We’ve been talking about mobile for a while. People are asking “so where is it?” I’ll get to that. But first lets talk about the goals of our mobile product. We surveyed our customers and what they asked for was a way to unhook themselves from their computers so they can spend more time interacting with customers or doing their job whether that be repairing RVs, building boats or walking the docks. Our survey revealed that “customer service” and “convenience” were the two primary factors in evaluating mobile platforms.

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Does warranty processing have your service department bogged down?  Do you have tons of claims just sitting there waiting to be filed?  Are they gathering dust because you don’t have the proper information to file the claim?  Warranty repair can be a significant part of your business, especially if you are a dealership offering full service.

Warranty processing begins when the service work order is written, whether it is a manufacturer’s warranty or an extended service contract, and it ends when the claim is paid.

Even if you have a dedicated warranty administrator, the process is a team effort.
It is very important for service writers, parts people, and technicians to understand the warranty requirements for each vendor and for all to handle the repair accordingly.  Warranty policies vary from vendor to vendor, and need to be communicated to the folks that are involved in writing the work order, ordering the parts for the repair, making the actual repair and filing the claim.

Here are some tips that can help…

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In my first post on Lean processes and the Lean Start-up model, I explored the concept of reducing cycle times so that producers of anything, from software to boat repairs, can get customer feedback as quickly as possible. This ensures that adjustments made to the product you are creating or the process you are using to sell your products are based on “validated” learning, and not best guesses or hunches made by management or long term employees.

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We have a number of customers that sell boats or sell RVs. When you ask these dealers about some of the key benefits of the products they sell, they can typically tell to you in great detail what makes their products so good. This includes the manufacturing process and the key quality initiatives being used by their suppliers to increase the reliability of the boats and RVs they sell. The industry knows that consumers are finding more things to do on their “off time”. Repairing the boat or RV they’ve paid good money for should not be what consumers do when they are ready to explore the great outdoors.

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Our last post explained how to break down your advertising channels and analyze the cost and effectiveness of each medium. Outlining all of your costs and measuring the direct response of those investments will help you determine which mediums are your most expensive, and which advertising channels are returning valuable leads to you.

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A large percentage of our customers’ budgets are spent on marketing their business and products. It is a large investment for businesses to make, and far too often business owners are dedicating dollars to advertising channels and mediums that don’t return high value prospects. In the RV and Marine industries, more often than not the problem is that business owners simply don’t know which advertising method is producing the most valuable, high-quality prospects.

Two key performance indicators that will help guide you when deciding where to spend valuable budget dollars are embodied in these questions: How much does a prospect cost you? How much is a prospect worth to you?

Here is a guideline on how to evaluate these options  and why they are so important.

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As we have discussed before, software in general is migrating to the cloud. Like many business software suppliers, Exuma now offers it’s marine management software and RV dealership system as a hosted “cloud-based” offering. Here are four points to consider to help you decide if moving to the cloud is right for you and your business.

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Most of our customers are retail, business to consumer organizations such as Marinas and Boatyards. While they may generate leads and traffic from their website and online presence, the final sale happens at their brick and mortar establishment, face to face.  The way a store looks is important to the consumer.  The cleanliness, organization and layout can induce feelings of trust and professionalism or mistrust and skepticism.

Is your store designed and organized to help your customer through the buying process efficiently?  Take a tour through your store as if you are a customer.  What do you notice?  Below are a few ideas and areas to check in your business.

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We work all year, run our companies, sell our products, pay our employees, deposits are made and expenses paid. If all is going right, it is like a well oiled machine and with efficient monitoring of the most important KPI’s, you can ensure that your business is headed in the right direction.

Then comes the end of the year, when a glance at the financial statements is not enough. Deep financial analysis and account reconciliation is required to ensure that you not only have a good grasp of the year that just passed, but also are able to map where you want your business to go in the year ahead.

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The new year can be both exhilarating and depressing. We can look forward to what’s to come with great anticipation. But the past can haunt us. “I didn’t lose as much weight as I wanted”. “I wasn’t as profitable as I could have been”. “I didn’t spend enough time with the kids”. What it is for you I don’t know but I think the problem is, we attach too much emotion to the past (what didn’t happen) instead of focusing on the road ahead (what can be). We’ve all made bad decisions. But hindsight is 20/20. All you can do now is make adjustments and focus on the journey. Your “vision” for your company, product or non-profit is what you should get emotional and passionate about. “No time like the present” rings as true today as it did when those words were first uttered centuries ago.

Let’s use driving a car as an analogy. I think we can all agree that it’s a good idea to look ahead and keep your eyes on the road when driving. When you are changing lanes looking back is good. But you do it quickly (“one thousand one”) then your eyes are back on the road ahead. Checking for other cars to your side or behind that may be tailgating is also good. But do it quickly (“one thousand two”) then look ahead. Adjust the radio (“one thousand three”) and then its back on the road ahead. Many people attach tons of emotion to what could have been and not enough commitment and passion to what can be.

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