2024 Top Dealers: Best In Class

As part of the Top 100: Top Dealer awards, Boating Industry has honored four companies with special “Best in Class” awards, recognizing their outstanding excellence in specific areas of their business in 2024.

These companies were highlighted in the February edition of Boating Industry. Below are the Best in Class award recipients for 2024:

Clemons Boats is located on 15 acres of waterfront property in Sandusky, Ohio, along the shore of Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie.

When Bob Clemons started in 1966, he recognized that it is a recreation and vacation area where people boat, and not where they live. However, to get to where they were going – and boating – they had to drive right by the property.

Clemons Boats began as a simple trailer on the property, with a gravel lot for parked boats. By 1968, the operation began to grow with a showroom, small service bay and service counter, as well as a marina and ramp.

A decade or so later, Bob had display docks that could hold up to 30 boats, 60 more dock slips to rent, a main showroom, an auxiliary showroom, a fully functional marina, and a full-service bay area. They were on their way to becoming the largest Bayliner dealer in the country by volume.

Unfortunately, in 1985 the main showroom burned to the ground and the Sandusky Bay Bridge was demolished, re-routing traffic around Clemons and not past it. Challenges indeed.

That hardly stopped their growth and expansion though. Fast forward to today and you can find a total of 12 buildings on that original 15-acre property, including three heated showrooms, two 14,000 square foot cold storage buildings, three 12,000 square foot heated storage buildings to store boats, a 2,500 square foot rigging building, a 7,500 square foot service shop, a parts storage room, a tool room, and a fiberglass repair shop.

“We have spent a lot of time, effort, and money on our place and in the last five years have really added a lot of infrastructure,” said Jason Clemons, the president of Clemons Boats, and the grandson of founder Bob Clemens. “And we have done it all with zero financing.”

Jason said “my grandfather based his entire business philosophy off the things he learned at 20 group meetings.”

The last few years have been volatile ones for the entire recreational boating industry, and Jason said they have been deliberate about getting back to basics, focusing on getting better instead of always thinking about getting bigger.

“It is important we set goals and achieve them,” stated Jason in his Top 100 application. “However, we want to be very careful to not get on the ‘hamster wheel’ of business and keep growing for the sake of growing. I have seen too many dealers grow to a point where they now have to grow to survive, and they end up working their lives away and becoming unhappy and wishing things were ‘the way they used to be.’”

As Clemons Boats has grown, they have had to be more mindful of continuing to give the personal touch to each and every customer.

They offer free pick-up and delivery within 30 minutes of the store for service and storage.

And a couple of years ago they hired someone to do CSI follow up calls. The strategy has been to contact each customer after a sale, delivery, or service experience through their Kenect system. During this contact, they ask how the customer’s experience was, try to put out any fires immediately, and also encourage customers to fill out the surveys from the manufacturers.

The service team also implemented a text line to help expedite communication and payment processing and it allows for 24-hour access to Clemons Boats in case of emergencies.

Asked to sum up his customer service philosophy, Jason said “In one word: FAMILY! We are family owned and operated and in the fourth generation of ownership. We strive to provide a more personal experience and form long lasting relationships with our customers. Every year we grow, we become better, and we become more profitable as a dealer. I would like to think there’s not a hungrier dealer out there than Clemons Boats and after nearly six decades we are still just getting started!”

Boat dealerships are so much more than a place to simply sell and service boats. They often serve as people’s first introduction to the recreational marine industry. It falls on boat dealerships to go above and beyond to promote safe boating, a fun experience and all of the good surrounding the industry overall.

When looking at its list of associations, 20 Groups, Dealer Councils, and much more, it’s quickly clear that the team at MN Marine Group / Miami Nautique International aims for success not only for its own business but for the entire recreational marine industry and its greater community.

“We believe that in addition to offering an exceptional quality boat, education is key to ensuring that our customers love boating, and become customers for life. Since statistics show that first impressions make lasting impressions, our first education process sets our buyers up for continual success on the water,” said owner Kim Laursen. “With the knowledge we impart, customers are on their way to focusing on what makes boating important: lifestyle, health, family, friends, and lifetime memories.”

Founded in 1998, the Miami Nautique team has been dedicated to the marine industry through and through for the last 25 years. From local parks and recreation organizations, tourism bureaus to watersports associations and dealer councils – and so much more in between – the Miami Nautique team ensures that boating has a voice at every table possible.

The business’ involvement across the boating community and beyond includes some organizations more frequently seen across boat retailers, like dealer groups and industry-specific 20 Groups, but also extends well beyond that.

Down to its more local community, Miami Nautique remains heavily involved with a Vistage Business 20 Group, comprised of leading Miami-based CEOs. In addition, the dealership group plays a vital role in its community as a member of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, the Miami Tourism Bureau, and its involvement with the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department. At the state level, Miami Nautique is actively involved with the Florida Department of Commerce and was a leading member of Governor Scott’s Enterprise Florida program.

Furthermore, the team takes recreational boating and the activities that come with it to the national stage and beyond, through involvement with groups such the Water Sports Industry Association (WSIA) – in a variety of different capacities – and the USA Water Skiing Association.

“Twenty-five years of operation has taught us a lot of different lessons,” Laursen said. “We keep going back to what we know, we are athletes ourselves. We have a specialty product and to drive purchases we need experts. We focus on hiring a team that has experience with these boats from a lifetime of use. Our employees believe in the brand and believe in our growth just as we do. We believe it is our team that sets us apart. We gave them the same foundation we had to learn through trial and error, and hope that with the right collaboration, we can all achieve new heights.

From local to state, all the way to nationally and worldwide, Miami Nautique represents the boating lifestyle to every platform it possibly can and then some. And through all of Miami Nautique’s efforts, it’s easy to have confidence that boating will have a place for all well into the future. 

To go from one store to three full-service dealerships in a two-year span posed a significant challenge for Buckeye Sports Center. But for over 60 years they have proved they can meet – and beat – challenges, and the expansion is no exception.

Buckeye Sports Center is located just off the major highway that connects Cleveland, Akron and Canton, Ohio. They are within a 40-minute drive of three million people, several inland lakes and Lake Erie.

The main showroom is 17,000 square feet with a 12,000 square foot auxiliary showroom. The service facility is 12,000 square feet and they have a 35,000 square foot heated storage building just two miles away.

Buckeye also has a location in Indianapolis that is over 80,000 square feet and can display 90 boats.

And they have a brand-new service, sales, and storage facility in Huron, Ohio, half a mile from Lake Erie. 

“Our biggest problem right now is to continue to grow the staff to keep up with the growth of the business in a way that continues to create a great customer experience,” stated Buckeye president Bob Armington, the third generation in the family-owned business.

One key hire they highlighted is a dedicated tech that pre-checks boats as they arrive from the factory. It has not only sped up how quicky they can get boats photographed, videotaped, and online, but they also do a quality check and address warranty issues faster than before as well. 

Armington added that one of the best things they have done in regards to personnel is develop from within. In sales, service as well as the front office, Buckeye has started people at entry level positions, giving them a steady amount of training and letting them move up the ladder.

“This not only gives them opportunity for advancement and a desire to stay but also brings them up in our culture, so they continue to be a good fit with our company,” Armington said.

Continuous training has always been one of the keys to success for Buckeye. Case in point, they revamped their tech apprentice program, pairing up entry-level techs with veterans, which resulted in the development of new techs.

Previously, Armington said the company wasn’t too clear on the timeline for the apprentice program, and in several instances, they promoted people too early due to tech shortages.

Now, however, they enter the program knowing it will be a nearly two-year long process, before they can attain an 80% efficient mark on their own, which is the standard they must meet to become a full-fledged tech.

The pay structure was also revamped to an aggressive hourly wage plus the apprentice gets a percentage of what each tech that they work with bills out.

“This has actually helped in keeping them happy and motivated over the learning period because in theory, they make more helping people versus what they would make if left on their own,” Armington added.

Buckeye calculates individual tech efficiency weekly, posting it beside the time clock, and managers go over results with techs during the Monday morning service meeting.

They can see how their productivity compares to past weeks and their peers. Buckeye breaks out billed hours by retail, warranty and internal (prep, new boat detailing, unloading and repairs that can’t be charged to warranty). They also compare their tech’s efficiency to other 20 Group members to look for deficiencies or areas that need improvement.

They have continued to raise the base hourly rate for techs, as well as pay 2% to 3% of their billed hours in a commission each pay period. Techs also receive a year-end Christmas bonus each year based on profitability.

All of these measures have helped increase billed labor revenue as well as allowed Buckeye to achieve an average tech efficiency of 91% as a percentage of hours worked.

“The extremely high value we place on our team is proven by our culture of teamwork, high retention, and employee satisfaction,” said Armington in closing. “All these factors are what set us apart from our competition.”

From re-writing job descriptions to staff additions, New Jersey’s Off Shore Marine, Inc. took to increased training efforts to handle both continued business growth and the nuances of being in a brand-new facility and service lot.

“2023 was the year that brought the dream to reality. Having outgrown our facility a decade before, a 2021 16-acre land purchase laid plans in motion for building an entirely new 13,000-square-foot dealership completed in August of 2023,” said owner Sherri Cecchini.

In 2023, Off Shore Marine moved from approximately two usable acres of land and about 7,000 combined square feet of showroom, employee lunchroom and admin office space to a new dealership property with 16 acres that includes two building lots with 11 usable acres. The new building offers 13,000 square feet of space that breaks down into 6,000 square feet of shop area, 5,000 square feet of showroom and parts, and 2,000 square feet of second-story administrative offices, parts room and lunchroom/meeting space.

With its strong training efforts, Off Shore ensures that all of its departments and employees alike create customer experiences to the highest level of satisfaction across the board.

By implementing and completely utilizing a blend of internal and off-site training opportunities, not just for its management and sales team, but across every department and every aspect of the business, Off Shore works to create a company culture of continuous learning, improvement and growth overall, leading to unprecedented success, even in times of challenge.

“Off Shore Marine has worked hard to create a company culture that fosters a team environment and pride in the workplace,” Cecchini said. “This equates to low employee turnover, great Google reviews, high employee satisfaction scores and high customer satisfaction scores.”

Training and creating that company culture and cohesion begins on day one for any new employee joining the ranks at Off Shore Marine. Personnel are introduced to the Off Shore culture with its “First Day/All Day” training orientation facilitated by the owner and complete with Off Shore business philosophies, policy and employee handbook review, fellow employee introductions, explanation of the chain of command and job responsibilities.

Beginning with leadership, training is at the forefront of culture at Off Shore Marine. Recognizing the nuances of succession planning, much of Off Shore’s training in management revolves around leadership training for the next generation of Off Shore leaders, with a mix of 20 Group meetings and a multitude of other leadership and management training opportunities.

Within the sales department, Off Shore ensures its sales team is ready for everything, by including new product training for each OEM the business represents. In addition, the sales team at Off Shore participates in off-site sales training programs, like those offered by the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and the online Glenn Roller Sales Training sessions.

In the service department, Off Shore doesn’t stop training at just simply hitting the necessary OEM certification training. From internal training opportunities to in-depth OSHA, hazardous materials and beyond training, Off Shore aims for efficiency, safety and a stellar workplace experience from top to bottom.

While training takes place over the entire year, Off Shore kicks off each boating season with a special meeting to go over policies and procedures to ensure everyone is on the same page, as well as hosts meetings regularly to continuously learn from each other in terms of best practices when it comes to providing the best experience for customers at every level.

Overall, training and processes were key to leading Off Shore Marine to a 20% increase in productivity and helped the business welcome 115 new sales and service customers to the Off Shore family in 2023.

Source: https://boatingindustry.com/news/2025/02/26/2024-top-dealers-best-in-class/