At this time of year marinas and boat dealers are busy addressing the needs of boating consumers. And while consumer business generates the vast majority of revenues for most marinas and service shops, demand fluctuates with the seasons. This is one reason why some recreational boating businesses are seeking out new opportunities in the business-to-government (B2G) sector, particularly with respect to servicing the vessels of different government agencies.

Take Leatherdale Marine in Orillia, Ontario, for example. According to Co-Owner Bill Jones, his dealership services vessels for the local headquarters of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). "It makes it pretty lucrative for us," says Jones. "You don't make a lot of money at your first crack at it. However, because of the number of jobs we do, it ends up being pretty good business for us. The OPP buys from Bombardier, and then we're contracted by Bombardier to provide service for them. These jobs are important to our business. We do a lot of their smaller boats from 14 to 22 feet as well as a lot of their outboards."

The business opportunity for Leatherdale Marine doesn't end with the OPP's vessels and outboards though. Rather, it has opened a door to even more business. "We also service a large number of snowmobiles for them, averaging about 20 units a year," continues Jones.  "The relationships we have with our local government agencies are something we're always working on. We make a point of bending over backwards to keep them happy because the work they give us is such an important part of our business."

This past winter, both M&P Mercury Sales in Vancouver, BC and Galleon Marine in Richmond, BC had the opportunity to service the security fleet operating on the waters surrounding the 2010 Winter Olympics Games held in Vancouver.

"For the Olympic security fleet, the RCMP brought numerous vessels from other RCMP bases up our coast and across the country," explains Ian Binstead, Galleon Marine's General Manager. "Since numerous boats were not in use at their frozen home bases, we started getting them ready to go in mid-January and finished servicing them in April for preparation for their return home. We had incredible luck, not one of the 22-unit fleet suffered a mechanical breakdown during the entire Olympic and Special Olympics period, only routine service was required."  

In the case of the Olympics, M&P Mercury Sales and Galleon Marine had to bid on the service contract in order to acquire the work, but in many cases it is either the proximity of the service provider, the recommendation of a manufacturer or a standing relationship formed by a history of good service that determines who does the job for the agency.

Gary Coleman, National Service Manager for Mercury Marine Canada, believes strong communication with the government agency is good way for the dealer to ensure that work comes to them. He suggests the dealer convey the importance of following a regular maintenance schedule. "We provide government agencies a maintenance schedule that they should follow," says Coleman. "Occasionally they call us to find out where they can have servicing done. If you look at the RCMP, today they could be in Toronto and in a couple of days they could have their vessel up in Thunder Bay. They probably have a regular dealer near their home base, but away from there they may need to contact us to find out where the closest authorized dealer is."

Why not make a point of providing local government organizations service schedules to remind them of when to visit your business for service? That's also what Jean-François Rioux, Product Manager Marine/OPE Special Markets Manager for Yamaha Motor Canada recommends. "Dealers need to be pro-active in educating government agencies in their area about service schedules, building a plan to service their fleet. Often the organizations are focused on what they do best, and we've seen some areas where we've seen some concern and passed the word onto the dealers. We need to help them see that preventative maintenance can save them a lot of money and downtime."

Rioux believes extra business is out there for dealers willing to literally go the distance to court these organizations. "One thing we've found in that area was that government agencies are interested in a mobile service provider, someone willing to go onsite and service engines. Opportunities exist for on-call work for winterization, maintenance and service. When you think of the manpower it takes to get some of the larger boats on a trailer and to haul it to the dealership, it's an inconvenience. Service centres willing to send someone to them may find there's work out there.

"We serve all levels of government across Canada," continues Rioux. "We receive purchase orders from various agencies to power or re-power their crafts. We don't try to dictate where the agency should go because we want to treat all our dealers fairly. We encourage the agency at the time of sale to have a relationship with a dealer for installation and service. If they don't know anyone, then we will make the recommendation. We have dealers that are more involved in this type of work, and that is where we would try to guide them."

Rioux also says it's essential that marinas and dealers provide service agencies with a good experience if they want their return business. "If a government organization comes to a dealer for service, just because they didn't purchase the engines from them doesn't mean they should push them down the priority list. Don't miss the opportunity to grow your business, provide them good service. It could start with something as simple as selling them a jug of oil. The ones that are successful with this type of work are not the ones who get greedy," he explains. "That's not the way to approach it. If you're fair with them, then you'll get repeat business. Also, generally the entire vessel will need work, so perhaps the job could lead to other work, such as refitting the vessel's electronics for instance."

It takes time to establish relationships with government and institutional clientele, but the payoff is consistent, predictable business that represents additional revenues and profits. Apart from keeping your service department busy, B2G business can lead to additional new product sales in a market that tends to be less price-sensitive than the traditional B2C environment.

SELLING TO GOVERNMENT Selling to government or institutional clientele is quite different than selling to consumers. Here are some key points to consider:
	Consumer	Government
Buying Process	Generally one or two decision makers, faster process	Multiple decision makers, slower process, often requires request for proposal or bid on tender
Market Size	Large market – "in the thousands"	Small market – "in the dozens"
Price Sensitivity	More price sensitive	Less price sensitive
Selling Process	Generally on-site	Generally off-site
Business Demand	Unpredictable	Predictable
Relationship	With key decision maker	With key decision maker, numerous influencers, OEM, "gatekeeper"
Payment	Occasional bounced cheque	Net 30 days
Customer Acquisition	Advertising, Boat Shows	Tenders, Request for Proposals, Reverse Auctions