J.D. POWER RANKS BOATS, ENGINES p. 60, 61
® INSIDE: His
assignment seven
years ago was to
transform Mercury
Marine. The job has
been completed,
and Pat Mackey
is retiring. p. 10
THE BOATING BUSINESS NEWSPAPER VOL. XLIV, NO. 9 MARCH 2008
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Dammrich: We’ll ride out ‘rough patch’
NMMA leader says customer satisfaction improvements will help lead industry into better times
Opening day crowds wallk the flloor of the
Miiamii IInternatiionall Boat Show Feb..
14..
By JoAnn W. Goddard / Associate Editor
j.goddard@tradeonlytoday.com
The Miami International Boat Show
kicked off Feb. 14 with an encouraging
speech by Thom Dammrich, president
of the National Marine Manufacturers
Association, who acknowledged the industry is going through a “rough patch”
but sees better times ahead.
Taking an optimistic approach,
Dammrich said the industry’s Grow
Boating Initiative is beginning to pay
dividends, and will play a major role in
the recovery he is convinced is coming.
MELANIE WINTERS
Unit sales of traditional powerboats
were down 14 percent in 2007, and
down 9 percent in dollars, according to
Dammrich.
He blames the slump on the declines
Also from Miami
• Best of the Web honors. p. 22
• Innovation Awards. p. 57
• J.D. Power sees progress. p. 60
in consumer confidence and the sluggish housing market. Historically, boat
sales closely correlate to consumer confidence, which has been trending downward for nearly two years. The troubled
housing market has an impact on the
boating industry, but Dammrich points
out that the problem is regional in nature. Unfortunately, some of the areas
continued on Page 20
“Define the target market,” he advises. “For each target market, ask how,
why, where, when or how much.”
plus
Marketing today is bifurcated, or split in two, Mariotti explains. Engines & Generators
There are two market behaviors, each
with different motives, he says. The line A Trade Only special report
between the two goes up and down,
depending on the stock market and the
housing market.
Selling luxury in a belt-tightening climate
Pros say wealthy still have money, and an insatiable appetite for toys
By Melanie Winters / Associate Editor
m.winters@tradeonlytoday.com
While no one says selling boats and
other luxury items in a tough economic
climate is easy, marketing experts say it
can be done.
It’s a matter of knowing what motivates your customers, targeting your approach to their specific needs, and coming up with creative ways to draw new
people into boating.
“We don’t know if there is a recession
now,” says Edward M. Mazze, author of
“The Affluent Consumer” and professor
of business administration at the University of Rhode Island. “What we do
know is consumers and businesses have
lost confidence in the ability to solve
what we’re going through.”
Nevertheless, he says, “There are still
a lot of people out there making a substantial amount of money. Multimillion
dollar homes are still selling; it may take
longer, but they’re selling.”
As for the lower and middle ends of
the economic scale, Mazze says, “These
people may slow some expenses, but
they rarely will slow down on items
they feel they deserve.”
The most important part of marketing
is deciding what you want to sell and to
whom, says John Mariotti, author of
two marketing books — “Smart Marketing” and “Marketing Express.”
Mariotti is president and CEO of The
Enterprise Group, a coalition of time-shared executive advisers, based in
Powell, Ohio.
It’s an ‘investment’
People at the lower end of the economic spectrum are looking for a high
value alternative to expensive vacations
and other pursuits. For them, a boat can
be considered an investment.
“They’re thinking, ‘I deserve it, but I
continued on Page 31
n Generator manufacturers have
taken the carbon monoxide hazard
out of their products. p. 24
n Advanced controls and emissions-reducing catalysts are all selling
points on the new inboards. p. 29
n The market for big 4-stroke outboards is holding up in otherwise
bad times. p. 38
New products
Electrical
connections
for the harsh,
marine
environment.
p. 64
Company
store
Will Pease is
managing broker
of one of Tartan
C&C’s manufacturer-
owned retail
outlets. p. 36.
