Yamaha has been ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Four-Stroke Outboard Engines” in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Marine Engine Competitive Information Study(SM). This is the fifth time Yamaha has been recognized in J.D. Power and Associates studies, and the announcement comes on the heels of Yamaha’s winning its sixth consecutive Customer Satisfaction Index (C.S.I.) from the National Marine Manufacturing Association (NMMA(R)) last fall.
“We are honored, and we accept this recognition on behalf of our dealers and boat builder partners,” said Phil Dyskow, president of Yamaha Marine Group. “Our goal has long been to strive for the highest level of customer satisfaction for outboard motors in the industry. That goal is an upwardly moving target. Thankfully, we have been moving with the target by investing in our people, our procedures and our products. Many of these investments have paid off for our customers.”
Prior to the fielding period of the J.D. Power and Associates study, Yamaha Marine Group created a customer relations department specifically for outboard motors. This occurred during a time when many industries were outsourcing functions such as customer relations. The move, along with many other smaller, less visible changes, has improved Yamaha’s relationship with owners.
“Customer service belongs in the same building as the rest of the company,” said Dyskow. “When and if customers have a problem, they want a knowledgeable voice on the other end of the phone and access to all of the product technical experts.”
Each Yamaha Marine customer relations team member is trained in marine outboard service. The team is led by a Coast Guard-licensed captain, and team members have a rigorous, regular product training regimen. Last year, their training included disassembling and reassembling many outboard motors to become more familiar with internal parts and powerhead layout.
In 2006, Yamaha created PowerMatched(TM), a power system package that coupled Yamaha rigging and parts with Yamaha outboards. According to Yamaha’s own CSI surveys, boats using PowerMatched rigging components rate approximately 3 percent higher in customer satisfaction than boats that do not.
Yamaha Marine Group recently invested heavily in training and currently offers the most comprehensive programs in the marine outboard industry. Called Yamaha Marine University,(TM) it aims to support Yamaha dealers by providing a course of study that concentrates on improving profitability and customer satisfaction.
Yamaha received the highest numerical score for EFI four-stroke engines in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Marine Engine Competitive Information Study. The study was based on 6,973 responses, measuring four EFI four-stroke engine brands and owner opinions for the 2006 and 2007 model-year boats registered from June 2006 to May 2007. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of owners surveyed in September and October 2007.
Yamaha Marine products are marketed throughout the United States and around the world. Yamaha Marine Group, based in Kennesaw, Ga., supports its 2,200 U.S. dealers and OEM partners with marketing, training and parts for Yamaha’s full line of products and strives to be the industry leader in reliability, technology and customer service. Yamaha Marine is the only outboard company to have earned NMMA(R)’s C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception.
About J.D. Power and Associates: Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
This document contains many of Yamaha’s valuable trademarks. It may also contain trademarks belonging to other companies. Any references to other companies or their products are for identification purposes only, and are not intended to be an endorsement.By: Martin Peters, Mgr Communications
