Jekyll2021-09-20T13:43:48+00:00https://deadreckoning.blog/feed.xmlDead ReckoningWrite an awesome description for your new site here. You can edit this line in _config.yml. It will appear in your document head meta (for Google search results) and in your feed.xml site description.
Boaters already know how to use Dockhound2018-10-15T04:02:22+00:002018-10-15T04:02:22+00:00https://deadreckoning.blog/marina-customers-know-how-to-use-dockhound<p>Software is <a href="http://www.eweek.com/it-management/software-industry-growth-far-outpaces-u.s.-economy-hits-1.14-trillion">still booming</a>. But getting people to download a new app onto their phone is proving more and more difficult. Over half of U.S. consumers <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/25/majority-of-u-s-consumers-still-download-zero-apps-per-month-says-comscore/">report they download 0 apps</a> in a typical month. Despite that, many businesses remain enamored with the idea of building a shiny new app for their customers. The numbers show that if a core function of your business depends on getting the majority of your customers to download a mobile app, you’ve built a sizable barrier for your business.</p>
<p>We built Dockhound with this in mind. Boat owners don’t need to download anything or sign up for an account to request their boat. Chances are they already have everything they need before their marina even starts using our software.</p>
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<p>Instead of a phone call or showing up when they want their boat, boat owners can shoot a text to the marina describing where they want their boat launched. Something like “water” or “wash rack”.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/posts/text_in.gif" alt="Text in launch requests" class="md:w-2/4" /></p>
<p>Dockhound interprets the incoming message and verifies the customer’s identity using their phone number. The customer’s slip number and requested destination are sent directly to everyone with access to the marina’s account. Managers and fork lift drivers can fulfill launch requests and record boat movements, and everyone can monitor marina activity on the fly.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/posts/clipboard.png" alt="Text in launch requests" class="" /></p>
<p>Every time the customer’s boat gets moved, Dockhound sends the customer a notification via text message.</p>
<p>Native mobile apps — the ones you download from the app store — are extremely powerful, easy enough to download, and can be a joy to use. We’re planning to build one for Dockhound eventually. But they’re not always necessary, even for the big stuff. And the numbers show that it’s hard to get people to download new apps, even if they’re good.</p>
<p>Most boat owners know how to send a text, which means they already know how to use Dockhound. We chose to double down on making it easy for our customers, and their customers, to get started.</p>Chance GriffinSoftware is still booming. But getting people to download a new app onto their phone is proving more and more difficult. Over half of U.S. consumers report they download 0 apps in a typical month. Despite that, many businesses remain enamored with the idea of building a shiny new app for their customers. The numbers show that if a core function of your business depends on getting the majority of your customers to download a mobile app, you’ve built a sizable barrier for your business. We built Dockhound with this in mind. Boat owners don’t need to download anything or sign up for an account to request their boat. Chances are they already have everything they need before their marina even starts using our software.Importing customers in Dockhound2018-10-12T04:02:22+00:002018-10-12T04:02:22+00:00https://deadreckoning.blog/customer-import<p>The first and only step to begin using Dockhound is to import a marina’s customers into their account. Up until now this process has been very manual. When a marina decided to give Dockhound a try, we worked with them directly to get their data into the proper format. We would then manually import their list of customers into our database, and notify the marina when their account was ready. It worked, but we thought it could be better for everyone involved.</p>
<p>Now, marinas using Dockhound can import their customer list directly into their Dockhound account. As long as you have a name and slip number for each dry storage customer, you can be up and running in a few minutes.</p>
<p>First, the list needs to be exported in a CSV format (short for “Comma Separated Values”). This will be an export option on any major spreadsheet software, and on most of the software tools we’ve seen marinas use to manage customer information.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/posts/export.gif" alt="Export a CSV of customer list" class="" /></p>
<p>Then, from the settings screen in Dockhound click on “Add, Edit, or Remove Customers”. Because there aren’t any customers in the account yet, the import instructions are shown automatically.</p>
<p>Click on the “Browse” button, and select the customer list in .csv format that you just exported. Then click the “Import customers” button.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/posts/import.gif" alt="Import that CSV into Dockhound" class="" /></p>
<p>That’s it! Whether you have 5 dry storage customers or 5,000, you can easily import them into Dockhound.</p>Chance GriffinThe first and only step to begin using Dockhound is to import a marina’s customers into their account. Up until now this process has been very manual. When a marina decided to give Dockhound a try, we worked with them directly to get their data into the proper format. We would then manually import their list of customers into our database, and notify the marina when their account was ready. It worked, but we thought it could be better for everyone involved.New in Dockhound: Comments2018-09-16T04:02:22+00:002018-09-16T04:02:22+00:00https://deadreckoning.blog/comments<p>Our team at Dockhound spends a lot of time on site with marinas all across the country. We hear over and over again about specific situations that keep coming up at dry storage marinas. For example, a boat owner wants their boat left out overnight because they’re coming back early the next morning to go fishing. Or, a boat owner borrows a battery pack for the day to make sure they can get their boat started. There’s all sorts of little requests like this happening at every marina, and our customers were looking for a way to handle them in Dockhound.</p>
<p>We knew Dockhound could add value here. We also knew that trying to address each of these situations specifically and individually with it’s own feature would create more problems than it solved. We needed a simple “catch all” solution that allows our customers to attach specific information to a session in Dockhound without getting in the way of the important stuff, like moving boats.</p>
<p>Our solution was to enable employees to comment on any active session in Dockhound.</p>
<p>Let’s say a marina customer tells a dockhand that they want their boat left in the water so they can go fishing early the next morning. The dockhand can find that boat in the list, tap on the comments icon, and add a comment instructing other employees that the boat should stay out overnight.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/posts/comments_feature.gif" alt="Adding a comment" class="small" /></p>
<p>Now everyone at the marina can see at a glance that there’s a comment on that boat’s session. Lift drivers will know not to put that boat away before close, even if they didn’t speak directly to the customer or dockhand.</p>
<p>Comments are now available in Dockhound. We hope they help marina employees communicate more effectively and keep track of specific customer requests.</p>Chance GriffinOur team at Dockhound spends a lot of time on site with marinas all across the country. We hear over and over again about specific situations that keep coming up at dry storage marinas. For example, a boat owner wants their boat left out overnight because they’re coming back early the next morning to go fishing. Or, a boat owner borrows a battery pack for the day to make sure they can get their boat started. There’s all sorts of little requests like this happening at every marina, and our customers were looking for a way to handle them in Dockhound.