In late 2021 Relevance Yacht signed a strategic partnership with YATCO, the Official MLS and Ultimate SaaS Platform of YachtingTM. The digital yacht marketing partnership provides Relevance Yacht with unlimited access to YATCO’s pioneering cloud network technology, enabling us to further assist our clients wishing to have a Multiple Listing Service integrated into their website, while YATCO benefits from our digital yacht marketing intelligence and industry insights.
In our latest article, Relevance Yacht’s Founder, Rumble Romagnoli, and YATCO’s Founder and CEO, Steven Myers, explore the relationship between YATCO and Relevance Yacht and how our new digital partnership can boost your yacht brokerage’s online presence.
What is YATCO, and how does its service offering differ from Relevance Yacht?
YATCO: “Unlike many online platforms that seek to serve the consumer markets directly and bypass professionals, YATCO’s mission is to serve the best interests of professionals in yachting.
“Like Relevance Yacht, we aim to elevate professionals in our industry by helping improve their digital yacht marketing. However, while Relevance Yacht focuses on the
bespoke needs of individual companies in our industry, YATCO provides a uniform
platform to enable the entire industry to exchange data in real-time.
“Our comprehensive suite of Software Services offers a complete solution for almost all yacht sales and charter needs online. Further, through our digital partnership with Relevance Yacht, we can provide our members with cutting-edge integrated digital solutions accompanied by a professionally formulated strategy, design, and customisation.”
What are Relevance Yacht’s key services, and why is Relevance Yacht a leading digital yacht marketing agency?
RELEVANCE YACHT: “Relevance Yacht is a specialist digital agency in search marketing for the yachting industry and is very strong in SEO support for new websites. We have more than 12 years of know-how and are internationally known for our creative yacht marketing solutions that lead generation.
“We work with some of the world’s most established superyacht brokerages, shipbuilders, crew recruiters, and other yacht service providers, elevating their online presence through carefully curated online strategies spanning branding, audience profiling, design, SEO, PPC, social media, UHNWI programmatic/direct advertising, PR and digital PR.
“Our partnership with YATCO, coupled with our handpicked team of leading industry professionals, sets us apart from other yacht marketing agencies. Additionally, our membership with respected yacht industry governing bodies gives our clients complete peace of mind that they will benefit from industry-leading marketing expertise at the highest levels of professionalism.”
Why did you decide to establish YATCO?
YATCO: “Having worked as an international sales manager for Viking Yacht Company, a Florida yacht broker, and subsequently the number one dealer in the world for Pershing and Riva yachts with the Ferretti Group two decades ago – I saw that our industry was fragmented, dramatically behind in digital marketing and needed a platform to connect international dealers and brokers.
“I was approached by the newly formed International Yacht Council, comprised of the
presidents of the various yacht brokerage associations, including MYBA, FYBA, ABYA,
and 10 others to create a worldwide MLS for the industry.
“Since then, I have dedicated myself and our company to providing leading-edge digital yacht marketing tools that help elevate yachting professionals and further reduce the inefficiencies in our industry.”
How has YATCO grown and pivoted with the changing demands of the yachting industry?
YATCO: “YATCO originally started as a Multiple Listing System for yachts. In the two
decades since, we have expanded into not only a yachts for sale MLS but also a newly launched charter MLS and builder MLS. We have also developed and integrated a full suite of Software-as-a-Service solutions, including CRM, email marketing, file management, closing manager with e-signatures contracts, WordPress plugins and website integration, analytics and intelligence, and more. By integrating and consolidating these services into a single platform, we can now offer yacht sales and charter companies access to what was completely unaffordable and unattainable
before.”
How has Relevance Yacht grown and adapted to the changing landscape of yachting?
RELEVANCE YACHT: “Relevance Yacht started as an SEO-focused yacht marketing agency more than a decade ago when it was still very rare to find luxury yacht brokerages bet on SEO. As the digital and yachting worlds have evolved, so has Relevance Yacht, bolting on new service offerings like social, influencer marketing, content creation, and paid advertising. We are now a full-service yacht marketing agency, with some of our most recent new service offerings including branding and design, photography, and videography with the acquisition of a London-based creative agency under the Relevance flag. Our new digital partnership with YATCO is just one further step on our journey to enhancing the best service we offer to our clients.”
How can YATCO help yacht brokerage firms and other yacht service providers?
YATCO: “Imagine having a platform that can automatically connect the global yachting marketplace with your website, CRM, email marketing, contracts, Outlook/ Gmail, calendar, task management, analytics, and intelligence. A platform that sends you automatic email alerts whenever a vessel comes to market or has a price reduction informs you every time your client visits your website and tells you exactly what they are searching for. It automatically updates and synchronises your contact database
(CRM) and Outlook/Gmail accounts and automatically populates your contracts with all vessel and client details, allowing you to schedule immediate time-stamped email signatures. You can also customise your brochures for any vessel worldwide and update your website and any third-party site of your choice in real-time with plugins and APIs. YATCO BOSS does all that and more.”
“Further, cross-selling is also a significant advantage of YATCO for traditional luxury yacht brokerage firms. Through our platform, sales and charter teams can share leads and generate awareness in front of top professionals in the industry. Brokers can also learn insights about the new build market on our platform and streamline the process of receiving information for new build inquiries.”
How can Relevance Yacht assist yacht service providers?
RELEVANCE YACHT: “Relevance Yacht helps grow businesses in the yachting sector by generating revenue through cutting-edge online marketing services. We offer custom yacht marketing strategies designed with individual clients’ needs in mind to deliver a solid return on investment.
“We are a team of creative strategists offering the best of both worlds. You need to create a powerful strategy, and you need to also succeed in this fast-moving and demanding industry. Digital is now more important than ever, with increasing sales being made across multiple digital touchpoints, including on popular platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. A robust and cohesive online presence is a must.
“Relevance Yacht boasts a team of industry yacht marketing specialists across branding, SEO, paid advertising, social media, PR, content and CRM, with many holding specialist qualifications in their respective fields. As well as being an effective service provider, we want to become part of the team, making sure to add value where we can. We want to speak to brokers, be in meetings, and receive and offer advice. We also want to be introduced to wider teams to help the greater cause and to add value through our feedback.”
Why is Relevance Yacht and YATCO the best yacht marketing combination?
RELEVANCE YACHT: “If you are looking to build a powerful website including flawless design, SEO strategy, impactful content and cutting-edge functionalities, Relevance Yacht can do it all. Our website builds not only engage with audiences on an emotional level but also adhere to the latest digital marketing best practice. At Relevance Yacht, we ensure your website ranks across search engines, placing your business above the competition.
Relevance Yacht has successfully built over 40 yachting websites, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. Our latest websites include Kitson Yachts, E&V Yachting and TJB Super Yachts. Our digital partnership with YATCO allows our clients to feature multiple yachts, which is a huge competitive advantage.
“With YATCO, clients can strategically select yachts for sale of their choice and showcase them on their website, using high-quality media and real-time data. YATCO’s WordPress Plugins are automatically integrated, so clients receive client and vessel lead alerts and data insights from their website on their YATCO BOSS dashboard. They can view all their online marketing efforts, reach, and engagement from one central location.”
What do you see for the future of yacht marketing?
YATCO: “The business of yachting is becoming much more of a digital marketing industry with cross-market integration. Sales, charter, new construction, brokerage, yacht management, and yachting services are all becoming integrated into a seamless solution.
“Further, with the ever-increasing demands of software and technology, the integration of various platforms and SaaS solutions becomes increasingly vital to the competitiveness of your company. By providing the latest SaaS solutions with seamless integrations, YATCO plans to lead the way for our industry into the next generation of yacht sales, charter, and services.”
RELEVANCE YACHT: “The digital landscape is continually evolving, and luxury yacht brokerages must keep pace to remain relevant in a competitive marketplace.
“In the past couple of years alone, the social media landscape has seen a dramatic shift, leaning towards videos and reels over more traditional long-form copy. Changes in digital technology are continually creating new and exciting ways to connect with the world’s wealthiest audiences.
“One of the most exciting areas, which will likely see considerable growth in the next few years, is metaverse yacht marketing. The metaverse links the physical and online world, providing increased customer engagement. It is more engaging, reliable, and targeted than more traditional yacht marketing strategies but can be a complex space to navigate and get right. Yachting brands are already embracing the metaverse, dabbling in virtual reality, blockchain, and Non-Fungible Tokens, offering an exciting new way to engage with their target audience.”
Contact us if you would like to learn more about Relevance Yacht’s yacht marketing services and digital partnership with YATCO.