Health and safety first

Naturally, the overwhelming priority for everyone in business has been the health and safety of their staff, their suppliers and their customers, and all have emphasised the importance of proactively communicating with stakeholders about their new health and safety protocols.

Paris Baloumis, Group Marketing Manager at Oceanco, whose yard is based in The Netherlands, says: “Most colleagues are working remotely.

“We adapted early by investing in guidelines and measures such as installing heat cameras, working in shifts, instigating social-distancing methods and adding extra cleaning rounds to keep facilities open. This safeguarded our production process.

“We have reassigned colleagues from various disciplines to offer support to projects that are currently in build, and we keep in close contact with our co-makers and suppliers on both a business and personal level.

“Innovation has been key, as has adaptability and flexibility.”

Corfield continues, “Communication between non-production staff and production has clarified priorities for the business and new orders are still coming in while shipyards and refit yards are going ahead with projects and current orders.

“Australia has an advantage in that production didn’t close and our government support was effective; they reacted quickly and, as a country, we will come through this better than many.”

Opportunity to reflect

Isolation has, for many, allowed time for clarity of thought to emerge. Farouk Nefzi, Marketing and Brand Director for Feadship, says: “We have spent considerable time with family and have had the rare chance to halt the crazy lifestyle we lead. For me personally, the increased contact with my family has given me more Zen.

“This crisis has also given us time to reflect on what is important. It makes you consider your values, your focus and what will change when we move out of this phase. To my mind, the rat race will be rebalanced.”

On the work front, Nefzi explains, “A critical focus for us at Feadship has been ensuring positive dialogue with our clients. Personal engagement is critical, but we have done this with reasonable success using technology and without travelling.

“Like many, we have had challenges with our supply chain and the rescheduling of work, but at this stage, we plan to deliver our projects on or close to time.”

Change is coming

This Zen thinking, referred to by Nefzi, is not only permeating our state of mind during isolation, it would seem it is the X factor our industry needs right now.

The Zen mind is described by the Chung-Tai Zen Center in California as “a mind of calmness, stability and clarity; a mind free of delusions and confusions; a mind in accord with true reality. It is a mind … full of infinite potentials.

Kiran Haslam, CMO at Princess Yachts, has also used this time in isolation to reflect and plan the future. He says, “We must review our strategies and adapt quickly. We need to change our behaviour with confidence and conviction, not wait for gaps and opportunities to present themselves.

“We need to start defining the new environment we want to operate in – one that provides a significant degree of transparency, confidence, integrity, honesty and personalisation for our staff, suppliers and customers.”

As we bring into sharp focus the areas most in need of an overhaul, there are three in particular that I personally see as critical that we get right: boat shows; the supply chain; and distributors, sales channels and the power of the brand.

As Haslam explains, “There is no doubt boat shows have a place in the sales and marketing mix, but things need to radically change.

“The current situation presents an incredible opportunity for the industry to investigate new ways to strengthen our brands while continuing to offer customers a unique and personalised experience.

“As an established and powerful brand, Princess has a responsibility to our customers, staff, suppliers and environment, and we are happy to sync up with other brands to start changing things for the better,” concludes Haslam.

There is no doubt that a solution will be found – industry is demanding it – and those who have been on the boat show circuit in particular would like to see them continue in some form.

After all, attending boat shows to drive brands, grow the market and catch up with industry colleagues is a big part of the buzz we all get from working in or being aligned with this industry.

“As we are finding out the longer lockdown goes on for, humans are social, curious and innovative creatures,” says Michelle Khan, Major Event Manager at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

“We love to get together, which is what makes shows work. Sure, we can do our research online, read magazines, talk to our family and friends, but we love to be with like-minded people face to face and be inspired by new and innovative things. The show will go on.”

In a previous role, Khan organised the successful Auckland On-Water Boat Show and is currently weaving her magic with events for the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron at the upcoming America’s Cup.

In her experience, she believes, like many others, that shows need to evolve. This will include a combination of initiatives that innovative show organisers will need to institute to maintain their place in the marketing mix.

However, with many shows cancelled already and the high concern customers will have for their and their family’s safety, we must question how many clients will actually attend a boat show should it occur.

“The essential of the boat show is to feel, touch and explore; to smell the sea, drink the wine and imagine a better life,” says Michael Corfield, Sales and Marketing Director, Muir Engineering.

“It’s an important part of our marketing mix, but in the current environment, I have doubts any of the major shows will be well supported even if they do go ahead,” he muses.

At time of writing, Monaco, Fort Lauderdale and the METSTRADE Show will all go ahead.

Discussions with representatives from industry and from the Monaco and Fort Lauderdale shows have occurred, but so far organisers have offered little in the way of real innovations to appease social-distancing rules or soften costs.

Baloumis from Oceanco offers some insight, saying: “We are in direct contact with the Monaco Yacht Show as well as with our fellow large yacht builders to take a unified approach regarding what we should do.

“For the moment, we will reconvene in June on this topic. In any case, we will not organise any events that require people to gather in larger numbers.”

Distributors, sales channels and the power of the brand

There is no doubt that boat shows as a sales and branding platform do work, but in an environment where social distancing could become the norm and overseas travel will be curtailed, it is evident that to continue to offer a personalised experience to customers, distributors will not only become more important, they will need to interact in a more unique and effective way.

Virtual tours, webinars and high-level digital graphics, websites and technology all have their place, but they won’t replace the value of building relationships or trust that personal interactions provide. It is also important to note that sales that are B2C need a different personalisation than B2B, so it will be important for businesses to develop strategies that attract and work for customers in each segment.

It will also be critical to ensure that distributors have some skin in the game. Distributors must have a vested interest and be able to live and breathe your brand culture and values – if they don’t, you will need to review this structure going forward.

“To access the market both internationally and in Australia, distributors fill a vital role in building the relationship with your brand and the on-site customer,” explains Michael Corfield.

“With boat shows unlikely to go ahead this year, we see our distributors as more important than ever. We will be ensuring they have all the necessary tools and information to drive the business forward and interact with our customers, adhering to each country’s specific social-distancing regulations.”

Some salespeople and distributors will need to change, however. They will need to be transparent, better educated, and more informed and knowledgeable about their products. They must be ambassadors for your brand. In the immediate absence of boat shows, they will need to pass on to your customers – existing and prospective – the value of your brand.

And their loyalty to your brand must be unquestionable. The company whose staff has good tenure with the business and will be around long after the sale is completed will be a key asset; continuity is a key customer requirement.

We all know how important branding is, placing it high on the list of priorities for businesses to protect and strengthen during this COVID-19 environment in the absence of personal interaction and travel. Distributors, as suggested earlier, will in many instances become the frontline for your brand and will need both direction and support.

This raises many questions that will need to be addressed such as how to create prestige, trust and confidence to take the business forward; how to connect and interact with customers without the platform of boat shows; and how to personalise the brand and appear genuine. How to offer a unique buying experience and how to introduce yacht owners and prospective owners to the industry and the products and services provided will also need to be answered.

These are interesting questions, and many of our Zen thinkers have developed ideas in response, but their initiatives will need to be tried and tested. In the meantime, there are two final points worth discussing: the emerging situation in the USA, and the role of industry in the current environment.

A key role

During the global financial crisis, many industry bodies struggled to find relevant ways to support members. There was also a decline in membership numbers as many businesses either didn’t survive or couldn’t afford membership fees.

However, the situation with the COVID-19 crisis is playing out very differently. Industry bodies are playing a key role in many countries in terms of lobbying governments to create a better environment for the industry, opening marinas, allowing people to go boating, and relaxing some stringent rules that are barriers to ongoing business.

Jeremy Spear, Managing Director of Spear Green Design and the new chairman of the Australian Marine Export Group (AIMEX), says: “AIMEX has been in daily contact with local, regional, state and federal government agencies in recent weeks and has been directly responsible for some major changes, concessions and permits.

“As well as working collaboratively with other Australian industry bodies to get government to open marinas and allow boating, we have worked positively on helping vessel movements, crew repatriation, entry procedures and bookings of works.

“COVID-19 has brought mixed blessings to the Australian marine industry. While many businesses are performing at reduced capacity, some stand to benefit.

“There is a large amount of refit and maintenance work that has been picked up in the superyacht sector and there are some very large vessels now booked for significant works in Australian yards. There are also several very large and noteworthy yachts en route to Australia for works and to reposition vessels.

“Much of this is due to the tireless work of our staff at AIMEX and Superyacht Australia (SYA) in gaining approvals for such vessel movements. This work extends to both east and west coast yards and facilities.”

Coupled with the desire to safeguard passengers and crew alike, local charter operators have had to cease business to comply with government rulings. International travel is still a while away and Spear says that “unless there is a vaccine, most members agree with the government requirement of two weeks quarantine for returning international passengers.”

International marketing methods have changed also. Spear continues, “We have seen the emerging online presence of many businesses and some businesses are considering increasing their use of foreign agents instead of travelling and exhibiting themselves.

“There is no doubt that marketing and sales methodologies are being reviewed,” he says. “Meanwhile, efficiencies and economies have been found that will likely stay, including the increased use of technology for international meetings and collaborations. This alone will save thousands in marketing budgets.”

He concludes: “This must be seen as an opportunity to evolve, to transform, to change. There are many good modern practices out there that the traditionally staid will need to embrace in order to survive and be profitable.

“The world is a changed place and those who learn and change with it will survive and benefit; those who stay in the dark ages will learn fast that they need to adapt – or they will fail.”