A 30-Second ticket to higher profit
By Preston L. Mintz
As a marina operator, you may be overlooking a simple way to increase your profits and improve customer service. It's as easy as offering your customers a 30-second battery test, which will provide a pass/fail determination every time. Not only is it quick and easy, but battery testing inevitably leads to the sales of new, higher quality batteries that will help satisfy your customers and help you overcome local retail competition.
Battery testing also opens new markets for you: your very own marina customers. In addition to battery sales, an electrical system may also uncover defective components such as solenoids, starters, alternators and voltage regulators which are ready for repair or replacement.
For example, most boats will have two batteries, at a 100-slip marina there are 200 batteries. Since about one-third of all batteries fail in a season (the average marine battery is replaced every 18 months), there will be about 70 batteries which need replacement. The battery test will detect these 70 batteries; however, it will also find marginal batteries which will fail sometime during the season.
Currently, perhaps half the boat owners won't come to their marina store for a battery, but instead, will go to a mass merchandiser. That leaves about 35 batteries to be sold by the marina operator during the season. Most operators believe it's hardly worth the effort.
On the other hand, I've seen marina operators who, after testing and offering top-of-the-line batteries to their customers at a slight premium over discount batteries, have achieved a 99 percent success rate. They have sold nearly 70 batteries during the season. At $35 per battery, it's an extra $2,450 in their pocket.
I've also seen instances where marina customers have spread the word to boat owners in other marinas -- even to professional charter and fishing boat operators -- to further expand a marina operator's exclusive market. All of this as a result of a 30-second battery test which most people appreciate. By selling a top-quality marine deep-cycle battery, you'll set yourself apart from the mass merchandisers with whom you should not compete.
Getting started toward added profits.
Starting a battery-testing program is easy, basically a change in mindset and attitude is all that is needed. If you don't spend much time selling batteries (and most marina operators don't), you may believe that customers will always want the lowest-priced battery on the market. This is not necessarily so. Most boat owners will pay a premium for a quality, particularly when it involves a product that can create potentially serious problems when it fails. Failures are expensive, annoying, and they also interfere with recreational time when has become more and more precious to most of us.
Let's take a look at the business side of battery testing. Whenever you sell a top-quality, deep-cycle battery, you'll make about $35 profit. In the previous example, since you'd conservatively expect to sell about 33 batteries a season, you'll generate over $1,150 on battery sales alone -- all the result of a simple 30-second test. Add to that about a half-hour of shop labor for new battery installation (probably at a rate of $50 per hour), and there's another $825 in your pocket. Additional income would also be generated when the electrical system is tested and other components must be repaired or replaced.
Most boat owners prefer to replace batteries before they fail. If you provide battery testing for your customers, there's no doubt you'll sell more batteries than marina operators who don't. You'll certainly sell more batteries than you've ever sold against the major discounters. By offering testing and replacing customers' batteries with quality marine batteries, you'll also take business back from the mass merchandisers.
Selling high-quality, long lasting batteries makes more sense for your reputation and for your customers. With routine testing, you can increase customer satisfaction as well as profits. Recommend battery replacement only if the battery is old or weak; you'll find it is the right thing to do for your customer, your reputation, and finally, your long-term success. Besides the tangible results of providing a premium-quality battery to your customers, you'll also gain their respect and loyalty since they'll have a better battery to depend upon -- and they'll save money in the long run.
When the routine test shows that a customer's battery is weak, it is likely to fail soon. Let the customer know that while his or her electrical needs may be satisfactory today -- with regards to starting and house (the daily electrical needs) -- the battery is weak and likely to fail soon. You may point out the customer the potential implications of battery failure on the water, certainly a statement that might be welcomed by an inexperienced boater.
Combining a testing and replacement service with a premium-quality battery adds tremendous value to your customer for these reasons:
- Convenience. Most busy people will pay a little extra for the convenience of having a weak or questionable battery replaced by his or her marina operator.
- Peace of Mind from a quality product. It's an easy way to eliminate the common problems caused by battery failure (ultimately, inability to start the engine with potentially serious implications).
- Longer life. The high-quality battery is substantially less expensive over the life of the vessal.
- Warranty. Most people appreciate the security of a transferable, five-year replacement, hassle-free nation-wide warranty.
While you're involved with commissioning a customer's boat (bottom painting, hull waxing, rigging, engine work, plumbing systems, electrical systems and so on), the additional cost of a premium battery at that point is negligible, perhaps $30 or $40 extra. Yet many marine dealers feel a better battery will make no difference since very few batteries come back to them because of failures. But many times the customer will go to mass merchandisers to purchase a replacement battery, therefore circumventing the dealer and eliminating profit opportunity.
If you're selling a $100,000 boat to a customer, there's no difference between installing two ordinary batteries for $70 each, vs installing two of the best batteries for your customer at $105 each; the price difference is negligible over the total package cost, yet you benefit through added profits and, ultimately, a better product for your customer.
Energy consumption, battery quality.
Calculating energy consumption in conjunction with battery condition helps you make a practical recommendation to your customer. It also helps you to know how the vessel is being used, whether it's day sailing, weekend, coastal, or bluewater cruising. Most pleasure boats use at least two batteries, one for the house (supplying daily electrical needs) and the other usually reserved for the engine starting. In general, there's no reason why both batteries cannot be the same; in fact, they should be. For the best quality under most conditions of use, the batteries should be deep-cycle, serviceable and with construction features that will provide great capacity, higher reliability and substantially longer lifetimes (cycles).
There are many published tables that list typical amp hour use (current) for all equipment that might be found aboard a vessel. Calculation with regard to average daily consumption (total amp hours per day) is straightforward. Charts of this type are readily available, such as the spring 1997 Jack Rabbit Energy Systems catalog.
The economics of battery manufacturing
One of the reasons why many batteries fail long before their warranties expire is based on economics. Cost pressures have forced many manufacturers to short the way they build their batteries. According to a study by the Battery Council International, the average battery life is about 36 months, yet most batteries are sold with a 50-to-60-month pro-rated warranty. Because about 70 percent of batteries are sold by mass merchandisers, many times the warranty is adjusted at a higher price to compensate for the shorter service life. Price pressures on battery manufacturers come from large discounters, both in marine and automotive markets.
The life of a battery is directly related to its ability to handle repeated charging/discharging cycles and still provide high performance. Factors affecting this include design, construction, and manufacturing methods. Batteries that can handle high charging voltage without gassing eliminate corrosion possibilities, a big factor in the marine environment. When batteries form gases and corrode, they require more frequent maintenance, their lives are shortened, wasting time and money.
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