Sea Tow | 13
The constructing of Sea Tow’s headquarters
was recognized with LEED certification, a
distinction that honors Leadership in Ener-
gy and Environmental Design. Furthermore,
their promotional efforts have earned mul-
tiple national awards and industry distinc-
tion for “Marketing Excellence.” It appears
the adhering to standards and sensitivities
associated with “ship-shape” underscores ev-
erything that goes on at Sea Tow.
Such attention to detail is equallyman-
ifest in the technology augmenting efforts;.
They’ve developed a mobile smart-phone
App and Internet-based radio communica-
tion system that eliminates the need to be
attached to a fixed radio system (real conve-
nience for those in-the-know). Other inno-
vations include development of the Sea Tow
Automated Radio Check System, a free ser-
vice that allows boater to test their VHF ma-
rine radio and no longer requires boaters to
tie-up those frequencies otherwise designed
for emergency use by boaters in emergency
situations, a service that benefits everyone in
the marine community.
Yet for all that gadgetry, Frohnhoefer
credits franchise growth to trust. He says,
“
The entire business is built on trust.” He
can point to a variety of third-party sur-
veys conducted annually, where they con-
sistently score high in that component, but
growth and retention rates would evidence
the same. Frohnhoefer sums it up this way:
“
We trust that the franchisee is going to be
there to service the members. They trust that
we’re going to be here handling the backend
office, the marketing, the finances… getting
their money to them on time, answering our
phones twenty-four, seven, three hundred
sixty-five days a year and being here to sup-
port them in any way they need.”
As for tomorrow, Sea Tow’s approach
is not so much full steam ahead, but steady,
controlled growth. Frohnhoefer envisions a
day when 200 franchise locations are serving
500,000
members, in areas among inland
lakes and regions of the Great Lakes, though
that’s a little down-stream. He says opera-
tional priorities are placed on the here and
now – “doing what we do on a daily basis,
and doing it best we can.”
Trust, communication and disciplined
dedication, such are the principles, the ul-
timate preservers, that effectively buoy Sea
Tow’s business future.