“Through communication with our Canadian dealers,
we’ve identified specific areas where Brunswick can
leverage its resources to help our dealers build long-term
value in their businesses. Stronger dealers contribute
to stronger Brunswick brands.”
Gordon Bay Marine has recently
opened a Land ‘N’ Sea Boating Store
in their marina. The bright window
photos are attractive.
This flexibility is one of the most attractive aspects. You don’t
have to be a big volume dealer to benefit, nor do you have to
sign up for everything to get the select options you need.
Our purpose in running this article in Boating Industry
Canada is to encourage small dealers to look at the program
with an eye to boosting your odds of success in this potentially tough 2009 market.
We know it will be a challenging year due to floor planning
issues and general economic conditions. We appreciate that
when things get tough, it’s really hard to work harder, do more,
or raise the bar.
But perhaps for your business, the Brunswick Dealer
Advantage program can help.
As you might expect, the biggest and most successful dealers have the resources to effectively tap the program, and we
talked to Chris Wert at Hurst Marina and Bruce Cleland at
Gordon Bay about their experience.
Yes, they are both big and successful
dealers, but they still started some place.
We asked Chris Wert what he would
say to a dealer who isn’t yet a part of
Brunswick Dealer Advantage. Chris said,
“Why not use one part at least”?
Chris’ daughter Sarah has applied for
a university scholarship through the
Brunswick Dealer Advantage program.
That money can be very important to a
young person saving for their education,
especially if they live in a cottage country
area, where high-paying summer jobs
are few and far between. Brunswick
awards a number of scholarships each
year in both the US and Canada.
Another valuable program is the Footsteps lead-manage-ment solution from Channel Blade. This tool helps dealers convert more leads into sales by providing everything from automatically generated response emails or letters to a customer
history showing the interactions, results and current status of
prospects and customers from various lead sources. For example, a customer visits the Sea Ray web site and requests more
information. The manufacturer sends out a brochure to the
potential customer and then instantly populates the Hurst
Marina Footsteps database with the customer information. As
Chris Wert noted, “Customer service is key in this industry and
this source of knowledge helps us get closer to the customer.”
The Brunswick Dealer Advantage program also offers a discount on Channel Blade’s web site design and development
services. Dealers can choose from custom designs or template
