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12


12 NATCHEZ ON THE WATERFRONT


Glitz tends to sell W


By Dan Natchez*


e hear a lot about sustainability today across a wide range of


industries. Many associate it with being green (see article on pages 20-22 of previous issue). Many also associate it with economic modeling. Most politicians identify with it, particularly when trying to get elected. This contribution from ‘Natchez on the Waterfront’ takes a slightly different tack on sustainability, going a little deeper and hopefully relating it in a meaningful way for both your marina’s future and the future of the recreational boating industry. Shiny new to…. we all love them. I am writing this after the Christmas/New Year holidays and kids (of all ages) everywhere are on some level coming to grips with which of the toys they were desperate to get have measured up, which turned out to be duds and have already found their way to the back of the cupboard and which are already broken and being thrown away. Let’s face it – glitz does tend


to sell and the advertising world thrives on it. No doubt at least half the toys on the holiday wish list got there through just that kind of advert. Boat manufacturers seek to


make the pictures of their products so enchanting that you feel you should run out and get one. Buy this boat and you can be just like James Bond. After all, who would not want some of those Bond gadgets such as like a Lotus Esprit that turns into a submarine if you drive it off the pier (check out 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me if you have forgotten one of the best Bond scenes ever)! However, many seem to forget that once you get beyond the glitz, it is substance that will sustain the interest, the use and the economics. What if you press the ‘turn into submarine’ button and


MARINA ASIA-PACIFIC • MAY 2017


nothing happens? I’ll never forget being at a team meeting for one of our particularly high-end residential clients, complete with lighting designer, sound specialist, etc, and the owner finally speaking up and making it clear: “Keep in mind, whatever gadgets you end up installing, that at the end of the day, I just want to be able to enter a room, hit the switch and turn the light on…. and it better darn well work!” We can all tend to get so wrapped up in the glitz that we start losing track of the basics. When it comes to boats, we can be dazzled by all the extra bells and whistles one can add, whether we are talking about a simple runabout or a large yacht. Of course, manufacturers and sales people are only too happy to encourage these add-ons, as they often come with large profit margins. Problem can be (not always) that all that glitz comes at too high a price and not just whatever the final sale


price may be. One of those added prices can be complexity that is intimidating to the boater, requires more maintenance, increases the likelihood of problems and/or that complicates and makes repairs more costly or take longer to fix. Such issues are made worse if the glitz lacks substance or if the core functions have been compromised in order to focus on the bells and whistles.


In the end, recreational boats


are toys. For the vast majority of boat-owners, there is only so much patience one is going to have with a toy before it is either buried in the back of the cupboard or thrown away. There is also only so much money most of us are willing or able to spend on our playthings. I really believe part of what is needed for the long-term continued success of recreational boating is to increase the focus on the substance behind the boats being built and sold – finding ways to offer highly reliable, easily repairable craft at fair prices. We


need to find a way to not simply focus on how much money can we squeeze out of a given sale, but how we can sell a boat that creates a new boater who will stick with it, that supports an existing boater, who is ready to reach a new level, or even that allows an existing boater to scale things back to a degree. Of course, the importance of


substance applies to almost every aspect of the marina as well, from siting to design, construction to operations and even advertising.


Limited budget Every new or returning marina client comes in saying they want the best marina, the most upscale, the most meaningful, the most inviting and the most attractive. Then, almost in the same breath, adds: “but we have only a limited budget”. The fact is that it is extremely


rare that one can be all things to all people. One should think through what are the major attributes


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