BOCA GRANDE, Fla. – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas announced today that it has created an all-new member benefit program with long-time partner Customer Service Intelligence, Inc.

The benefit, which is offered as part of the MRAA Rewards Program and available to MRAA members only, provides a package deal for MRAA members worth a 40-percent savings, or more than $700 off the regular annual price of CSI, Inc.’s services.

“Part of our mission at the MRAA is to help our members run more professional businesses,” says Matt Gruhn, president of the MRAA. “We truly believe that any effort toward that end should include a customer satisfaction measurement tool — a voice of the customer. We’re thrilled to reconstruct our offering through CSI, Inc. and now offer our members an incredible savings on what we consider a recommended minimal investment in such a tool.”

The CSI, Inc.-MRAA benefit provides dealers with 100 customer calls, a five-question survey of each of those 100 customers, daily alerts and monthly reports on the results of those calls for Service customers and Sales customers—both after the sales process and after the delivery process. The pricing, which would normally total $1,810 for the same services, is being discounted by 40 percent for MRAA members only, and the $1,105 package covers not only the surveys, calls and reports but also the entire year’s administrative fees and the staff orientation process.

“When Matt shared with me his belief that every dealer should be doing a minimum of service, sales and 2^nd sales follow up, I was in complete agreement and determined to put an affordable package together for MRAA members,” said Becky Thompson, president of CSI, Inc. “If you save just one customer, the CSI program will not only pay for itself but will give you so much knowledge about your dealership and your staff that it will allow you to improve in all areas of operation. The goal is to help dealers keep boaters avid boaters. Our thanks to the MRAA for recongizing the value of how providing a voice of the customer program to dealers can only improve all aspects of their individual dealerships.”

The daily reports generated by CSI, Inc., include customer report cards with all customer comments, complaints and urgent requests flagged on “hot sheets,” or “wow” alerts in addition to a hot sheet status report. The monthly reports provide insight into the success of the calls through a CSI rating profile, a summary of all suggestions, a compilation of all multiple choice questions, a Net Promoter score report and summary, an employee performance report and a non-contact report.

About Marine Retailers Association of the Americas

Celebrating its 40^th anniversary in 2012, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is the only North American association dedicated to furthering the interests of boat and engine dealers and other marine-related retailers throughout North America. Under the umbrella of MRAA Rewards, the MRAA offers a host of cost-saving, revenue-generating, business-improvement, and professional-development benefits exclusively for its members. For more information, visit www.MRAA.com.

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas announced today that Ryan Hebert of Texas Marine, Beaumont, Texas, has been named Chairman of the association’s Young Leaders Advisory Council.

Hebert, 29, has amassed a number of leadership credentials during his time in the marine industry. He began working at his family dealership at the age of 13 and has been involved in the day-to-day operations of the three-store dealership since graduating from Texas State University in 2005. Hebert has been involved in dealer councils, a Spader 20 Group and a number of other industry efforts. He currently sits on the board of directors for the Boating Trades Association of Texas, and his seat as YLAC chair also earns him a spot on the MRAA Board of Directors.

Ryan helped Texas Marine achieve Five Star Marine Industry Certified Dealership status each of the last five years, and the company has also been named to Boating Industry’s list of the industry’s Top 100 Dealers for each of the program’s seven years.

Hebert succeeds Carly Poole of Buckeye Marine (Bobcaygeon, Ontario) who chaired YLAC for its first two years of existence and who will remain on the council. YLAC was formed by the MRAA board of directors in 2009 to bring a younger generation of dealership management into the association. Made up of a group of 15 industry professionals who have had at least seven years of industry experience and are under the age of 40, YLAC provides information and recommendations to the MRAA board on matters pertaining to the development and enhancement of the association.

Other YLAC members include: Martin Boyer, Austin Boats & Motors; Thalia Chase, Castaway Marina; Jeff Haradine, WakeSide Marine; Kyle Kelly, Kelly’s Port; Chris Kewley, Nobles’ Marine; Craig LeBlanc, Allen Harbor Marine Service; Matthew Lodder, Lodder’s Marine; Brad Parker, Parker Boats of Daytona; Carly Poole, Buckeye Marine; Alex Russo, Russo Marine; Eric Smith, Colorado Boat Center; Josh Vallely, Vallely Sport & Marine; Liz Walz, Boating Industry; and Lauren Woodard-Splatt, Woodard Marine.

About Marine Retailers Association of the Americas

Celebrating its 40^th anniversary in 2012, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is the only North American association dedicated to furthering the interests of boat and engine dealers and other marine-related retailers throughout North America. Under the umbrella of MRAA Rewards, the MRAA offers a host of cost-saving, revenue-generating, business-improvement, and professional-development benefits exclusively for its members. For more information, visit www.MRAA.com.

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas (MRAA) recently presented the Jerry Martin Journalism Award to creative marketing agency Olson for its work and success with the “Welcome to the Water” campaign, which helped reignite the industry’s Discover Boating program in 2011. The award, given annually, is presented to a media organization that does the most to further the interests of the boating industry.

“With the re-launch of Discover Boating’s marketing efforts not even a year old, the statistics that earned Olson this award are impressive,” says Joe Lewis, MRAA Board and Executive Committee Member and Chairman of Grow Boating. “‘Welcome to the Water’ has proven to be a wonderful message that captures the essence of what boating is all about—an inviting experience. It has allowed us to create a powerful movement that’s given us a solid foundation to build on for the 2012 campaign and beyond.”

One of the most successful elements of the campaign has been its ability to engage with consumers wherever they are—on their computer, tablet, mobile phone, at a dealer or boat show—inviting them to experience the water at DiscoverBoating.com and creating an immediate connection to the boating lifestyle. As a result, in 2011 alone, the campaign generated a 46-percent increase in visits to DiscoverBoating.com, a five-percent increase in prospects and a 30-percent increase in hot leads and site referrals.

Olson also brought Discover Boating to even more consumers by creating a new mobile platform, allowing people to access the site on-the-go on their smartphones and tablets. In just five months, from June to October of 2011, more than 45,000 people visited DiscoverBoating.com from their mobile devices. In addition, Olson achieved a 67-percent engagement rate through mobile advertising, which is three and a half times the industry standard.

“We’re thrilled about the response to the ‘Welcome to the Water’ campaign,” says Olson representative Julie Hagemann, associate account director at Olson. “The industry has been very supportive, which has helped us reach and exceed our goals. We’re already working on the expansion of the campaign in 2012.”

About Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is the only North American association dedicated to furthering the interests of boat and engine dealers and other marine-related retailers throughout North America. Under the umbrella of MRAA Rewards, the MRAA offers a host of cost-saving, revenue-generating, business-improvement, and professional-development benefits exclusively for its members. For more information, visit www.MRAA.com.

About Olson
Olson is one of the top 10 independent, full-service agencies in North America. The more than 400-person-strong agency is dedicated to building and activating brand communities by combining insight, ingenuity and accountability. For more information, visit www.oco.com, join us at facebook.com/Olsonagency and follow us on Twitter @Olsonagency.

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. – The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas recognized past MRAA Chairman Ed Lofgren of 3A Marine Service, Inc., with the prestigious Irv Rosenthal Award.

The Irv Rosenthal Award is presented annually to an individual who has contributed significantly through the years to the work of the MRAA. Mr. Rosenthal was the owner of Transfer Monogram, a supplier company that was instrumental in the formation and early success of the MRAA.

Lofgren himself has been intricately involved in the success of the MRAA. He served as chairman of the board for the association for 2009 and 2010 and is a long-standing Patron Member of the association.

“Ed has dedicated many years to MRAA, serving in every elected director and officer position, and he certainly exemplifies the same spirit and fervor that Irv Rosenthal had,” says Phil Keeter, President of MRAA. “The 2009 and 2010 model years were certainly two of the most difficult years our industry has ever seen, and during that time, Ed’s leadership of MRAA remained focused and strong. This is an honor he richly deserves.”

During his time as a board member and chairman, Lofgren helped with the formation of the MRAA’s Young Leaders Advisory Council, a group of next-generation leaders who are serving as the building blocks for the future of the association. He also helped to orchestrate and finalize a deal with Boating Industry magazine to partner with the association and co-produce the MRAA’s annual convention, the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo. This agreement led to significant growth for the annual convention over the last few years. Additionally Lofgren has been the president of the MRAA Educational Foundation for a number of years, which provides resources on an annual basis for the education and training for members of our industry.

“Irv labored long and hard to establish a strong foundation for an organization to represent the nation’s retailers,” Lofgren said. “It is a great honor to be recognized with this award and to be thus associated with his work.”

About Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas is the only North American association dedicated to furthering the interests of boat and engine dealers and other marine-related retailers throughout North America. Under the umbrella of MRAA Rewards, the MRAA offers a host of cost-saving, revenue-generating, business-improvement, and professional-development benefits exclusively for its members. For more information, visit www.MRAA.com.