SMART SUPER YACHT MARKETING 101
“Some companies don’t even have a marketing strategy that’s dedicated to a yacht. It’s one size fits all,” Duncan says. Experienced owners understand this and look to brokers who handle individual-yacht marketing better: “They want to know the strategy that is specific to their boat, and they want to know how the marketing techniques will reach out to and convert to buyers.”
Yacht owners, Duncan says, should look for brokers who know key statistics and trends, but who also realize that they always have something to learn about the particular boat in question.
“You want a broker who can prove to you that they don’t just know about the specifications of the yacht, but that they understand the inherent value and the inherent benefits of your particular boat, as it stands now, and as it may stand in the future with a refit,” he says. “They have to get your boat. They also have to understand the type of buyer who would most appreciate that value proposition.”
When a broker tries to land an owner’s business, Duncan says, the broker should
be coming to the table with far more than a standardized presentation. Owners should look to see not only how well the broker is trying to market the specific yacht, but also how that message will fit in with the brokerage company’s overall marketing efforts.
“You want a broker who can show you a coherent marketing strategy for your yacht,” he says. “Not just, ‘We’ll put it on a website and in a catalog and reach out to our network of clients.’ You want to say, ‘OK, you’re going to put it on the website. Well, how do you promote your website? And how do you promote my boat on your website? How do you drive traffic to my boat’s page on your website? And how do you get clients from what you’re doing to drive traffic to my boat’s page on your website? And how often do you do these things for my boat on social media? And how often do you report to me about what you’re doing and whether it’s working?’”
Duncan’s book offers that level of detailed thinking about everything from using email and social media to taking effective marketing photos and creating compelling videos.
Many of the concepts, at their core, involve working with a broker who knows how to understand, and articulate, the detailed story that surrounds a yacht going up for sale.
“That’s what sells things today: Tell a story around the product,” Duncan says. “Very often, when you have somebody who’s looking to buy a boat and they’re talking to their family or friends, they’re not usually talking about the size or the make or the engine hours or the design. Very often, they’re saying, ‘Hey, you know what? This boat used to be owned by this famous person, and he took it here and he took it there, and he even had this or that on board.’ That’s what is getting them excited about the boat. You can’t tell those stories if you don’t know them and you don’t know what they’re supposed to be about.”
The yacht industry suffers from a ‘gaping disconnect’ between sales and marketing. While marketing is often great for a brokerage company’s brand awareness, it’s not always ideal for selling a specific yacht.