5 Top Tips To Drive Boat Brokers More Enquiries

The digital age has changed life for everyone, in some shape or form. Consumers are now in the driving seat and, when they have an idea of what they’re looking for, they head straight to Google demanding the answers.

For boat brokers and dealers, this means that the way they do business and get enquiries on their boats has had to drastically change and, those that have been slow to adapt to this digital marketing first approach, have gotten left behind in the dark.

As the very first online platform for boating enthusiasts to buy and sell their boats, Boatsandoutboards know a thing or two about driving enquiries to local brokers and dealers. We’ve therefore put together a handy guide, to put you back in the driving seat.

Invest in your website

Think of it as your online shop window and the very first impression your potential customers have of your business and professionalism. It always surprises us how many boat dealer websites we still see that don’t adapt to mobile or iPads which means over 60% of their website visitors abandon their search and go elsewhere.
The essentials on your website checklist should be to have a site which is mobile responsive, full of great content, gets updated regularly and is easy for your visitors to navigate. Spidersnet Marine specialise in building professional and award-winning websites for boat brokers and dealers across the country- download our brochure if you’d like more info.

Mass broadcast your stock

It’s important that every one of your potential customers sees your stock and you get the chance of being added to their short-listed purchase decision. For this reason, you need to consider advertising on as many of the busiest marketplaces where boat searches are happening every minute.
According to SimilarWeb, an independent comparison site, the busiest classifieds websites for buying and selling boats are:
www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk (47% marketshare)
www.apolloduck.co.uk (38% marketshare)
www.boatshop24.co.uk (16% marketshare)
With millions of users visiting their sites every month and browsing boats specifically, can you really afford to not have you stock listed here?The essentials on your website checklist should be to have a site which is mobile responsive, full of great content, gets updated regularly and is easy for your visitors to navigate. Spidersnet Marine specialise in building professional and award-winning websites for boat brokers and dealers across the country- download our brochure if you’d like more info.

Encourage reviews

Buying a boat is a big decision, with a weighty cost attached to it. Buyers will be looking for any signs of ingenuity from the seller. A couple of positive reviews on your website, Facebook page and Google business listing can make a huge difference to the confidence your prospective buyers have in you as a seller of a high value item. When your customers leave with a big smile on their face, ask them to leave you a review and reap the benefits further down the line with a well-respected business.

Become best friends with Google

In order for your website to start appearing naturally within Google’s listings, you have to play the game and follow their rules. You need strong meta-data which tells Google what your pages are all about. If this is a daunting prospect to you, leave it to the experts and download our guide for more info on the boat dealer websites we build, which are all optimised for Google by our in-house team of SEO experts. You should certainly set up a ‘Google my business’ listing too, to encourage users to go through to your website and, best of all, it’s free!Buying a boat is a big decision, with a weighty cost attached to it. Buyers will be looking for any signs of ingenuity from the seller. A couple of positive reviews on your website, Facebook page and Google business listing can make a huge difference to the confidence your prospective buyers have in you as a seller of a high value item. When your customers leave with a big smile on their face, ask them to leave you a review and reap the benefits further down the line with a well-respected business.

Make life-long customers over one-off customers

Remember that your customers could certainly be repeat customers in a few years, if their experience has been an all-round positive one. Try and build an email database of all of your purchasers and visitors, so you can regularly share your new stock and positive reviews with them.