FullServiceMarina.com can increase marina revenue generation

How can FullServiceMarina.com increase marina revenue generation?

One of the problems that small businesses face is increased revenue generation. Sometimes it's hard to keep the prop turning. How can a software product help with that? How is it even related? Software costs me money right?

Not ours. Our software can help generate revenue and not only pay for itself but make you money. This is a bold claim, I know. Please read on....

As always I like to show how our marina software platform addresses and solves problems for real life problems and scenarios. I know the industry not just from the clients we serve but also from the customer perspective. I have a boat. I am a marina customer. This is my marina. I love to go boating.  Here is a picture of my boat.

I love to fish. Click here to read one of my forum posts. Although the picture is of my better half, I dream of cobalt blue water and the sun on my face. Spending time with friends and family on the water is as good as it gets for me. Time is my most precious asset. I like to go fishing on Friday nights. It is my thing... get off work around 6 and head for my boat. By 5:30 the marina staff has already gone home for the day. Before I get there I have to stop off at the bait and tackle store for bait and tackle of course. Then I stop at the station for ice and drinks. Sometimes I have to make a third stop for something special. Before I know it, it's after 7 and I'm just getting to the marina and unloading my truck. Again, by 5:30 the marina staff is already gone for the day. Sometimes when I don't plan very well, or when the fishing has been really hot, I get low on gas and need to make a run to the only pump open after hours. That eats another half hour. Thankfully I am just a hop, skip and jump away from the inlet and offshore.

Wouldn't it be great if I had a place to order ice, drink, bait and fuel ahead of time and have someone else handle those requests for me? As a customer, I have to say I would pay extra just to save some of my precious time to get offshore and find blue water.

Come to think of it, this could be great for the marina as well. On a regular basis I am spending $30, $60 maybe $100 a weekend depending on what supplies I need and who is coming with me. That doesn't include all of the times I need fuel. That gets expensive. I know that the marina sells all of the items I want and need. I have to say that I would rather see my money go to the marina than the guy at the gas station up the street.

This is a real life scenario. This is my experience. In speaking with tons of boat owners and marina staff this is the norm. This is how the industry works.

Our marina software platform allows marina customers to make requests. It allows your customers to buy items you display over the internet. It allows your customers to schedule their excursions ahead of time and it allows them to add goods from your ship store and fuel dock to their order. If you get a request for just a boat launch, with a single mouse click you can send an email soliciting the customer for ice, drink, bait, fuel or other services such as boat detailing or maintenance. All of these operations do the same thing. They upsell and farm your existing customer base for the money that they would have spent anyway. If you know your customers are going to spend the money...  why not give them a way to spend it with you? This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of how www.fullservicemarina.com can drive more revenue to your bottom line. I invite you to find out more by clicking here.

Best regards,

The FullServiceMarina.com team

Improving Marina Customer Service

How www.fullservicemarina.com can help Improve marina Customer Service.

In the next few weeks we will look at how www.fullservicemarina.com can help marinas grow their businesses through using our marina software platform. We have solutions to the key problems that marinas face. One of these problems is customer service.

According to www.wikipedia.com customer service is defined as a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation. which you can find here.

Industry experts and novices alike are ringing the bell of customer service and how it can impact your marina business.
Here Jim Frye give a presentation discussing how customer service will be a key differentiator.
Here James talks about customer service and management.

Back to the definition of customer service. While I agree with the first portion of this definition " a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction", I would like to challenge that definition. I believe that just meeting a customers expectation is not good enough. The customer today is savvy. They have a plethora of tools and options readily at their disposal. Wowing customers should be your goal and eventually your expectation.

Let's take a real world example. I love fishing and boating. I am a marina customer. I take my hobbies seriously and in saying that I just admitted that I like expensive toys to go with my hobby. I especially like to go fishing, and I try to get out on blue water as often as possible. Unfortunately as of this writing it has been more than 2 months! Regardless, I spend money on rods and reels. I feel the need for quality equipment. I'm not saying that I am splurging on Penn International 1000's or anything like that but a $120 shimano reel is a sizable investment for me. I happen to use a "Rod Carrier" which hold 4 of my rods and reels. Let's say I left my rods and reels sitting on the hose rack and drove away from the marina. When a dock hand or receptionist found them there would be no way for them to tell that they were mine. Would it be good customer service to wait until the end of the day to find out if someone came back to get them? Would it be good customer service to put them in the office and wait for someone to realize that they were missing? Would it be good customer service to ask around at the marina to see if someone knew who the rods belonged to? What would your expectations be?

I would expect that the marina would ask the receptionist to call customers that had an activity that morning or the previous day to ask if they had forgotten their equipment.

Do you have a process or software that could allow you to easily see who your customer were that had a request submitted today? How about yesterday?

What if you could get the answer with one mouse click? What if the answer looked like this?

 

If they didn't do that, if they just put them in the office or clubhouse would that meet my expectations? Would that have exceeded my expectation? No. This brings me to my point. According to the wikipedia definition meeting your customers expectations is customer service but your customers all have a large degree of variance of expectations. How can you satisfy their expectations?

Free up time for your staff to concentrate on customer service?
Let your customers serve themselves?
Save your customers time or give them time back?
Instantly notify your customer(s) of any event?

Why not all of the above?

The www.fullservicemarina.com marina software platform enables all of these and more. We offer a solution that can free up time for your staff to concentrate on customer service issues by allowing customers to self-serve. your customers can submit their own requests and orders via the internet on any web enabled smartphone, blackberry, tablet or PC. Save your customers time by fulfilling requests such as fueling up or delivering ice, drinks and bait to their vessel. Our marina software enables customers to make requests and your staff to receive these requests immediately on any internet enable device.


As a last note, I want to say that quality customer service is a mindset. Your customers are your most valuable asset. Not only do they provide the revenue to keep the prop turning but they also are a resource that can be farmed. If you know that your customers are spending money for products and services why not get into that game as well if it makes sense for your business. In order to do that you need tools. Tools tht can adapt to your business and your customers needs. We offer that solution.

There are many other ways that www.fullservicemarina.com can help your business. Please take the time to look at all of the ways we can benefit your marina, marine services facility or customer base. You can see the full listing here.

Until next time,

Steve

FullServiceMarina.com is at your service.

Welcome to marina operators and boaters alike!

FullServiceMarina.com is an interactive marina software platform designed to benefit the marina and the boat owners together. Our web based solution keep marinas in contact with their boaters requests, needs and desires. 

Marina operators can benefit from our marina software through instant ROI, increased revenue generation, increased customer service, immediate electronic communication between staff and customer, streamlined operations and much more... all from any internet enabled smartphone, blackberry, tablet or PC regardless of vendor or service provider. Click here to find out more.

Boat owners can benefit from our marina software through direct communication with the marina staff including the forklift operator, immediate email confirmation when requests are made and fulfilled, time saved by marina fulfillment and much more... all from any internet enabled smartphone, blackberry, tablet or PC regardless of vendor or service provider. Click here to find out more.

Please feel free to Contact Dan or Steve directly with any questions.

info@fullservicemarina.com

561.236.8236

Best regards,

The FullServiceMarina.com Team