16 NATCHEZ ON THE WATERFRONT


The perception of value


By Dan Natchez*


I


n these difficult times, providing and communicating value is what brings in new customers and keeps existing ones. Boating is an industry based upon disposable personal income. It is no secret that personal disposal income around the world has been significantly hurt and is extremely strained at the moment. Yet boating also significantly adds


to the quality of life and people will go boating when it is made easy and the perception is that value is received for the money paid.


Customers must be satisfied.


Moreover, the ever-increasing competition for disposable income and the shrinking of that income means that the marina operator has to work harder than ever to maintain and increase customer loyalty and interest, but how does one accomplish this while remaining economically viable? The answer may lie in the


perception of value, which suggests that the customer or marina patron must feel that he or she is getting value for what they pay or even


MARINA INDUSTRY • SEPTEMBER 2019


a better value than elsewhere. To help achieve this, marina operators can provide relatively easy and economically implemented approaches, services and amenities that are perceived to be valuable to the marina patron. It’s a simple concept that is often forgotten by marinas.


Satisfying customers There is no better advertising for a marina than a satisfied customer. A satisfied customer is also one who is most likely to continue


or increase their patronage of a marina, even in hard-pressed economic times. There are a couple of key


approaches that the more successful facilities have seized upon to satisfy customers: exemplary service; friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, smiling employees; and maximising the perception of value for fees paid. The first step to satisfaction is


to talk with your customers and find out what they’re thinking, what’s making them smile, what’s


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