one-on-one with hering propellers
- vol. 15 # 1
by Steve Fennell
Poker Runs America speaks with Jeff Johnston, vice-president/director of sales and marketing at Hering Propellers, to determine what makes this company spin with its impressive product line and dedicated customer service.
PRA: Hering Propellers has an impressive history in the performance boating and racing industries. The company has a series of world speed records and an established reputation in the performance boating arena. Having said that, how has Hering remained competitive from other propeller manufacturers in the industry?
HP: Our roots came from racing. Bob Hering raced with many teams, going all the way back to competing with (and against) Mercury in 1970s and 1980s. So, he was able to design new product from his racing experience. Then in the late 1990’s, his son, Jim Hering, was able to take the designs and company to the next level. By establishing a solid business model, Jim turned what was once a hobby into a full-fledge business in the performance boating industry.
For a brief period, between the late 1990s and mid-2000s, there wasn’t a CNC competitor in the market. So, when Mercury came out with its CNC propeller program, they certainly gave us a run for our money as their product was a comparable alternative on the market.
But we have always felt Hering had a slight edge on the competition. However, when it came down to it, if someone had to wait six months for a set of Hering propellers while they could purchase the Mercury propellers right off the shelf (and have a set of props that weekend), they would forego waiting for the Herings. From this, we began to see a slight decline in market share.
Our plan of attack has always been a continuous focus on performance, customer service, and producing a quality product. But we needed to step up our delivery times, which we’ve done with the additions of a few more CNC machines, and foundry improvements in 2008. We have also focused on an aggressive marketing and advertising campaign in order to stay in front of our customers in both the poker run and racing arenas. We continue to be at the major boat shows and having a strong presence at select poker runs and racing events across the country with our 53’ Featherlite support truck.
PRA: Regarding consumer focus, how has Hering been supporting its customer base?
HP: We do this in many areas. First, and most important, customers can pick up the phone and call us directly and talk to a sales associate immediately for advice and updates on new or current orders. There is always a phone or email connection for our customers.
We also reach out to the consumer by attending events, and doing some good old fashioned hand-shaking. We have a great vehicle for this, with our big truck and trailer support team. However, if the venue location isn’t conducive for us to bring the support truck, we will still establish some presence with a sponsorship tent (EZ Up). We try to attack approximately 10 events during the season with our support truck. Our goal is to talk to as many boaters, poker runners, and racers as we can. We provide on-site repair, new sales, apparel sales, propeller tuning, propeller advice or camaraderie with new and existing customers. It’s truly a lot of fun.
PRA: What events is Hering planning on attending for 2012?
HP: We hope to attend the FPC Poker Run at Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Marina in St. Petersberg in March, The Havasu Desert Storm Poker Run in April, The Jacksonville River Rally in May, The Texas Outlaw Challenge in June, and the Castaways Poker Run in Lake Lanier in July. We are also hoping to be at the Lake of the Ozarks Shoot Out, Skaterfest, The Emerald Coast Poker Run in Destin in August, and the DCB regatta in Havasu in September. We then usually finish off the season with the Key West World Championships in November. There are a few other events that we are considering, but we are still in the planning stages.
PRA: While on-site at these events, what are some of the key concerns from customers and how do you address these concerns?
HP: The biggest thing we do is just listen to the customer. We try to get a feeling for what exactly their boat is doing and let them fully identify what their boat is or isn’t doing. From there, we decide if some minor modifications are needed with the diameter, or cup, or the profile of the propeller, etc. to help with the handling and/or performance. From there, we see if we can work with the current set up or come up with a recommendation. Or, they just need a quick fix because they nicked their props while launching or at a sandbar.
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