Survey Advantage releases 2008 boatyard and marina boater satisfaction report benchmarking key areas of performance
Marine service providers are encouraged to compare how they are meeting the needs of boaters with others in the industry.
Jamestown, RI, March 6, 2009 – As part of its commitment to help marine service providers develop profitable, highly responsive, customer-focused organizations, Survey Advantage (www.surveyadvantage.com), a customer research and loyalty firm, has released their 2008 benchmarks for marinas and boatyards. This benchmark report was designed in cooperation with AMI and ABBRA, the two major associations serving the marine services industry. The report tracks four key areas: facility quality, marine service quality, customer service, and boater loyalty.
“We hope this benchmark will help marine service providers understand their competitive position in the market and set goals for expansion and improvement. Marine service providers now have the same customer intelligence the hospitality industry has been collecting for years. Any size operation can obtain feedback after jobs, transient stays, or from seasonal and annual customers to drive improvements and referrals.” said Michael Casey, president of Survey Advantage.
The report measures four areas of customer service including responsiveness, reliability, communication, and courtesy. While operations continue to receive high ratings on courtesy, the industry continues to struggle on communication or keeping boaters abreast of service being performed. While the slip areas receive high marks it was surprising that the industry can’t do a better job keeping restrooms and shower areas cleaner and continuously stocked. The highest marks were in the marina area and ship stores, with gas docks and service desks receiving the lower scores. Customer comments highlight temporary or seasonal help being the reason for ill trained people in these lower performing areas. Nine different service quality areas were benchmarked including engine repair and rigging services. Highest ratings came in the hauling and launching areas while sailboat rigging and electronic repairs received the lowest marks.
Customer or boater loyalty is the most important metric tracked because it helps an operation understand their overall likelihood of retaining customers and receiving referrals. Measuring a boater’s likelihood to recommend their marine service provider found 51% promote and refer their provider, 29% are passive supporters or not emotionally charged about their provider, and 20% are at high risk of leaving their provider and spreading negative word of mouth about their experiences.
The benchmark report is published from collective results from operations running with Marine Service CustomerPulse™ and HealthCheck™, two programs offered through Survey Advantage. The goals of the programs are to:
- Preserve recurring job revenues
- Retain customers at risk
- Identify process breakdowns early
- Respond to dissatisfied customers within minutes
- Identify competitive strengths and weaknesses
- Generate sales leads to expand share
- Identify opportunities to expand services
- Set customer focused team goals based on first hand feedback
- Automate testimonial collection
For more information on CustomerPulse™ and HealthCheck™ or to receive a copy of the overall report, contact Survey Advantage at info@surveyadvantage.com or call 401-560-0311. Visit www.surveyadvantage.com/marine for details on marine specific case studies, partnerships, and programs.
About Survey Advantage: Founded in 2001, Survey Advantage’s mission is to delight our customers by improving their business performance through the delivery of cost-effective, comprehensive market intelligence tools. Our Vision is to see our system integrated into the infrastructure of every company that has ongoing, high-value customer relationships.
Tags: Boater feedback programs, Boater Loyalty, Boatyard benchmarking, CustomerPulse, Marina Benchmarking, Marine