January 10, 2006

Interview with Teresa "Terry" Dunagin, Correct Craft's New VP of Marketing

Last week I called Correct Craft's PR department, and identified myself. I nervously offered up my Web site's url, my personal email address, my cell phone number and soon the hard part, the cold call, was over. I sat back and hoped if important people at Correct Craft knew about my site, or were currently reading it, that they weren't upset with me. I have written about their boats in the past, in particular the recently released Super Air Nautique 220. This Web site remains one of the top results listed when one searches for the term 'Super Air Nautique 220' on Yahoo and Google search engines. And it should also be mentioned that I'm a current owner of one of their boats, and have had three of them in my family; so I am a fan and I know the product.

As the book The ClueTrain Manifesto points out, the Web is a vehicle that gives everyone a voice, and that the Web somewhat reduces the amount of control large companies have over announcements and news, but in the end everyone benefits from the larger conversations about a wider variety of topics. The book asserts that large companies are better off accepting the external forces that message boards, email lists and blogs create as part of a new era of business; an era that figures out how to deal with pesky bloggers like me. It sounds like an issue that a PR team can handle, but in reality this is part of a global editorialization risk that is always present now that so many have access to the Web and can make comments, publish them, have them indexed by Google and so on.

The PR team at Correct Craft seems to be adopting some of these concepts, because they sent my information along to Terry and she graciously agreed to an informal interview with The Wakeboard Report. So this week I am proud to present it. She has not yet started her position at Correct Craft and is finishing up tenure at another important boat manufacturer, Boston Whaler. So I very much appreciate the time she spent with me, and look forward to further conversations once she is fully ramped up at Correct Craft.

Anyone that has researched inboard family-oriented lake boats eventually comes across the Correct Craft and the Nautique brand. It has become synonymous with quality and remains at or near the top of everyone's wish list when it comes time to buy. But Correct Craft is not without problems, despite the reputation of their product line. They rely on word-of-mouth marketing far more than past leaders have been willing to admit. Some of the company's marketing practices have perplexed consumers. They have been releasing a lot of new hulls, new boats and simultaneously creating more questions than answering them. These are the exact reasons why I was very excited to hear that Correct Craft hired outside of the company, to fill a vacated Vice Presidency in the Marketing department. I am excited to see what Terry Dunagin does in the upcoming year.

The Interview:

EJ - Congratulations on assuming the Marketing VP role at Correct Craft! It is exciting to see new people assume high-ranking positions at Correct Craft. Are you aware that there are going to be a lot of people interested in speaking with you? People like me who are simply bloggers with Web sites and some slight industry affiliation.

TD - Thank you. I am extremely excited to be returning to Correct Craft. It didn't occur to me that I would be a topic of interest. It's my intention to make the brand the hot topic!

EJ - Would you consider removing boats from the current lineup? It has been suggested that there is too much coming from Correct Craft in the way of family-oriented boats.

TD - This early in my career I would never presume to know what product mix is best for the company. I am confident they are evaluating market information and consumer feedback to develop the product plan and that takes time. However, from a 44-year-old's personal perspective, I can tell you that I'd probably break a hip or something trying to round a buoy at 70 mph behind a Ski Nautique! So maybe a family style Nautique could still give me (and millions of other Baby Boomers) awesome performance without the full body cast. As long as they are still building other tournament caliber models I don't see an issue with product line expansion along the lines of family oriented boats.

EJ - Do you plan to solicit feedback from wakeboarders and water-skiers, about what they would like to see in new Correct Craft models? If so how does one go about getting on a sort of advisory board? Or forming one? Is this something in which you would be willing to participate?

TD - For years, Correct Craft has gleaned product design ideas from professional athletes, its dealer network and its promotional team members. I remember that the customer satisfaction surveys were valuable sources of information from recreational end users. I can't say what additional sources are being used but I've conducted internet surveys, owner events, media events and customer focus groups in the past that were extremely helpful. However, the key is not how much information you gather, but the quality of the information and what you do with it that really matters.

EJ - How has your experience at Boston Whaler prepared you to take over as a marketing leader at Correct Craft?

TD - Boston Whaler has been an incredible growth opportunity for me. Over the years it has evolved into a data driven organization. By monitoring market trends and applying voice of the customer data, you're taking most of the guess work out of product development.

Like Correct Craft, Boston Whaler boats appeal to a niche market so it is extremely important that your marketing and product development efforts are specifically targeted to that audience.

Another similarity in the companies is that they enjoy brand recognition much larger than the companies themselves. From a marketing perspective, that's huge. You can't buy brand equity.

EJ - Correct Craft is known for excellent word-of-mouth marketing, and a good dealer network and some sponsorships etc; but is known for sub-par Web marketing. How would you like to see this change in the upcoming year? Change to the Web site perhaps?

TD - Internet technology is constantly changing. Keeping pace with that can be challenging but it is incredibly important to ensure that the medium is providing an experience reflective of your brand. Given a finite budget and resources, I'd first ensure that an Internet site provides easy access to comprehensive information about our boats and how to get one. You have to rely on the programmers to make the site fast, easy to update and easy to navigate. It's up to the brand to ensure the information provided is what the customer is looking for. The other stuff- tips, weather, clothing- they're nice to have but not at the expense of the information piece of the equation.

EJ - Will you strengthen the reputation of the Super Air Nautique brand? Is it a priority for you at your new job? Correct Craft recently took the Super Air Nautique brand name and its strength, and applied it to the Super Air Nautique 220. This has not been very well received. The "Ski Nautique" branding seems fine while "Super Air Nautique" does not, from an external perspective.

TD - I'll need at least several months to get my feet wet before I'll have a qualified opinion on the product line up. In general, model line extensions are not unusual particularly if you have a successful base on which to build. Considering the nature of the typical Correct Craft owner- experienced boater, probably not an early adopter- it may take some time for a new model to get off the ground. The wakeboard segment is extremely important to Correct Craft so it makes sense that they would want to have additional choices for that customer.

EJ - What would you like to change, regarding the way printed Correct Craft material and the Correct Craft Web site are connected.

TD - Again, I'm not eager to change anything just for the sake of change. That being said, I think it makes sense to have a cohesive look to marketing elements so that when you see one piece it ties to another and eventually it evokes the image of the brand in the mind of the consumer. Literature, web sites, promotional pieces and point of purchase should have some continuity.

Regardless of the nature of the vehicle, above all, it must communicate clearly and effectively. I've seen some clever ads and designs that won art awards but did nothing to support or promote the brand.

There's an enormous amount of talent at Correct Craft and I look forward to working with the team and contributing to the continued success of the company. I hope you'll get back to me in a year to see how we've done.

And that was how it went. She answered all of my questions and did so in a purely professional way, and I appreciate her taking the time to talk with me. Thanks very much, Terry.

And, thanks for reading, Readers.

Posted by erik