The RV Dealers Association Convention/Expo kicked off yesterday as dealers from around the country and Canada descended upon the neon-lit streets of Las Vegas.
Monday consisted of board meetings for the RVDA of U.S. and RVDA of Canada, and Tuesday kicked off with busy sessions on topics ranging from marketing, digital retailing, improving customer experience and more.
The Expo portion of the day will open at 3:30 p.m. PT until 7 p.m., followed by RV PRO’s celebration of the 40 Under 40 honorees at an invite-only event.
Workshops will continue all day Wednesday until late afternoon Thursday.
In the Thursday morning session by Theresa Syer, “How RV Dealership Managers Can: Drive Customer Experience (CX), Obtain Buy-in From Teams, Sustain the CX Program & Prevent Old Habits From Returning,” Syer encouraged dealers to exchange information on how they are differentiating customer service from customer experience.
Customer experience is all about how you make a customer feel, Syer said. Improving customer experience centers on the human factor and the positive emotional response a customer walks away with after doing business with your dealership, she said.
As human connection becomes more scarce – due to the ability to order everything we need online and not interacting as much in-person – it becomes more valuable, Syer explained. The first step is getting employees engaged in the process and telling them “there’s a shift in how we want to make our customers feel and this is how we’re going to do it.”
While studies show that 80% of senior executives believe they consistently deliver a high level customer experience, only 8% of customers believe this to be true, Syer said. The problem is with consistency – having every employee across the board at your facility connect with customers in the same positive manner.
“This is the way you gain that organic growth,” Syer said.
The RV Dealers Con/Expo continues through Thursday.
