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To compete it today's complex and ever-changing business climate, the owners and managers of recreational marine businesses need access to reliable, relevant data. But in a diverse and fragmented industry such as ours, it is prohibitive for any one organization to obtain and analyze this type of information on a consistent basis. It is with this important need in mind that NMMA and MSU, in cooperation with national and state recreational marine associations, have created the Business Outlook Program to help industry members in making the best possible decisions. MBLO participants currently include boat manufacturers, boat dealerships, distributors, marine bankers, boatyards, marinas and retailers. Future participants may include marine surveyors and state boating administrators.

The ultimate success of this program is dependent on the support of industry organizations and their members at national and local levels. The participation of a broad network of marine industry members in an on-going reporting program will provide a "never before available" picture of short-term performance (e.g., sales, inventories, loans) and future trends in the recreational marine industry.

WHO'S INVOLVED

Current MBLO sectors - manufacturers, dealerships, distributors, marine bankers, marinas, boatyards, and retailers - complete two short web-based questionnaires: an Annual Questionnaire and a Quarterly Outlook Questionnaire. Click Here for a list of participating organizations.

The information provided by respondents will remain strictly confidential and your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. All data will be maintained by Michigan State University, which has been engaged in boating research since the 1960's, and currently partners with the Michigan Boating Industry Association and many national boating organizations. The University has very strict protocols to insure the confidentiality of survey respondents. Information will only be reported on a compiled basis and will not be linked with any specific business or organization.

If you have any questions regarding the importance of this survey, contact Dr. Edward Mahoney by phone at 517.432.0286 or e-mail mahoneye@msu.edu. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisfied at any time with any aspects of this study, you may contact – anonymously – if you wish, Dr. Ashir Kumar, MD, Chair of the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects at 517.355.2180, 202 Olds Hall Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48823 or e-mail ucrihs@msu.edu.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

All you need to do to become a MBLO panel member is CHOOSE YOUR SECTOR FROM THE LIST TO THE LEFT. From these pages you will be directed to get a password and then login to the panel to complete a very short registration questionnaire that will collect essential information about your business. The registration information will allow for segmentation of data and provide base-line data from which to monitor future changes and trends.

HOW YOU BENEFIT

The results will be reported back to all participants who submit data within four weeks. The data will also be used to generate a Business Leaders Outlook Index (BLOI), reported to the industry on a quarterly basis. MBLO sponsors will receive the same reports as the participants completing the surveys, and will also be able to request special analyses of information in the database needed to address concerns at a regional/local level.

We believe that the MBLO will fill an important informational gap for all industry members, at no cost to you. However, the success of the MBLO is dependent on your willingness to register and to regularly complete the annual and quarterly surveys.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

We strongly encourage you to be one of the industry's Business Leaders taking part in this program and thank you in advance for your support in generating industry data. If you have any questions on the MBLO, please contact Jim Petru, NMMA Statistics Manager at 312.946.6202 or jpetru@nmma.org. If you have any problems connecting to the website, please contact the web administrator at 517.432.0286 or rmrc@msu.edu.