Co-Ops Frequently Asked Questions
© 2010 Active Corporation

1. What is the cost to join, annual fee, hidden costs?

There are none. Yes, it really is free. It is free to sign up, free to create Co-Ops, and free to enable them and have them appear on the ActiveCaptain website. You only pay us $1.99 when an ActiveCaptain user actually uses the offer. We only win if you do.

2. Who will see my Co-Op?

ActiveCaptain has 20,000 registered users on the ActiveCaptain website. In addition, we have partnered with some of the biggest providers of PC-based marine navigation, and are working with others, to display ActiveCaptain Point of Interest (POI) date in their programs. The POI data includes Co-Ops. Coastal Explorer and MaxSea/Furuno have already released versions with ActiveCaptain support. Nobeltec is working on their release. We are also excited about a new iPhone/iPad application, Navimatics, that has incorporated ActiveCaptain POI's. These partnerships bring our user-base to 100,000.

3. Do I have to go through you to manage my Co-Ops?

Once your Co-Op has been approved it is available under your secure account and you can enable the Co-Op at any time. You specify the starting date and time, and the ending date and time. The Co-Op is automatically presented to users on the website for the times you specify. A Co-Op can be enabled for as little as an hour or for as long as 30 days. If you need to turn off the Co-Op sooner you can do this also through the website. You can also look at statistics for your Co-Ops to help you decide which offers are working and which may need to be tweaked.

4. How many Co-Ops can I have?

You can have as many Co-Ops as you like created but only one Co-Op at a time can be enabled. Remember, Co-Ops are designed to be time sensitive offers that you use to pull in boaters when you most need to. In the same way that a restaurant offers an "early bird specials" to draw in diners during their slow hours. Having a variety of Co-Ops ready is a good idea. That way you can gauge business and enable the most appropriate one to maximize your income.

5. Can I offer monthly specials?

Yes, you can enable a Co-Op for an hour or up to 30 days. Want to offer a bottom painting special for the spring or a storage deal for the fall? A Co-Op can put this offer before thousands of boaters. If you would like to offer an ongoing special, such as a discount off fuel for all ActiveCaptain users, you can simply renew your Co-Op each month.

6. What if I want to offer multiple specials at the same time?

A Co-Op can have more than one offer presented to the user. For example, you might wish to offer 10 cents off per gallon or a free entree at your restaurant for boats renting a slip tonight. Or if you want to offer an ongoing fuel discount simple tack it on to each of your Co-Op: 30% off the slip price tonight only and 10 cents of per gallon for all fuel purchases.

7. How does an ActiveCaptain user find out about my Co-Op?

Your Co-Op is presented to any user who is looking in your area. We do not believe we are benefiting our users or our partners by indiscriminately blasting out information into every one's inbox. This type of marketing is little better than SPAM and only leads to users turning us off or tuning us out. We want to present your offers to users who are able to take advantage of them. This will create users who will view Co-Ops as something they wish to seek out and not just background noise.

8. How do I pay you? Do I need to keep track of every Co-Op used?

We will track each Co-Op used through our users and will bill you through PayPal once a month. It is our responsibility to determine that a user has used an offer. In your Co-Op account you can view statistics on how many codes have been requested for each of your Co-Ops and how many users have indicated they've used them.

9. Can I specify additional terms?

Of course, as long as the offer is still a good deal. Offer 50% off the slip price for the next 5 boaters who reserve a slip. Or encourage boaters to find customers for you by offering 50% off if 3 boats reserve their slips together - they'll get on the radio to their cruising buddies!

10. Can you suggests some Co-Ops?

Co-Ops are designed to allow you to experiment. You can run them for a day, two days, a week, and just try new ideas. Make a Co-Op interesting, focus on things that are special about your marina. Do you have a grocery nearby or a courtesy car? Try Provisioning Tuesdays with 40% off a slip so cruisers can come in to provision the galley. Is there a good restaurant or a movie theater? Pick your slowest day and promote Date Night. Anything that will make you stand out and will make cruisers talk. Before long word will spread and cruisers will plan their stops to include your night. Have you had a change of management or added a new bar, restaurant, or pool? Suggest boaters give you a try with a Co-Op offer. Your imagination is the only limitation.

A full list of example ideas for Co-Ops can be found here.

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