MRAA launches 2026 Dealer-Manufacturer Scorecard Program
July 8, 2025 — MINNEAPOLIS — The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas announced, today, the formal launch of its 2026 model year Dealer-Manufacturer Scorecard Program. With manufacturers actively preparing their dealer meetings, and with dealers looking ahead to the new model year selling season, MRAA’s Dealer-Manufacturer Scorecard Program provides the perfect platform for deepening the important conversations dealers and manufacturers must have to find success and drive better customer experiences in the year ahead.
To arrive at this formal launch, MRAA fielded a four-month pilot program of this Scorecard Program over the winter, including 12 brands from the Correct Craft and Malibu, Inc. boat brand families. Based on feedback from those brands, MRAA made several updates and refinements to the formal Dealer-Manufacturer Scorecard Program. The pilot program captured insights from more than 175 dealerships related to their satisfaction with manufacturer performance in the relationship, ranging in topics from product quality to marketing and promotions programs and satisfaction with the manufacturers’ reps.
“Particularly with the way that our market has slowed over the last couple years, there has never been a more important time to foster critical conversations between dealers and manufacturers, and this program offers a standardized, turnkey approach to doing just that,” explains Matt Gruhn, MRAA President. “Based on dealer feedback from the pilot program, we have already seen boat brands make adjustments to improve their dealer relationships and customer experiences. This will help them strengthen their go-to-market strategies, which is exactly the reason we launched the MRAA Dealer-Manufacturer Scorecard Program.”
Based on MRAA’s comprehensive research, as well as detailed insights and direction from dealers and manufacturers, MRAA created separate dealer and manufacturer scorecards, each featuring 10 customized performance categories. The scorecard surveys, which are distributed electronically and compiled by MRAA, are designed to deepen the conversation between dealers and manufacturers with a focus on improving the overall customer experience. Participating manufacturers receive comprehensive monthly reports that compare their results to industry aggregates and offer insights into areas of opportunity.
To make the Scorecard Program a fully turnkey effort, MRAA provides numerous resources for dealers and manufacturers to use. They include several tutorial videos, scoring guidance documents, sample emails for encouraging dealer participation, a dealer list template and more.
To learn more about MRAA’s Dealer-Manufacturer Scorecard Program, visit www.mraa.com/scorecards or reach out directly to Matt Gruhn at matt@mraa.com or 763-333-2421.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
