Coffee is being consumed, and things are about to kick off here!
Please bear with us as we figure out this liveblog! It is not letting me correct my typos….
09.08
And we are off!
Gary Smith, head of FYBA is up on the stage.
09.15
Accomplishments for the year include:
- spending 0k lobbying
- 1090 and the 180 were principle causes
- care custody and control were revamped
- 15k tax break being reinforced and re-examined.
- A few open houses and an “energetic” charter commission
- Taking a look at the global markets, introduce FL brokers to the world; money is safe, large inventories are key aspects of FL.
- Representation at the Shanghai show this year
Ian Atkins, VP & GM of Yachtworld is up. Warming up with some jokes.
A quick overview of industry trends:
09.36
Ian’s state of the industry:
- Networking, the need to grow your own network. Here is a story Ben Ainslie, and a blunder of accidentally posting a video of him joining the Oracle team prematurely. This mistake cost Oracle $$$, as in themkinutes the video was up, it was heavily downloaded.
- Everybody says “we have a wwebsite, we are all set. Before it was trying to drive traffic to the site, now we are going to talk about DRIVING the traffic to you
- The modern sales funnel. They are out there, and they are looking. 75% of buying in done through a series of websites and social medi If you have a good boat at the right price, it will sell; just make sure you have the right first impression to speed up the process.
- Expanding your network. there is a slide up with lots of social media sites, twitter, G+, etc.
- Path to buyers: Exposure> Segmentation> Engagement.
- It is not enough to just have a site, and have ayachtworld page, you need really spread out Aage of 7 sites visited by a buyer before purchase.
- Facebook inventory page should help with posting inventory to facebook. “We don’t know how valuable this traffic is to you as a yacht broker, but why risk it. There is no reason not to take advantage of this”
- Hedge your google traffic with other search engines.
- YW.com has 23 international portals. Europe is in big trouble. There are very competitievly priced european boats on the site right now.
- New sharing platforms include : Cafemom (if the gentleman’s wife has not seen the boat yet, it is not sold yet), Pinterest, and Qik. Fiverr, Quora, BoaterRated.
- Niche Sites: Websites that dont have a lot of traffic but serve a sector of the industry very well. These will have specific research tools , and better SEO. Great for charter market.
- Vox Bloc was just acquired by Dominion, YW.com’s parent company. I would like to point out that Ian is very skeptical about many of these sites, but is trying to bring them to everyone’s attention. “..hard to say this is a proven phenomenon”. However, as people engage in this gamin/competition, you can track what they are interested in.
09.39
Some statistics from Ian:
- 31% more searches to yw.com every month.
- 200% more searches for top brands. (Sea Ray, Catalina, Bayliner, Carver, Hunter)
- Unit sales were down 3%, valuations were up 3% 2010 to 2011
- The bigger the boat, the smaller the sales increase.
- The bigger the boat, the stronger YOY value increase.
- Superyachts:
- Unites sold were up to 10%,
- valuations were up 54%
- Sellers are returning to market with acceptable prices.
- FL sales: unit sales were down 1%, valuations were up 35%.
- Fl brokers sold more than half of the superyachs and >85% of total sales valuations.
10.06
Tim Claxton is up to discuss “Industry Leading Technology”. This will include a mobile/tablet focus, Boat wizard Enhancements. Yachtworld Enhancements, and Custom Sites and Facebook Pages.
Tim’s jokes… not as good as Ian’s.
Tim is going to lay out YW’s plan for the future of tech, a quick overview to be revisted today:
- Ipad app, and Iphone app {Trevor wants to know where Android support is}
- Lots of data on growing tablet use. Trying to create a “leanback” experience, where customers can comfortably and enjoyably browse”
- Yachtworld.com has a full omniture-based dashboard. This will make interpreting your data much easier.
- Lead Manager:
- Bulk Lead import
- Multi Channel import (boat show forms, business cards, anything should be easy to import)
- Management reports
- Enhanced lead assignment (Do we need to reassign leads, maybe a broker is on vacation?)
- Lead Notification and routing
- Yachtworld.com
- SEO
- Social Media Links
- Improved Make/model browsing
- User Profiles.
- YW.com User profiles (customer side) {Trevor: I think this is huge. being able to see exactly how a customer browses would be substantial}
- Quick and easy registration
- link to facebook profile
- increased engagement
- tailored experience
- One click leads
- Custom sites will be pushed to mobile, as nowadays it is unacceptable not to have a mobile site.
- Future:
- Custom mobile apps (Much higher engagement than just a website.
- Expanding data Distribution (need more than 1 point of distribution (your broker site))
- Reputation management (For example, the “star” rating with google search. People searching for brokerages would be able to see consumer driven feedback on brokers)
- Broker social network.
Break Time! Will back in 15!
10.10
Some quick questions during the break:
Is android support coming?
Ian: Yes, but iOS is a priority.
Soldboats.com erroneous sales numbers:
Ian: The system is only as good as the info you put into it, YW tries to police it, but it is not perfect.
10.32
Joe Lingerfelt is up, talking nuts and bolts of BW.
The boat wizard dashboard is upposed to be where you can get all your info for the day. Widgets for leads, inventory, etc. When people think of boatwizard, they need ot realize all the services available. leads, reports, mls, inventory, etc.
Inventory.There are lots of permissions available for users. You can put attributes in for a boat, but not make them visible to certain brokers, or not make them visible to customers.
10.40
Joe is really trying to encourage people to use all of the features of the inventory management tools. Things like the On/Off tags for a listing can be very useful for sorting boats, and things like the “History” tool will show lots of relevant data. “Copy” can be used to base a new listing off of a previous listing. Also, printing and emailing listings can be done easier from the list view.
Content is king. 20+ photos, 2000 words, and a video, customers will spend 30% more time on your listing. Uploading video is easier, you can upload to YW, or youtube. {Trevor: I recommend youtube!}
{It suprises me how many simple questions Joe has to deal with. “Yes, you can have 2 browser windows open, hit Ctrl+N”}
YW endorses Chrome {Trevor: I jst switched on this entry to chrome from firefox, much faster for liveblog!}
Image editors: GIMP {Trevor Recommends!} pixlr.com, paint.net, Picasa.
13.14
Now we have Kim Rocco, with a presentation title “Marketing the Digital Age”
The digital age: information available instantly
The average American spends more than 60 hours a month online. 2646 web pages, 89 domains, ad 57 logins a month on average.
22% of all time online is social networking. 42% viewing content. 36% researching and shopping online.
Steve Jobs ” You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back towards the technology, not the other way around”. Unless you have something important to share, don’t blindly tramp into social networks.
Why is it critical to reach customers early and often? If they don’t have access to you while researching, you will be forgotten when they buy. 66% of boat buyers have their mind made up before they talk to a sales person.
How to make your marketing more effective? Steve job’s said ” Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Email campaigns retain customers at a rate of 63%. Also important to get on safe-sender list. Again, Steve Jobs : “That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
Display advertising. Banner ads, clear call to action, cut through the clutter.
What is your objective? Increase traffic to website? Increase Facebook “likes”?
Who is your audience? Loyal customers? The next generation of boat buyers?
How much time do you want to spend on social? Not a lot! Hire an intern, or have a younger employee manage it.
What information do you want to share? Posts from your blog, content from 3rd party sources, videos, etc.
It is important to re-evaluate your efforts to gauge success. What worked? What didn’t work?
Use QR codes to “bait” people into investigating.
14.35
Now we have the “Best Practices Panel”
The panel is moderated by Mike Reardon of Hill Robinson International, who does management. Mike did a great job last year. It sounds like Mike is going to try and bring some of all this tech into the discussion. 81% of the people attending YBU said they wanted to hear about online marketing.
Paul Burgess of Sunseeker is talking about how they examine how people view and approach Sunseeker. It is important to be in front of customers. It is important that all the local dealers maintain the Sunseeker imagery and design so they collect the organization as a whole. Also, that everyone is conveying the same message. Banner campaigns have been a big push that has increased the pone rate, and how much traffic they get. Also Sunseeker is keeping up with twitter, facebook, and everything they can. They use QR codes heavily, and they often redirect QR codes when they need to. Sunseeker uses apps as a way to get videos and photos on the customer device instantly, with no load time.
Darren Plymale says Galati is using QR codes to provide a video for every boat. Show boat underway, interior, and amenities. Galati Hired someone for social media. They are very happy with that hire, and they have seen triple digit monthly increase in FB traffic. This is incorporated in Rendezvous and tournaments, sign ups and picture sharing. Video is imperative.
Paul says that high value boats EXPECT high quality videos, owners demand great production, and Paul says a lot of boats that they have hired professional videographers for have sold in 2 weeks.
James with Yachtworld tells a story of dealing with a customer for a week, and on a final phone call, she said “great, my uncle will love it”, the niece was doing all the research.
Reardon asks how does facebook directly contribute to a sale? Paul Burgess: you start looking at the page, or the dealer, and you are hooked. everyday a new event, a new boat, and you are hooked. And you show your friends.
Darren Plymale: the younger generation is doing so much research for the older generation. It is easy to influence the older generation through this.
Tim Derrico: 15 years ago, people needed a boat show to learn about boats. No more. You need to look at shows differently. We throw a lot of money at them, but you also need to sell the company and the services at the show.
Darren: We have someone at the shows who does nothing but assist customers with QR codes. Our pamphlets end up on the side of the roads. QR codes are a better investment.
Frank DiVarona: We watch currency, when the Australian dollar went up, the Ozzies came looking for Aussie product here. “If you start making a lot of money all of a sudden, you didn’t get smarter, you are riding the cycle”. Customers are satisfied getting Winn Dixie or Publix. You need to build loyalty with a homogeneous product. Do you want to espouse that your customer is just satisfied or that he is loyal?
Somebody asks Frank about the massive party Yachting Experts had at Lauderdale last year. Frank: It’s a MUST. You cant be selling all the time. Have an event for your customers. Even just your best clients, show them you care. Also, on the side, get an interpreter. Establish rapport.
Paul: We dropped a LOT on a party at Lauderdale. 300 people rsvped, 20 people showed up due to rain. We signed a deal because of that party.
Mike Reardon: Personal relationship. “Go see the customer”.
Question: “How concerned should we be with security on social media?”
Panel: Be smart about what you post and you have nothing to worry about
Question: When we communicate online, I lose the facial expressoin, the intonation, and it makes it easier for customers to ditch me.
Paul: Make sure your team is relying the passion. Do not only use online communication. Social Media is a knock on the door, you need to close the deal.
Great Panel!
16.37
Next Panel: “Industty Experts” Moderated by Gary Smith of Sarasota Yacht & Ship
FYBA has been busy working on legislation, board member Jeff Erdmann is up first. The mantra we are using on all legislation is ARM; Attract boats to FL. Register, we want boats to register and have a nexus in Fl. M… I didnt hear him…..
We worked hard on the 18k tax limit, and the 90 day affidavit window has been extended to 180. Great examples of legislative changes. Working on changes to Yacht and Shipbrokers act. 1. People who have a business out of FL to apply for brokers license in FL. 2. Co-brokerage should be encouraged, rather than discouraged. 3. 32ft to 300GT verbiage should be changed to 500ft.
Vicki Bedford is asked what is necessary to pursue a report of unlicensed activity? Vicki: 1. file a complaint, even anonymously, but we need enough to investigate. We will research hard to find unlicensed activity. An unlicensed broker can transact with out of state brokers as long as the broker does not enter the state. If we have enough to go on, first thing is to make suggest they get a license, or we get a consent order (settlement).
Danielle is asked how the recent tax cap changes have affected yacht ownership from a legal perspective. Danielle: it goes to the heart of the buyer, and what the buyer wil do with the vessel. I have not seen anyone change flags due to this change. When a client comes to me, its more than “do you want to pay tax or not”. A buyer asks “what do i need to know?” I ask: where are you a resident, what are you doing with the boat, will you charter, where will you cruise, etc. Vetting a buyer is critical on the intake. If we are going to start a company, ill ask if we can talk to the estate planner, and some say “I dont have one”. Buyers should have one to find the best registration model/vehicle for yacht ownership.
Ian is asked: Can you address exactly what you see happening, the timeframes, and what you think about current changes.
Ian: when we started 12 years ago we took a lot of negative feedback for what looked like a pile of cheap stuff. European brokers did not like buyers being able to see cheap american boats online. things have flip flopped over the years. I just checked a few minutes ago, 3 80ft yachts all over the world, the european boat is cheaper, the euro market is depressed. If you have a buyer and no boat, take a look at europe. Anything over 50ft, it is very cheap to bring the boat over.
Tim Claxton with YW is asked about mobile device growth, with respect to macro, not just YW.
Tim: in a few years, mobile traffic will be bigger than desktop. Invest in mobile first. If you don’t have mobile site, get one. Location based aspect of mobile is coming up, augmented reality uses the camera to overlay information. My dream is that I am standing at a marina, hold up the phone, and prices and listings would pop up.
Steele Reeder, is asked about customs and enforcement; given the turmoil in Europe and the turmoil here, we have heard that enforcement has changed, and that it is negatively affecting brokers.
Reeder: Our country is facing the biggest deficit ever. this is tending to drive revenue gathering agencies to now heights. They hit all boat shows and it was fruitful for them. They deploy customs at marinas, and they find boats for sale (that are foreign) and the detained these boats. Customs used to be happy with just detaining a boat, a red sticker on the side was enough. Then you would have to litigate, to see how much of the boats value was required to get the boat back, 10% would be slap on the wrist. Duty is on 1.5%. Our suggestion as a customs broker is when you get a listing, the first thing you need to be concerned about it where was the boat built. AM i going to put my client or myself in jeopardy by listing the boat? Is the duty paid? How do you get an owner to lower the price? Remind them you have to pay tax on that value! As far as paying the 1.5%, especially on used boats, get a walk through survey. Tell the survey we think the boat is worth 1 mill, we think we can sell for 750, that is a ‘defendable position’. You also dont want to offer a boat that has not been properly entered into the country. If it isn’t entered, you better be sure that it says everywhere the boat is not available for US buyers.
Gary: and customs fining brokers?
Reeder: this year we have seen it happen twice, where the boat is seized, they go on to punish broker with 6 digit penalties just for having the listing.
Gary: Internet’s affect on Boat show?
Jeff: Boat shows are still great for sizing up leads
Ian: We deployed boatshow.com to bridge the gap.
Question: I dont want out of state brokers to get a license without a tax number.
Gary: Yes. This leads to problems when it comes to close.
Vicky: Yes, the government offices to handle this are spread out. We need to figure this out. Agencies in state govt don’t talk, don’t know what each other do. I am working on it!
Gary: it is likely difficult for the state to handle out tax numbers, as if there is a default it may be hard to seize property.
Ian. Closing thoughts: For years we have been wondering where are customers are; we now know, they are online.
The Boats.com blog has an 
