and prospects," Goldenberg said. "Their reporting tool for day-to-day sales operations has allowed management to have visibility of all sales activity and customer communication, and made our lead-response time much faster." The CRM captures information from online leads, as well as those col- lected by sales associates. The dealership manager receives a notifi cation and can then use a computer or mobile device to push that lead to the staff person who is best equipped to handle that particular sale. The staff member who receives that lead is responsible for reaching out to the customer in a timely manner. All leads are automated in real-time to allow dealership managers to maximize each and every opportunity for a sale. 24/7 availability WakeSide Marine, Elkhart, Ind., likes to measure its customer service against some of the best businesses in the world. "We know our customers also shop at Nordstrom's, Lexus and Southwest Airlines – companies that get customer service right," said president Jeff Ha- radine. "Therefore, we are always looking to fi nd ways to offer better service." BEST PRACTICES OF THE TOP 100 Marine Connection partnered with Dealership 360 to implement a brand new cloud-based CRM software, which can be accessed by employees remotely via mobile devices, regardless of user's location. WakeSide implemented a new 24-hour emergency service program.