A message from Richard and Simon, TheYachtMarket.com founders:
As the worldwide effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to evolve, we would like to assure our clients and friends that TheYachtMarket.com is open, and it is business as usual.
Considering recent recommendations for reducing the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), TheYachtMarket.com has implemented some cautionary measures to help protect our staff and customers:
TheYachtMarket.com staff are working remotely, and we are encouraging all of our staff to practice social distancing, as well as postponing any external meetings that can’t be achieved through video conferencing.
We are grateful for the support of our friends and customers. We will communicate any changes as they arise, and we invite you to stay connected with us via social media and our email updates. To help you further, we have put together a few answers to some of the frequently asked questions relating to COVID-19, and we have created a dedicated article with links to useful websites that have the latest information. For our brokers, there are some useful marketing tips included that Google have suggested to help you navigate your way through the choppy seas.
Thank you so much for continuing to support TheYachtMarket.com. We ask all of our supporters to be safe, to practise responsible social distancing, and to take any symptoms seriously. We’re all in this together.
With our very best wishes to you all,
Richard W. Roberts and Simon White
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for those that own a boat:
There have also been some important changes to the marine industry which we want to share with you.
Can I visit my boat during COVID-19?
If your country is experiencing a lockdown, then visiting your boat would not be advisable for the time being, as your health and wellbeing is of the utmost importance.
Once these restrictions in your country have been lifted (which they will be), we would advise that you maintain a minimum 2 metre (6.5ft) social distance space in any public area, and continue with washing your hands thoroughly after being outside. Also, remember to avoid touching your face with unclean hands.
Travelling to another a country at this present time is strongly discouraged. It may prove very difficult indeed due to the amount of flight restrictions in place around the world. We would advise that unless travelling abroad to your boat is necessary, you should remain in your country and visit your boat once the pandemic has abated, which it will.
Can I go out on the water if I live on my boat during COVID-19?
If you live on your boat, please be aware that many coastal rescue agencies may be closed (if the country is in lockdown) or operating a very reduced service. Therefore, it could be dangerous for you to be out on open water. We strongly advise that you remain moored until the rescue agencies have returned to full service.
Where can I find the most up-to-date COVID-19 information for boating?
There are many great websites, but the ones we’ve listed below contain the current W.H.O. and Marine Industry information.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for our brokers:
For some of you, this global pandemic has had a great impact on the ability to sell your marvellous boats and yachts. We recognise this and want to help you in every way we can. The following up-to-date tips were passed on to us from a recent webinar chaired by Google, and we hope some of these will help.
Have you considered changing your marketing messaging?
Does your messaging currently have any content contained within that encourages people to come and visit you? If so, and if you’re in a country that is in lockdown, it would be beneficial to change this messaging for the time being to something more appropriate. For example, “We are following government advice and working from home, but we are still open for business and can handle all of your enquiries, providing you with videos and photos of the boats.”
Do you have lots of visual content for your boats, and are they the best they can possibly look?
It is always important to have lots of visual content to offer your potential customers, but now more so than ever. There are millions of people sat at home, and they are being flooded with content. Yours will need to be very striking to stand out, but this is easily achievable.
There is lots of great software out there. Programs like Adobe Creative Cloud help you edit and enhance the quality of your photos.
Another good tip we find is trying to avoid using visuals that show untidy areas.
Always try to export your visual content to the highest resolution possible, and avoid placing large watermarks on your visuals. If you must incorporate a watermark, try to keep it small and in the corner. This helps the customer see the full image without being distracted.
Let’s all look forward to getting back on the water and enjoying our passion for boating.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice for boat buyers:
We have thousands of boats for sale by brokers and private sellers alike. While many countries are in lockdown, brokers and sellers in these countries may not able to conduct boat viewings with you. However, you can still search for boats on TheYachtMarket.com and save them to your favourites so you can shortlist and compare them. You can also send enquiries to sellers to get all the information you need so you’re ready to buy your perfect boat when the lockdown restrictions finally come to an end.
Set up your free buyer account on TheYachtMarket here