Dealer Week 2020 is the latest major industry event to go virtual.
The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas made the announcement that its dealer conference would be held as planned Dec. 8-11 — but on the device of attendees’ choice rather than in person.
“Picking the right venue is crucial for a successful event, and this year it’s obvious that a great online platform — which we have found — is the best way to provide the insights, education and business solutions dealers need from Dealer Week,” said MRAA brand director Mike Davin in a statement. “Dealer Week will connect dealers with solutions to the pain points and opportunities they face.”
A preview event is slated for October, and a series of educational webinars beginning mid-month will be available to all attendees.
The event itself will include educational sessions, opening and closing ceremonies, partners and exhibits with business solutions, Q&A sessions with experts, roundtable discussions, awards presentations, and networking opportunities.
Dealer Week 2020 will offer content that is relevant to dealers today, said MRAA vice president Liz Walz.
“As we look ahead to 2021, dealers have a lot of unknowns about inventory levels, market conditions, sales and service demand, customer expectations and more,” said Walz. “Dealers and their teams who participate in the Dealer Week education lineup will receive powerful tools to navigate the uncertainty and maximize their success, no matter what the market throws at them.”
Dealers will get exclusive access to a preview VIP discussion, slated for Oct. 29, and a series of webinars hosted by the same trainers slated to appear at Dealer Week.
The webinars, which begin Sept. 16, will take place most Wednesdays leading up to the event.
The first session, titled “Three Ways to Start Turning Your Shop Inside Out,” features Valerie Ziebron of VRZ Consulting, who will also serve as one of three education hosts during Dealer Week.
The next two webinars will feature the event’s other hosts, Sam Dantzler of Wheelhouse College and Jim Million of Million Learning.
MRAA will make the webinars and all Dealer Week education sessions and exhibits available for event attendees to access through March 31, 2021.
“The 2020 selling season was turned on its head a couple times with the sudden slowdown and subsequent rapid acceleration of boat sales,” said MRAA president Matt Gruhn. “Dealer Week seeks to provide our dealers and our partners an opportunity to pause, collect themselves, plan for a strong year ahead, and collaborate on the collective success of our industry. And in this online format, Dealer Week becomes more accessible to more companies than ever before. We look forward to leading our industry with great confidence into the year ahead.”
