Marketing Expert Needed

[Guest]

I'm trying to get out of my current job, buy a nice boat, use it commercially eg for corporate hospitality
and sail training. Once it's paid for I'll be free to do what I want. What I need ie someone that can advise
me on how to get customers on board - regularly. If I don't get enough customers my dream will become
a nightmare. So... any experts out there who know how to get corporate clients on to a boat, who can help
me set up a web-site and direct and indirect sales promotion? In short I need some marketing help, from a
specialist in either or both the boating and corporate hospitality sectors. Any suggestions welcome...

 

[Guest]

Good luck!

 

[BarryD]

When ever I been on these (OK twice only) the yacht has been a big one - easily into the quarter million pound class. That must take lot of charters to pay for - still it sounds like a great plan, good luck.

Barry D.

 

[Guest]

Web Site

I run a web design company and my wife is a freelance web developer (imagine the pillow talk!). We could probably help with a functional web site but marketing is very much the key. Perhaps you should try trawling some marketing forums as well as 'boaty' ones.

Let me know if you need web site help. My email address is andy@4-site.co.uk

Good luck (I have a similar dream!).

 

[Twister_Ken]

Get real immediately and expect to pay between £500 and £1000 a day for a marketing consultant.

 

[andrewhopkins]

An example

of a well run web site and business is www.sailingbreaks.co.uk. I know the owner and he tells me that he makes very little money out of it and it really just covers his costs.

The lesson from this is that if you have to pay for insurance, servicing, new sails, etc etc it will be a long long time before you get your boat.

His business is lower payments for day sails so not quite the same as charter business.

Perhaps you should consider one of the yacht purchase schemes through Sunsail, Moorings, etc where you get to use the boat 4-5 weeks a year and they charter out and look after it for you. After 5 years its paid for and yours.

Downside is you are restricted to Beneteau/Bavaria/Jenneau etc.

 

[Stemar]

Re: An example

Second downside - the state of the poor thing when Sunsail have finished with it!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by kimhollamby on Wed Jan 30 21:26:55 2002 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[mpprh]

hi

here is an example of someone who has been there and IS doing it today.
He was fully booked 2001.
He chose narrow niche marketing.

Why not talk to him ?

site :

http://www.scintillacharter.com/

or email him at

sales@nudeyachtcharter.com


peter hornby

 

[Jeremy_W]

A friend was looking at this for years and never found a scheme that worked.
e-mail me on "jeremysailing@hotmail.com and I'll give you some idea of what he found.