Marina Industries Association Australia Waterline Magazine interviewed Marina Master team. More in Waterline September 2023 issue, extract on page 4-7
WATERLINE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MARINA MASTER:
1. What benefits does a marina management solution provide for marina operators?
WATERLINE FULL INTERVIEW WITH MARINA MASTER:
1. What benefits does a marina management solution provide for marina operators?
Marina management solution (Marina Master©) offers advanced all-in-one marina management solution focusing on complete control of marina operations, empowered marina staff, improved boater’s experience and more. Marina Master’s CRM and Access Control is designed specifically for marinas.
Marina Management solution’s (Marina Master©) added value for marina owners, managers, marina staff and boaters:
- added value for marina owners, managers, marina staff: gives them powerful tool for efficient planning, service organization/control, access control, complete supervision of all processes in marina, inspect marina property in real time, customer relationship management, communication with boaters and sending them proposals, loyalty program, reminders, alarms for marina staff, manage berth occupancy and reservations interactively, viewing live stream of berths to confirm availability and occupancy, using marina’s choosen accounting and ERP system, management analytics with customized reports, boatyard and shipyard management, movement control, dock walk, charter management, management of yacht club specifics, charter, accommodation management, automated meter readings, Food & Beverage management, POS and fuel consumption tracking, access control system, wireless vessel tracking systems, CCTV stream live camera, Asset & Maintenance Management, Bank Feed – simple upload of bank statement , using marina’s chosen payment gateway (Merchant Warrior, FreedomPay etc.) and more. Business overview of critical data (auditing trail, cash flow, statistics and more) is enabled for present &future or history. By automating and streamlining the processes marins increase productivity and Income. Those new Marina Master© modules facilitate marina business, lower their overall yearly fees, staff training costs and resources, which is especially important in rapidly changing marina environment.
- added value for marina clients/boaters: myMarina© app gives boaters direct and efficient modern way of communication with marina staff and management and enables them to order, control, supervise services, payment per consumption, overview of boat data, view vessel current situation live through stream camera footage/expert CCTV solutions, assistance per arrival by boat or car, advanced services (boat/berth sharing, Yacht club membership etc.), participation in loyalty program with multiple tier levels (enabling them collecting points for discounts and customized rewards when using marina services within their transient or seasonal stay in marina etc.) and more anytime form any mobile device anywhere. App for marina boaters creates a new and unique improvement of boatermarina relationship.
Marina Master Management team believes that “visiting a marina shouldn’t be just an urgent duty and finding a berth, fuel, water pump, but unforgettable experience”.
The innovative marina management solution (Marina Master©) functionalities result in continuing development of customized solution according to ever changing boater’s needs, which is especially important in rapidly changing marina environment. Marina Master© is used on more than 100 locations worldwide and therefore enables exchange of best practices, knowledge and ideas, while idea on one part of the world is used on other part of the world and vice versa. Marina Master© team is very flexible in providing solutions for clients and they never say “NO” to any client’s requirement. Preparing solution for client is just the question of time and resources. “Every experience with our customer is goldmine for our strategy”, say Tone Britovsek M.Sc., Vesna Pavlovic M.Sc. and Irena Cadez M.Sc. - Marina Master© management team.
It can be cloud –based or local and used anytime anywhere from any mobile device.
Marina Master© solution’s important benefits are flexibility in providing solutions, consulting approach and trendiness:
- Consulting approach: Marina Master© agile support and development team is guided by professionalism and expert knowledge. Within their 30 years of experience in providing state of the art marina management software solutions worldwide they see consulting as important part within implementation of marina management systems. “We always listen to each customer need and utilize requests in a customtailored solution”, says Vesna Pavlovic, M.Sc., CEO, Marina Master©.
- Flexibility: Marina Master© team carefully study every customer request and never say “No”, but providing solution according to marina individual needs is just the question of time and resources.
- Trendiness: Consulting on best practices in marinas worldwide is shared through Marina Master Academy©, conducting free webinar series on how to Manage Marina from Home and more approaches within continuing education of Marina Master© users enabling them to always stay ahead of the game.
The nature of marina services is indeed changing. Today’s customers need more treatment and are looking for more personalized solutions for their needs, not just generic ones. If marina wants to proliferate in a competitive market it needs to focus on the customer, systematically follow them and understand their needs to achieve long-term relationship with customers. “The marina management solution that is flexible enough to develop continuously according to marina’s needs and latest trends, will boost their competitive advantage and improve their reputation among existing and potential customers”, said Tone Britovsek, M.Sc., President & Owner, Marina Master©”.
Brief customer review:
Since Soldiers Point Marina, being the first marina in Australia using Marina Master© management software, more and more marinas all around Australia have decided to take advantage to improve their business by implementing Marina Master©. “The Marina Master solution enabled our key office staff to work from home, keeping them safe during this difficult time while still ensuring the marina is running as normal. The software not only improves the day to day operations but is saving us $1,000’s of dollars a year in operational costs.” says Darrel Barnett, CMM, Marina Manager, Soldiers Point Marina, NSW.
A similar leap forward is happening in North America after a great experience with Marina Master© in a group of marinas in the New England area. “The quality of customer support that we receive from Marina Master© is second to none. When searching for a new program we needed to find a system that could handle the very high volume of reservations that we deal with in a season. We wanted that the system could be as “future proof” and flexible as possible and Marina Master© program has exceeded in all our expectations.” says its regional manager Kevin Lussier, CMM, Ocean Havens.
It’s all happening also on the whole in Europe where Marina Master© helps to boost marina management intelligent solution in D-Marin Portonovi Marina, Montenegro. “We implemented Marina Master not while ago, but already see its huge advantages. The reliability and Smart specifications are making remote controlling very simple. Everything is just a click-away, and very easy to access. This software gives us an opportunity to interact with customers through CRM, and to refine internal communications’’, says Nikola Banovic, CMM, D-Marin Portonovi Marina.
Abed El Rehman Akawi, Head of Support Services, Ronautica Middle East, The Pearl Islands Marinas, Qatar: "We have been using Marina Master to manage the Pearl Island Marinas, and it has been an absolute game-changer for our operations. The platform's comprehensive features have simplified and streamlined our entire marina management process, particularly when it comes to managing berth contracts and charter services. The berth contract management system has been a effective, providing us with an efficient and organized way to handle our clients' contracts. With the ability to easily track contract details, monitor berth payments, and manage renewals, we now have full control and visibility over our berthing operations.We highly recommend Marina Master to any marina looking to enhance their operations and offer top-notch services to their clients."
2. What cost benefits can be achieved by implementing a marina management solution?
Cost benefits, achieved by implementing Marina Master© solution are:
- savings in operational cost,
- savings in staff resources,
- paperless technology,
- savings due to automation of almost all processes in marina, that used to be done manually before the Marina Master© solution implementation
- increased productivity marina staff has more time for value added activities.
- Marina Management has more control and time for important activities
- boaters have improved experience which leads to improved marinaboater relationship and increased loyalty.
Brief customer review:
Darrell Barnett, CMM, Soldiers Point Marina, NSW, Australia: “Soldiers Point Marina is proud to be the 1st marina in Australia to be using the Marine Master Software and the best thing about it is how versatile it is and how cooperative and diversified the owners are willing to customise to our needs – it is a pleasure to work with Vesna & her team. Nothing is too hard – everything is prioritised and to date they have met all their expectations. The Marina Master software enables a lot of flexibility in customizing solutions according to our requirements and ever evolving customer services. The software not only improves the day to day operations but is saving me $1,000’s of dollars a year in operational costs. Marina Master have managed to integrate with MYOB, a first for them also, without a glitch and I would recommend the software and staff in control to any marina.
3. How do marina management systems improve staff productivity?
Being that most of marina staff time-consuming tasks are now automated with Marina Master© solution and controlled remotely, marina staff has more time for added value activities. They can finally tend to their main objective: taking care of customers by supplying customized services and products. This is of the utmost importance in order to gain loyal and valuable customers.
Marina Staff benefit from having complete real time overview of customer data, reservations, notes, alarms and task management from any mobile device anywhere. They can communicate with customers via app, email or text messages. All communication is done on a single platform and is saved on customer’s CRM tab. Enquiries, quotes, invoicing and contract signature is processed easily and swiftly with a few taps on their smart device. Therefore staffs are able to regularly update boaters about what is available and open in marina and more. They can easily organize online event and other marketing activities and get confirmation. Marina surveillance and dock walks are done automatically – either by CCTV or by dock sensors implementation. Customers can check in and plug in to shore power on their own in our smart marinas.
Brief customer review:
Tom Lord, CMM, Marina Manager, Limassol Marina, Cyprus: “Since implementing Marina Master in record turnaround time with the fantastic help and support of the Marina Master team, we have immediately seen some great benefits for both customers and staff across the marina. We are very excited to be implementing a significantly increased capability for mobile working, enhancing operational efficiency in a number of ways – from provision of customer services and related administration, to management of maintenance and completion of routine checks and inspections. All of the information and functional capability is in the hands of the people that need it, wherever they are on-site. We look forward to rolling out more new functionality for our customers and staff in the coming weeks and months and to working closely with the Marina Master team to continue enhancing the way in which the system supports our marina management and most importantly, customer service.”
Daniel Ward, Business Analyst, SFM Marine, Australia: “We have had a number of people using the timesheets already and entry has been very easy. Even for those who have no interest or are ‘scared’ of using computers. Thank you for setting up such a simple processes for the guys to use.”
Scott Marshall, General Manager, Breakwater Marina, Townsville, Australia: “I have worked in the Marina Industry now for 20 years and have developed an acute awareness of how significant the role of an effective office management system is to the running of a successful Marina property and business. Since working through the inevitable teething problems that come with the transference of such a bulky data set and setting parameters that are specific to our property and business, I’ve found our business has improved markedly. That’s due in large to having a far more efficient management system that allows staff, across the business, to spend more time in other productive areas of the business.
4. What questions should you ask a supplier about their operating system?
Marina Master© first step is contact with potential Marina Master© user is to learn much as possible about marina operating system, marina needs & requirements with the aim to help marina utmost.
Therefore marina is asked to answer following basic questions (and later additional questions that are prepared according to marina specifics), related to their operating system:
- Number of berths/location
- Short description of main processes (daily, weekly, monthly, wintering)
- Main goals expecting to be achieved with Marina Master© solution
- Main difficulties expect to be solved with Marina Master©
- Existing and desired integrations with external systems
- Organizational structure
- Main services marina offer to customers
- Any other information important for marina
5. What processes and support do you have in place if the system crashes?
Marina Master support team covers Marina Master user’s/marina’s back at all times.
Marina Master© support includes online help desk support through email, phone, skype or other communication canal.
Help desk team response quickly according to rules defined in Marina Master SLA terms and conditions https://marina-master.com/SLA-IRM-ENG.pdf
Marina Master team reacts to the customer’s notification/question immediately or within a maximum 2 hours from receiving the notification.
Marina Master team answer and solve issues responsively depending on issue’s priority defined also in Marina Master SLA terms and conditions https://marina-master.com/SLA-IRM-ENG.pdf, point 5: Procedure
Within Marina Master more than 30 years of experience of cooperation with CMM Marina Managers (using Marina Master) worldwide there has been no system crash, the cause of which would be related to Marina Master solution or team. Marina Master team is always happy to help marinas issues & problems to the best of Marina Master team’s abilities even if the cause is not related to Marina Master solution.
Marina Master solution is supported by the latest security and data protection standards.
Brief customer review:
Abed El Rehman Akawi, Head of Support Services, Ronautica Middle East, The Pearl Islands Marinas, Qatar: “We have been using Marina Master to manage the Pearl Island Marinas, and it has been an absolute game-changer for our operations. The support and assistance we've received from the Marina Master team have been exceptional. They have been responsive, proactive, and dedicated to ensuring we make the most of the platform's capabilities. We feel confident that we are in capable hands with Marina Master backing our marina management endeavours. We highly recommend Marina Master to any marina looking to enhance their operations and offer top-notch services to their clients."
Scott Marshall, General Manager, Breakwater Marina, Townsville, Australia: “I have worked in the Marina Industry now for 20 years and have developed an acute awareness of how significant the role of an effective office management system is to the running of a successful Marina property and business. The platform has driven the professional perception our customers have of our business through the innovative use of technology, adaptive connections to existing systems, a modular approach that allows you to expand the system as your marina business grows and diversifies and the customization of reports and communicative templates through a dedicated CRM. As is always the case with complex systems, things go wrong from time to time but the support and development team at Marina Master are fantastic to work with and they understand the impact on business when the system’s not fully functional. I would have no hesitation in recommending other Marina Owners and Operators to consider seriously making Marina Master an integral part of their business management.”
6. What are the benefits for boat owners by installing a marina management solution?
Added value for boat owners: myMarina© app gives boaters direct and efficient modern way of communication with marina staff and management and enables them to order, control, supervise services, payment per consumption, overview of boat data, view vessel current situation live through stream camera footage/expert CCTV solutions, assistance per arrival by boat or car, advanced services (boat/berth sharing, Yacht club membership etc.), participation in loyalty program with multiple tier levels (enabling them collecting points for discounts and customized rewards when using marina services within their transient or seasonal stay in marina etc.) and more anytime from any mobile device anywhere.
App for marina boaters creates a new and unique improvement of boater-marina relationship.
Marina Master Management team believes that “visiting a marina shouldn’t be just an urgent duty and finding a berth, fuel, water pump, but unforgettable experience”.
It can be cloud –based or local and used anytime anywhere from any mobile device.
Brief customer review:
Darrell Barnett, CMM, Soldiers Point Marina, NSW, Australia: “Marina Master software enables a lot of flexibility in customizing solutions according to our requirements and ever evolving customer services. myMarina enables Soldiers Point Marina customers to make restaurant reservations, call for assistance by boat or car and have quick access to marina business offers from tenants and more.
Nikola Banovic, D-Marin Portonovi Marina, Montenegro: “The system is so flexible that you can always add new requirements with great solutions provided. This software gives us an opportunity to interact with customers through CRM and to refine internal communications.”
Chuck and Ann Lagasse, Principal, Ocean Havens LLC: “Marina Master’s (MM) loyalty program software integration has been a very seamless process. The Marina Master Development Team incorporated the many features for discounts and perks across the board by each membership tier for transient dockage, merchandise, fuel services, etc. This is the first season of the Ocean Havens’ automated loyalty program and it has been well received by their customers. Working with the team at Marina Master has been a very positive experience.”
7. What is your unique selling point for your system?
Marina Management team’s pleasure, high motivation and goal is to help marinas in achieving their goals faster and with less effort and Marina Master© team’s goal is to improve marine industry worldwide.
Therefore Marina Master© team is active in membership activities in Marina Industry Association (MIA), Australia and in Association of Marina Industries (AMI), USA and at ICOMIA.
Marina Master© team is voluntary sharing their knowledge as speakers at conferences education sessions worldwide:
- at Docks Expo 2021 speaking on education session on topic “The Worldwide Marina Industry- What Can We Learn from Each Other and What’s Ahead?”
- at DocksExpo 2022 speaking on education session on topic “Taking the Leap – How CRM Improves Customer Experience
- at IBEX 2021 speaking on education session on topic: Seven trends in Information Technology that will shape the Future of Marina Industry
Marina Master© team another favourite point to exchange knowledge and best practice experience are exhibition at conferences and events for Marina Managers, like METSTRADE, Marinas24, Docks Expo, IBMC, IBEX, Seatec and others.
CMM Marina Managers, using Marina Master© highly appreciate solution’s flexibility, drive and team’s heartiness and identify Marina Master team and product as global leader in the industry.
Marina Master users on more than 100 locations on different continents worldwide (from Australia, Europe to United Emirates, Carribean, USA etc. ) are exchanging their ideas, requests and knowledge and experience with Marina Master© advanced features and encouraging new marinas, ports, yacht clubs.
Brief customer review:
Mike Richards, Marina Manager, Union Steamship Marina, Canada: Marina Master is an incredibly useful and comprehensive tool for marinas. As I’ve grown to understand it more and become proficient with it, I’ve seen how so many marinas could benefit from what it has to offer. If it ever arises that you need someone to show another marina in the area how to use it I’d be open to discussing the possibility of doing that for you on my days off.
8. How long does it take to install/train staff/implement a marina management solution?
Marina Management solution (Marina Master©) implementation is around one-month process. Marina will be able to start using Marina Master© solution in one month without interrupting their workflow and over-burdening their employees. The implementation period can take more in case of marina’s additional & specific requirements related to new integrations or additional development. Marina Master team never say “NO” to any special request, implementation of every specific requirement is just the question of time and resources.
Marina Master© implementation includes system analysis, data migration, online installation, testing, on-line staff training and possible additional development before production set up.
Brief customer review:
Tom Lord, CMM, Marina Manager, Limassol Marina, Cyprus: “Since implementing Marina Master in record turnaround time with the fantastic help and support of the Marina Master team, we have immediately seen some great benefits for both customers and staff across the marina.”
Danny Cunningham, Bellerive Yacht Club, Australia: I have been keeping an eye on how the system is being developed in conjunction with BYC, and Daniel in QLD. I am impressed and grateful to see the system working well, and becoming the premier platform for all things Marina Australia with our peculiarity tax and accounting systems are a challenge for web developers, so appreciate all efforts being made.