The days of the “order taker” are over. No longer can a retailer continue doing business the same way as in the past. Look for opportunities, experiment, try something new and monitor the results. (Read More…)

Knowing we need something to smile about in this distressed economy, I thought I would share this tidbit with you. (Read More…)

Boating industry poobahs (not me) held a meeting at the Miami Boat Show in February and I understand the hot topic was women.

It’s not what you think. (Read More…)

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of TV commercials touting the new cars, their prices and monthly payments. I appreciated seeing the monthly prices; a concept the boating industry should adopt. (Read More…)

I’m curious about something. What are dealers and manufacturers doing to lure women, minorities, unmarried and anyone under the age of 45 into boating? (Read More…)

Hi all. I’ve been lurking on the Soundings Trade Today site and reading Wanda’s insightful marketing blogs for sometime and thought I’d regularly add my 2¢ to see if we can all benefit more from this section. Especially in light of the fact that we’re all in the same boat, trying to make the best of our advertising resources in light of a low performing marine marketplace. (Read More…)

I had dinner the other night with a busy industry executive who said something interesting. He has the money to buy a boat, but questioned why he’d make that investment when he’d probably use it once or twice. (Read More…)

My last two Trade Only marketing columns have chronicled and championed my personal motorcycling “learn to ride” experience that ultimately led to the sale of two Harleys in a short window of time. Through this amazing experience, I’ve become a vocal advocate for this concept and believe we are missing the boat and quite literally losing sales opportunities by not linking boater education to sales. (Read More…)

In my August Trade Only marketing column, I proposed that we seriously consider boating’s overall brand image. When you think of boating, what should be the first image that comes to mind? (Read More…)

I’d love to connect with boating industry folks who ride! Fun to get a bunch of us together at a boat show or something and ride together! (Read More…)