In-dealership experience for Whittley Marine online customers

December 21, 2017

WHITTLEY Marine, Australia’s premium fibreglass trailer boat builder, has released a new online dealership feature on the Whittley Marine website.

The feature is designed to provide potential customers and researching new boat buyers with an in-dealership experience on their screen, via a desktop, smartphone or smart device. It was created to make the new boat buying experience as easy and un-confrontational as possible, and aims to assist newcomers to boating and the growing segment of Asian Australian boat buyers.

In an Australian marine industry first, a new boat buyer can now gain access to key buying tools, providing a premium ‘in-dealership feel’, online. The research and information tools via the Build A Boat tab on the Whittley Marine website include the following features:

Virtual tour – where new boat buyers can move and walk through the boat via clicking a mouse or pushing a finger to the screen.
Build A Boat – provides a platform for potential customers to select factory options, including colour selections and provide a MRRP price, to customise a package around their needs and budget.
Live Chat With Whittley – new boat buyers can have any questions answered by Whittley factory staff via live chat.
Apply For Finance – available on screen is an example of the repayment costs per week to own the desired model, and potential buyers can also start their application for finance online.
View New Whittley Stock In Dealership – if you want a boat immediately you can check what new Whittley boats are in stock at your local authorised dealer for immediate delivery via the new boat stock listing tab.
Locate Authorised Whittley Dealer – finding your local authorised Whittley dealer has also been made easy with the Locate Dealer tab.
Request A Brochure – the new 72-page Whittley brochure is available to download and view instantly on screen.
Review Standard Equipment Listings – ensuring new boat researchers can see a detailed list of exactly what comes in the standard boat package.

Whittley Marine sales and marketing director Alan Whittley said, “These innovative new user-focused features, available via the Build A Boat section of the new website, are not designed to reduce the importance of our dealerships.” “Rather they are intended to provide as much information to customers as possible and to make the new boat buying experience and research stage as easy as possible before arriving at an authorised Whittley dealership to review the physical boat and talk with a factory-trained salesperson.

“Buying a new boat should be an easy process, and providing interested parties with as much information as possible and a virtual showroom experience with our product is a key area to ensuring the customer makes an informed decision.” Coinciding with the launch of this exciting new retail-focused virtual showroom experience, Whittley Marine has also released a new dealer login area where Whittley dealers can order their boats with the factory, launch warranty claims, order spare parts and view production scheduling all online.

“The new dealer login area is important for existing and new customers as it streamlines the business-to-business relationship between Whittley Marine and the authorised dealer network around Australia,” Mr Whittley said. “Customers can buy with assurance that the processes and relationships between Whittley and its dealer network is one of the strongest in the industry, and this can only lead to a higher level of customer satisfaction and after-sales service.”

To explore this new and exciting in-dealership experience via the Build A Boat section of the website, log onto the Whittley Marine website whittleymarinegroup.com.au or for more information please contact Northside Marine on 07 3265 8000 or visit northsidemarine.com.au