Sooner or later, you're probably going to sell your boat, whether you're interested in an upgrade or a different type of boat entirely. If you want a smooth, fast, and convenient experience, you’ll want to sell your boat as quickly as possible. The right marketing strategies can help you do this, but how do you market and advertise a boat effectively?
Understanding the Market
Before you list your boat for sale or attempt to start marketing it, you should work to understand the current market. Here, you have to think like a marketer and work to better understand your specific target market – as well as the economic dynamics that might influence your sale.
For example:
- Target demographics. Who's going to buy your boat? Depending on the type of boat it is, you might have one of a number of different prospective buyers. A person looking for a small, powerful speedboat isn't going to be looking for the same things as a person looking for a large, less manoeuvrable cruiser.
- Supply and demand. You'll also need to consider the current conditions for buying and selling boats. Is this a buyer’s market, in which many boats are already listed for sale at attractive prices? Or is this a seller’s market, with limited inventory and higher prices?
- Comparable boats. Before listing your boat for sale and choosing a price, take a look at comparable vessels that are already listed. How long are they on the market? What price are they being sold for? What strategies are their sellers using to market these vessels?
Presenting Your Boat in the Best Light
Once you have this information, you can work on presenting your boat in the best possible light. These are some of the strategies that can help you do it.
- Repairs and upgrades. First, tackle any repairs and upgrades that you need to make. There's no reason to give your vote a complete renovation because you probably won't recoup the full costs. But repairing big issues and making your boat just a little more attractive can help you charge more and sell your boat faster.
- Cosmetic improvements. You can also focus on making cosmetic improvements. Repainting, thoroughly cleaning, and waxing your boat can make a big difference, even though it won't cost you much in terms of time or money.
- Photography and videos. These days, most people have a phone with a camera that provides an easy user interface and exceptional quality. Still, in many cases, professional photography is worth paying for. Whether you choose to hire a professional photographer or just master the basics of photography with your own camera, it's important that all your photos and videos show off your boat in the best light. Check out our tips on how to photograph your boat for sale.
- Description copywriting. Find a way to write an original description about your boat that simultaneously appeals to your target demographics and shows off what makes it unique. What does this boat have that other boats similar to it lack? What is your target market really looking for?
- Pricing. Setting a price is also a kind of marketing strategy. The lower your price is, the faster your boat is going to sell, but the less money you'll stand to make. You'll need to treat this decision strategically if you want to be effective.
Listing Your Boat Online
Once you're prepared to show off your boat, you'll be ready to list it on one or more major online platforms. TheYachtMarket makes this as easy as possible, allowing you to list your boat for sale in just a handful of steps. If you already have photos, descriptions, and a pricing strategy, the hard part’s already over. All you'll have to do is use these details to fill out online forms and approve your listing to go live.
Supporting Your Listing
If your boat is priced attractively and it's on a major listing platform, it should sell quickly on its own. But you can market your boat even further with the following types of strategies:
- Search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO allows you to optimise a page to make it more likely to appear in search engines when relevant searches are performed. It's a time-intensive strategy, so it's not always worth it for a single boat listing.
- Social media marketing. A more accessible marketing strategy is social media marketing. Share your boat listing across all your social platforms and ask your friends to share it even further. After just a few additional shares, you can easily reach thousands of people this way.
- Networking. You should also consider spending more time networking and spreading the word about your boat in person. Talk to other boat owners at the marina and see if they have any friends or family members who are interested in buying. In thriving communities, boats have a tendency to sell very quickly because of word-of-mouth marketing.
- Print and traditional marketing. Print and traditional marketing techniques can also be effective. If you can do so cheaply, consider printing flyers and distributing them wherever you might find other boat owners and boating enthusiasts.
- Collaborations with brokers and dealers. In some cases, you may be able to market your boat with the help of boat brokers and dealers as well.
Regrouping
Even if your boat is in amazing condition, there's a chance it won't sell right away. If you find that your marketing strategies and listing platforms aren't working the way you thought, you'll need to take a moment to regroup. Is there a different strategy or combination of strategies you can try? Should you target a different demographic? Should you consider lowering the price to make the deal more attractive? The answer will depend on current economic conditions and analytics related to your marketing strategies.
Are you interested in selling your boat? You can start the process with TheYachtMarket today! And once your boat sells, you can also browse our platform to find your next vessel. Check out the thousands of boats already listed for sale!