07/18/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NMMA Announces 2008 CSI
Award Recipients
Seventy-three boatbuilders,
engine manufacturers receive awards
CHICAGO, July 14, 2008 - - The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) today announced recipients of the annual 2008 Marine Industry CSI Awards. A total of 73 boat and engine manufacturers were recognized for excellence in customer satisfaction, as part of NMMA’s Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) program.
Award recipients will be formally acknowledged during the annual Industry Awards Breakfast at the 2008 International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX), taking place October 6-8 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
The Marine Industry CSI Awards program honors participating companies actively measuring customer satisfaction to pursue continuous improvement. Award recipients achieved and maintained an independently-measured standard of excellence of 90 percent or higher in customer satisfaction over the past year, based on information provided by consumers purchasing a new boat or engine during the period between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008. Participating manufacturers must survey all new boat buyers during this period. For this reporting period, more than 66,000 consumer responses were collected.
“It is a pleasure to recognize the recipients of this year’s Marine Industry CSI Awards,” says NMMA president Thom Dammrich. “These seventy-three companies have made a solid, long-term commitment to continuously improve quality and customer satisfaction—steps that are sure to pay dividends not only for award recipients, but for our entire industry.”
The following company was honored this past year for their efforts to increase customer satisfaction levels in the boating industry:
SAILFISH BOATS
Fiberglass Outboard Boats
“As manufacturers focus more and more on the key components that drive consumer satisfaction, retention, sales, and market share, access to robust consumer data is paramount,” says Terry Leitz, NMMA director of CSI Programs. “I congratulate the 2008 award recipients on their efforts to truly drive our industry forward.”
NMMA launched its CSI program in 2001 to provide boat and engine manufacturers with an independently-measured, cost-effective tool to help improve customer satisfaction in the boating industry. Since the program’s inception, more than 500,000 surveys have been sent out to new boat and engine customers, allowing participating manufacturer companies to monitor customer satisfaction on an ongoing basis, and to benchmark themselves against the industry and their competitors. The program currently has 110 boat and engine brands participating.
The Marine Industry CSI program meets the CSI requirements of the NMMA Boat/Yacht Certification program. For manufacturers that are full participants in the Marine Industry CSI process, the included reporting also fills the dealer level CSI requirements of the Marine Industry Dealership Certification program.
National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) is the leading association representing the recreational boating industry. NMMA member companies produce more than 80 percent of the boats, engines, trailers, accessories and gear used by boaters in the United States. The association is dedicated to industry growth through programs in public policy, market research and data, product quality assurance and marketing communications.
