Boat Dealer Marketing

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Marine inventory presents differently from a car lot. Boats sit high on trailers or cradles, showrooms are often partly outdoors, and the selling season is compressed into a few months. What works for boat dealer marketing is display that attaches to your site rather than to the units, and giveaways a customer will genuinely take on the water.

Start with the things that need no hull. Pennants and streamers string between your own posts and poles, and giant Cloud Buster balloons at 36in to 72in gain height on a waterfront site where sightlines are long. An 18ft air dancer is the most visible thing you can put out, but budget the blower at the same time: it costs more than the dancer and the dancer does nothing without it. Buy it once and it runs whichever dancer you put on it. On flags, specify polyester rather than nylon for a coastal site, since it takes sustained wind better.

Giveaways are where a boat dealership beats a car store. Your customer spends whole days outdoors with food, drinks and gear, so insulated bags, stainless bottles and tumblers get used every trip rather than put in a drawer, carrying your name through the whole season. Order those before the season rather than during it, since custom printing has lead time and the marine year is short. Note that the antenna flags, underhood signs and magnetic numbers in this category are built around a car body: useful on your tow and service vehicles, not on a hull.

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Boat Dealer Marketing

Marine inventory presents differently from a car lot. Boats sit high on trailers or cradles, showrooms are often partly outdoors, and the selling season is compressed into a few months. What works is display that attaches to your site rather than to the units, and giveaways a customer will actually take on the water.

Display That Does Not Need the Boat

This is the practical starting point, because most on-vehicle display products assume a car. Triangle pennants at 100ft per strand with 5ft ties, metallic streamers at 60ft, and American flag pennants with 24 flags per 60ft strand all string between your own posts and light poles, so they work regardless of what is parked underneath.

For height, 17in Tuf-Tex balloons come 72 per bag in 14 colours, and Cloud Buster giant balloons at 36in, 60in and 72in carry from much further away, which matters on a waterfront site where sightlines are long.

Air Dancers, and What They Actually Cost

An 18ft air dancer is among the most visible things you can put on a site, and the plain red or blue version costs considerably less than the printed one.

Either way, budget for the 18in 2-speed blower separately. It is the larger part of the cost, and a dancer without one does nothing. Buy the blower once and it runs whichever dancer you put on it.

Flags

The made-in-USA American flag comes in nylon or polyester across five sizes from 2ft x 3ft to 6ft x 10ft. For a waterfront or coastal site, specify polyester: it is the heavier fabric and holds up better to the sustained wind an open-water location delivers. Nylon suits sheltered inland sites and flies more readily in light air. See also marine and boat dealer flags.

Giveaways Boaters Actually Use

This is where a marine dealership has an advantage over a car store. A boat customer spends whole days outdoors with food, drinks and gear, so practical items get used rather than put in a drawer.

Custom insulated bags go on the boat every trip. Double-insulated stainless bottles keep drinks cold for up to 24 hours, and skinny travel tumblers fit standard cup holders. Custom tote bags handle the walk from car park to dock.

Each of these carries your name somewhere the customer looks repeatedly through a season, which is a better return than most printed material.

At Handover

Document wallets keep registration and title paperwork together with space for your business card. Boat paperwork gets produced at ramps and for inspections more often than car paperwork does on the road, so the wallet is seen regularly.

If You Also Sell Cars or Run Tow Vehicles

Several products here are designed around a car body. Sale antenna flags and the checkered, American flag, metallic triangular, metallic fringe and plasticloth versions all slide over a vehicle antenna. Underhood signs use a car's hood support, and magnetic pricing numbers need a steel panel. All useful on your own vehicles or a co-located car operation, none of them on a hull.

Related Marine Supplies

See marine promotional products, custom boat decals, boat keychains and key tags, and all marine and boat supplies.

FAQ

How do we decorate a lot full of boats?

Work from your structures rather than the inventory. Pennants and streamers string between poles, and giant balloons gain height without touching a hull. Anything that clips to a window or slides over an antenna assumes a car.

What does an air dancer really cost?

More than the listed price of the dancer, because the blower is sold separately and costs more than the plain dancer does. Budget for both on the first order. After that the blower is reusable, so additional dancers cost only the dancer.

Nylon or polyester flags for a waterfront site?

Polyester. It is heavier and handles sustained and gusting wind better, which is what an open-water or coastal location gives you most days. Nylon is lighter and flies well in light air, so it suits sheltered inland sites. The American flag comes in both across five sizes.

Which giveaway works best for boat customers?

Anything that goes on the boat. Insulated bags and stainless bottles get used every trip, which is more than can be said for most printed giveaways. A marine customer has a genuine use for both, so your name travels with them all season.

Will magnetic pricing numbers work on our inventory?

No. Fiberglass and aluminum hulls are not magnetic. Magnetic numbers are useful on your own steel-bodied tow and service vehicles, but for boats use hang tags, stake signs, or a display board beside each unit.

When should we order for the season?

Before it starts. Marine selling is compressed into a few months, and custom items such as branded bags and tumblers carry production lead times. Ordering in late winter means stock is on the shelf for the first warm weekend rather than arriving halfway through your best month.