NMMA’s CSI Program Announces 2007 CSI Scores... Boat, engine and dealership scores all improve for third consecutive year

  MIAMI , February 14, 2008 – The National Marine Manufacturers Association’s (NMMA) Marine Industry Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) program today announced that  industry CSI scores rose for the third consecutive year in 2007, with the largest increase occurring in the last year. Improvements in customer satisfaction were reflected across the board, in boat, engine and dealership CSI scores, reaffirming efforts in the areas of product and dealership certification are having a positive, lasting impact on the consumer experience.

This year’s industry CSI results were based on returns from more than 60,000 consumer surveys collected from new boat buyers in 2007. On a 100-point scale, consumers rated their overall satisfaction with the boats they purchased in 2007 at 91.9, up from 90.6 the previous year and 90.2 in 2005. Satisfaction with engines purchased also increased to 92.9, which rose from 91.6 in 2006 and 91.1 in 2005. Finally, CSI scores for dealers were recorded at 89.0. This is an increase of two points over 2006 results (87.0) and more than 3 points above satisfaction scores recorded in 2005 (85.7).

“The trend over the past three years has been steadily increasing CSI scores for boat and engine manufacturers, as well as dealers,” says NMMA president Thom Dammrich . “This is a clear indicator that industry efforts to improve customer experiences both at the manufacturer and retail level are working. Consumers associate ‘Certified’ with a superior experience, and this is reflected in the CSI scores of certified products and dealerships.”

NMMA launched its CSI program in 2001 to provide boat and engine manufacturers with an independently-measured, cost-effective tool to help improve the quality of 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. Currently, there are 110 boat brands participating in the NMMA CSI program. 

The Marine Industry CSI program meets 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.

For more information about the Marine Industry CSI program, contact program director Terry Leitz at (312) 946-6212; tleitz@nmma.org .

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.