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www.BoatingIndustry.com 42 | Boating Industry | March 2017 SPOTLIGHT Longtime Top 100 dealer Cleveland Boat Center has been a part of the Tennessee boating community since 1972. But even for a dealer with a long history of success, it's important to keep revamping and improving. In 2015, Cleveland Boat Center under- went major facility renovations and updates in order to create a more effi cient process fl ow for the business. "This was a huge endeavor, with many years of planning into it, and it has proven to be more successful in increasing our ef- fi ciency than we had forecasted," said dealer principal Stacy Greenwood. The renovations included moving the dealership's parts department from the back corner of the building to the second fl oor. To facilitate the move, the Cleveland Boat Center team added wall space, shelving, and laminate fl ooring to the second fl oor, and then fully fi nished the downstairs area where the parts department had been, to include pale blue walls and hardwood fl ooring. That additional room on the fi rst fl oor allowed the company to create a conference room and new offi ce space for the dealer principal and vice president/business advisor. "In moving the parts department upstairs, we were able to do a large scale inventory check and control," Greenwood said. "We also reorganized the layout of this depart- ment to create a more comprehensive and easily accessible parts area." The new offi ce space allowed Cleveland Boat Center to create a sales offi ce for its newly promoted sales associate, who had pre- viously sat at an open desk in the showroom. "The new sales offi ce offers boat custom- ers a more comfortable, inviting private area to discuss numbers and other elements of the boat buying process," Greenwood said. Cleveland Boat Center also made staffi ng changes during the renovation. The com- pany hired a new bookkeeper and new parts and inventory specialist. Other employees were moved to new positions. "These staffi ng changes have proven them- selves to be an excellent change/improvement for the business, as each individual is excelling in their new position and are thus helping our business to grow," Greenwood said. With the former shop manager interested in learning more about other areas of the business, the company moved him into sales, where he the top salesman. "In moving our shop manager to a sales position, we found that his tremendous knowledge of our products, in addition to his excellent people skills and dedication to the position and to customer service, allowed him to quickly excel at his new role in our business," Greenwood said. "By bringing knowledge and fresh ideas to the team, he has contributed to a great increase in our boat sales." Cleveland Boat Center also took the op- portunity to update its marketing along with the upgraded facility. A new logo was cre- ated to more accu- rately demonstrated the company's mis- sion statement to the public, with the addition of three words: "Live," "Laugh," "Boat." "These small words resonate our dedi- cation to selling an on-water lifestyle, not simply boats and water sport accessories," Greenwood said. "We want to convey our intention to show the public that we don't just 'sell boats,' we sell lifestyle – a life of fun, excitement, and togetherness on the water." The company also launched a new web- site created by Lighthouse Media Solutions, with a new interface, interactive pages, and cohesive design and color scheme. "Cleveland Boat Center's new website has been tremendous in assisting our company with establishing consistency in our market- ing and advertisement designs, and provid- ing more information about our company, employees, and products to the public," Greenwood said. In 2015, Cleveland Boat Center also took a "keen interest" in becoming more involved in its local community. "In doing so, we partnered with our local food-bank to collect food items and other do- nations for the needy during the holiday sea- son. To facilitate this venture, we campaigned a 'Fill the Boat' Food Drive during which we drove a festively decorated boat around to local businesses and picked up donations to 'fi ll the boat' for those in need," Greenwood said. "Helping Hands, the organization we partnered with, was wonderful in helping spread the word around the community for us about the event, in addition to the fl iers and personal visits made by Cleveland Boat Center staff to local businesses in the area." BY JONATHAN SWEET Cleveland Boat Center was remodeled to add offi ce space and improve effi ciency. CLEVELAND BOAT CENTER: Renovating and rebranding for effi ciency