Summer is winding down and from what we’ve heard and experienced, it’s been a tremendously busy boating season.
Boat owners will soon be done with their fun on the water and will start preparing for their boat to be covered up and stored away for next year.
And, from what we have noted by talking with hundreds of boat yards/marinas across the country, the winter months can be quite slow with a few maintenance projects, the odd detailing work and mostly wrapping the boats in preparation for the 2019 season.
You may of been hearing all the buzz about using ceramic coatings as a premium service to offer your detailing clients. Today, we will help identify the opportunity to explore offering ceramic coatings.
I bet when March, April and/or May (who knows with the spring weather) comes along, it will be all hands-on deck to get client boats ready for the season. Yet, there is only so much time in the day and limited resources.
Does that sound similar to your traditional operation?
If so, we want to share with you why now is an important time to educate your team about the advantages of ceramic coatings and advising your clients about completing the detailing and application process during the fall and winter months.
The Advantages For Your Marine/Boatyard/Detailing Company
1). Streamline your cash flow
Business owners and operations want consistent and predictable revenue. Having peakes and valleys in your cash flow is challenging for any business.
By detailing and applying ceramic coating during the fall and winter months, you can streamline your cash flow instead of relying on major spikes in cash flow during the spring months to carry the business through the slower months.
2). Increase your revenue
This is a two-fold advantage for your business.
Firstly, there is only so much your team can get accomplished in a short window of time during the spring when all of your clients are eager to use their boat. And, as a result, you may have at times where you can’t address all of their needs and turn away business.
Educate your clients about scheduling their necessary boat preparation work during the fall and winter months, so when they are ready to launch in the spring, all of the work is completed and a simply wash down will have the boat ready to go.
Secondly, offering ceramic coating application is a premium service for your clientele that will significantly increase your revenue per customer.
By offering a service that will prevent oxidization, retain gloss and shine for up to 2 years* and significantly reduce on-going maintenance for the boat owner, you can talk to the key advantages compared to wax and increase the price tag.
3). Consistent work your for employees
Do you have to lay people off during the winter months to hire them back in the spring and summer? Number three (3) ties together with streamlining your cash flow by allowing you to retain more of your staff during the fall and winter months to book and complete the ceramic coating application.
In order to be a win-win for both parties, the boat owner must see the value in completing the work prior to spring.
The Advantage For Boat Owners
1). A Simple Wash Will Prepare Their Boat For The 2019 Season
When boating season comes along, as you know, boat owners are eager to get out and enjoy their boat. And, they typically ask for the traditional detailing (buff and wax) to get their boat looking good to start the season.
As, you will note from our 15+ case studies, ceramic coatings can last up to 6x longer than wax, prevent oxidization and protect the boat from elements (salt, bird droppings, dirt, fish blood, etc).
Considering most boat owners ask for this work to be done in the spring, at times, this can cause tremendous scheduling challenges for both the yard/marine/detailing business and the boat owner.
Therefore, by scheduling the 2019 preparation work in the next few months, the boat owner will only need to simply wash the boat in the spring and the boat will be ready for the season. Sounds like a real win!
Here’s a great quote from one of our clients; Bill Karmis and his experience to prepare for the season after applying Glidecoat.
“I’m in the Midwest. My boat is on the hard under shrinkwrap in terrible winter conditions. We just got the first decent weekend and my boatyard was pressuring me to get in the water to make space. I refreshed my freeboard area in about 4 hours and splashed. I’ll finish the top sides in the slip.”
Check out his video on our Facebook Page.
2). Protect Their Boat For Up To Two (2) Years*
Depending on a number of factors (location, boat usage, storage, etc) a boat that received a buff and wax at the start of the season may be showing signs of oxidization near the end of the short summer boating season.
And, as we are aware here in South Florida, you are lucky to get a wax to last 2 months here during the summer.
By teaching boats owners about ceramic coatings, their boat can be protected for up to two (2) years* with proper maintenance and storage.
As you will note, this is significantly more effective than wax and protects protection from UV damage, the elements such as salt, bird droppings, spider poop (yes, we have received that question before), fish blood, etc.
3). Easy on-going maintenance
All of the necessary cleaning after a day on the boat, can be a pain for boat owners. One of the key advantages with applying a ceramic coating to a boat is the ease of on-going maintenance.
Ceramic coatings fill in the pores of the gel coat and/or paint that makes the surface hydrophobic. This is valuable to the boat owner because none of the elements (dirt, fish blood, salt, etc) can access the pores. The elements are just sitting on top of the ceramic coating and will either fall right off or with a simple wash down.
No more hard scrubbing of their boat after a day out.
So, what’s next?
If you have found yourself nodding along with these points about your operation and seeing an opportunity with your clients about applying ceramic coatings to their boat to help everyone, reach out to us here at Glidecoat.
We will gladly share more information about ceramic coatings, the application process, potential rates to charge and on-going maintenance tips, we are here to help.
And, we hope by deploying your plan for increase detailing work during the fall and winter will increase your sales, streamline cash flow and maintain staff. And, make your customers happy for the 2019 season.