Fill monthly, seasonal and annual slips with Dockwa Long-Term Inquiries

To help you capture more revenue during (and after) this period of economic uncertainty, we recently enhanced your Dockwa profile to allow boaters to inquire with you directly about seasonal or annual slips, moorings, and storage.

When we tested this marketplace expansion in late 2019, 1/3 of our marina partners received an inquiry within the first few weeks (with half of them receiving multiple!). We've now re-opened the marketplace with better back-end tools to help you easily turn boater inquiries into lifelong customers.

Here's how it works for your boaters.

Your marina's Dockwa web profile now has a Seasonal Dockage Inquiry button.

Clicking the "Request Seasonal Dockage" button brings boaters to your dedicated Seasonal Dockage Inquiry landing page.

Boaters submit their interest in your marina by completing the inquiry form on the page with their:

It's important to note that when a boater submits a long term inquiry, they do not secure space at your marina in the same way they do when requesting a short term reservation through Dockwa, nor do they submit payment. 

It's up to you to take the next step to turn this lead into a new customer! 

Here's how to make that happen.

1. When a boater makes a seasonal dockage inquiry at your marina, you will be notified of the inquiry:

• via email
• on your Dockwa Dashboard homepage
• in your Dockwa Dashboard menu

You will also receive a email every Monday, reminding you of and linking to all of your open inquiries.

2. Navigate to your Inquiries page to review new inquiries. Here, new inquiries will be marked as "Pending." 

3. If you have space to accommodate the boater, mark the inquiry as "In Progress." Then, reach out to the boater with a message to confirm next steps.

To send a message to the boater, click "Send Message." You'll immediately open a new message window and be able to start a conversation about the boater's inquiry in seconds. 

Alternatively, you can take the conversation outside of Dockwa; you'll find the boater's phone number and email on their contact record. Just don't forget to mark the inquiry as "In Progress!"

Note: Dockwa will expire any inquiry left "Pending" on the fourth Sunday after its submission.

Don't have space to accommodate the boater? Click "Decline" on the inquiry.

4. When you're ready to send the boater their contract, choose "Create Contract" from the inquiry dropdown and add the inquiry to one of your contract groups.  

• Need help creating a contract in Dockwa? Send us an email at success@dockwa.com, and we'll show you how or do it for you.
• Still sending contracts and billing customers the old-fashioned way? Click "Decline" on the inquiry to let us know you contacted your boater but will not be sending a contract through Dockwa.

5. Navigate to your boater's contract group and click "Send." Your boater will receive an email through which they will sign their contract and pay for their dockage. 

Here's what else you should know. 

If you remember nothing else - respond to your inquiries ASAP. To ensure the boater has a positive experience and isn't "left hanging," Dockwa will expire any inquiry that is left "Pending" for four weeks. In many cases, these inquiries are worth thousands of dollars so be sure to follow up quickly. Remember - these boaters are likely submitting inquiries at other locations!

If you want to receive more seasonal inquiries: Put a link to your long term inquiry landing page on your website! We can even build you a custom Dockwa-branded button to make it stand out on your page.

If you do not want to receive seasonal inquiries: Let us know, and we can remove it from our page. Send us an email at success@dockwa.com and we will be in touch shortly!

Interested in learning more about how Dockwa can facilitate how you manage your seasonal/annual customer contracts and billing? Let us know here to start a conversation!