How to Set Up and Manage Your Marina’s ActiveCaptain Listing
Unbeknownst to the marina manager who is not on ActiveCaptain, Cindy R. from Chesapeake, Virginia has just posted a review about this business on the ActiveCaptain Community. It goes something like this:
“I’m an amateur boater looking for a marina that can guide me through renting a sexy yacht. I have three spoiled grandkids and want to know if this marina has any kind of recreation nearby. I have a pet Yorkie that yaps like a broken ceiling fan and I need to know the marina’s pet policy. I get thirsty and hungry after a day on the water, so I want to know if the marina has a restaurant where I can get a two-pound steak and about four crisp draft beers and a dry martini. Any suggestions?”
Goodness, Cindy, you don’t mess around. If the marina manager was active on an ActiveCaptain Business Program, they would have the ability to answer directly and assuage all of Cindy R.’s questions. This marina manager would be able to bring in her as a new customer, and she would have no reason to search for nearby alternatives (unless the marina can’t provide Cindy’s two-pound steak). That’s just one facet of the usefulness of a business listing on the ActiveCaptain app, the shimmering online inlet teeming with user-shared knowledge and folks who live to spend time on the water.
What Does an ActiveCaptain Business Program Listing Look Like?
Inside the ActiveCaptain Community are detailed maps listing boat ramps, fuel stops, and every possible piece of information needed before a person heads out on the bay to reenact a Jaws shark hunt. Among the myriad of icons, the most populous are little purple markers advertising the thousands of marinas across the country. Your marina rests there patiently, bobbing in the surf, awaiting its owner to click on the little “claim” button and build an ActiveCaptain profile that will provide visibility, transparency, and community with mariners seeking marina services.
An ActiveCaptain profile is like Wikipedia for your marina with a splash of Google Maps. The ActiveCaptain Business Program allows a marina to be visible with the specifics of its business. Let’s check out Peters Marina in the thriving coastal waterfront of…Allentown, PA. Okay, not your regular beachfront territory, but we’ll roll with it. Here’s an exact example of why a marina must craft a business listing:
ActiveCaptain has thousands of users gathered in the app with the purpose to foster community and find the best information for their trip. When an ActiveCaptain Community member clicks on Peters Marina’s purple icon, they can see a lean profile with all the necessary information for an aspiring boater. There’s no fat on a business listing—the user sees contact info, location, amenities, services, fuel options, dockage and mooring statistics, and navigation specifics such as depth, tide, and current.
How Does the Listing Benefit my Marina Business?
Let’s stick with the example of Peters Marina (lots of free advertising for you today, Peters Marina). A member of the ActiveCaptain Community living in this region of Pennsylvania will be drawn to Peters Marina because there are only a couple of local marinas in the area. Notice Peters Marina has not been updated since 2006 and several sections of the listing have not been completed, such as fuel or services offered.
A person browsing marinas may be content to simply call the marina’s number and ask questions, or they may be off-put by the lack of information and feel like they want to look for a marina that satisfies all their questions with a current profile.
The knowledge benefit is one of transparency and professionalism—the boater viewing the profile sees options and knows they are viewing a marina that is current, assertive, and on top of all aspects of their business.
The Starter tier is free, Standard is $50 per month, and Premier rates at $100 per month. At a basic starter subscription, a business is already able to perform two vital functions to improve the visibility of their business: They can add a photo and respond directly to customer reviews.
Building and Maintaining Your ActiveCaptain Business Program Listing
The first task is to put the free app on your phone and create an account. Log into your account, enter the app, and click the “chart” button at the bottom. Proceed to download useful charts for your upcoming trip and view the Community map.
To follow through with building a business profile, it’s easiest to access the ActiveCaptain Community from a web browser and view the Community map. Find your marina on the map, zoom in, and click your marina’s icon. On the left-side listing, at the top, click “claim”. ActiveCaptain will ask you to create or log in to your Community profile. You’ll fill out a standard form, move on to “select package”, and choose a Business Program tier. You’ll then add all the internet eye candy of marina pictures and amenities available for people like Cindy R. from Chesapeake, Virginia. Access the app as often as you wish to update relevant business information or utilize your expertise and engage with potential customers.
The ActiveCaptain Business Program Listing: Giving Your Marina a Personality
It’s easy enough to say, “I don’t need a Facebook” or “I don’t want to be on Twitter”. The reality is, you’re right—you don’t need a Facebook and tweeting is not a life requirement. The benefit of using a social platform like ActiveCaptain is simple—a marina gets to have its own social media presence in a niche community of folks who love exactly what you love.
Your marina might not offer two-pound steaks, but it can always offer its quality services in a way that draws boaters right to the contact info in your ActiveCaptain marina icon. We can help with that. Hammer and Nail Marketing is a boutique marketing firm that helps small to mid-sized marinas get noticed by boaters. If you’d like to focus on operating your marina without the additional responsibility of marketing, get in touch with us.
We’re boaters ourselves from a background of operating a family-run marina. From a group of experts who know the water, let Hammer and Nail Marketing help you be the waterfront your local boaters see every time they cast off.
Article by Hammer and Nail Marketing
WHAT IS HAMMER & NAIL?
Hammer and Nail Marketing is a boutique marketing firm that helps small to mid-sized marinas get noticed by boaters. If you’d like to focus on operating your marina without the additional responsibility of marketing, get in touch with us.
We’re boaters ourselves from a background of operating a family-run marina. From a group of experts who know the water, let Hammer and Nail Marketing help you be the waterfront your local boaters see every time they cast off.
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