Situation
A friction-filled process left sales on the table (or in the shredder)
When Wyndham Destinations went public, it saw an opportunity to transform the stale perception of timeshares. Core vacationers craved endless destination options, but the industry’s sales process hadn’t changed since the release of the first Macintosh computer—way back in 1984. That meant paper. Lots of paper. A three-sheet, press-down-hard-to-sign document for potential buyers to sign up for tours. Another piece of paper handed off to an agent to check in tours. Yet another for tour leaders. And then, if a prospective customer didn’t buy? Bye-bye paper—into the shredder.
In maintaining this outdated process, Wyndham Destinations was missing out on truly getting to know its prospective buyers and owners and cultivating strong relationships. They had little usable data for insights to reduce friction along the entire sales process and to help grow the business for the future.
Solution
Yesterday’s vacation meets tomorrow’s adventure
Once new owners join the club, getting them to take a vacation is key to locking in customer loyalty. PwC and Wyndhams mapped out what the future could look like with tech, digital and cultural changes, building a business strategy that would hinge on gathering data and reducing headaches. Tradeoffs were considered at every point, from the customer experience to the associate’s point of view, and decisions were made in order to move the needle as much as possible. It was decided that, ultimately, relationship management system would not only benefit today’s business with seamless processes, new data and insights, but also allow Wyndham Destinations to extend the travel experience and its business prospects in the future.
The employee experience is the customer experience
Creating a better, more personalized experience for customers was the priority, but to get there, every employee who interacted with a potential buyer needed to believe in a new way of doing things, and adapt to a culture that was more relationship- and technology-based. A set of ambassadors, a marketing council, and sales and marketing leaders were assembled to make certain we accounted for what mattered to the people on the ground. These ambassadors brought change ideas to their teams and gathered feedback. In a sales-driven culture, employee experience is crucial to a great customer experience. Digitizing the business revolutionized the way Wyndham Destinations’ teams worked—education, team rallies and the opportunity to try out the new tech were crucial to rounding out the employee experience.
And for owners and potential buyers, the experience went from bumpy and impersonal to relatable and modern. By creating a profile that allowed anyone to identify and work with an owner or prospect, manually intensive work was replaced with a system that automated the company’s ethos: To anticipate a vacationer’s needs, build personal connections and provide a seamless customer experience.
Goodbye, paper; hello, technology
Enhancing Wyndham Destination’s digital footprint to include these new capabilities meant transforming their marketing and sales processes for a 360-degree view of what prospects and owners wanted. A Salesforce transformation changed the way the company approached its offering, starting with handheld tablets to sign up for tours. This front-end interaction is crucial for sales, and ditching paper for digital meant the time it took to book a tour was reduced by 70%, to just a few minutes. At the same time, Wyndham Destination employees were provided with the tools to do their jobs more easily.
Tablets and access to scheduling replaced carbon copies and calls to a scheduler. It was a cultural change effort and an investment in the employee experience that was customized for teams across the company, meeting employees where they were and bringing them into the new, digital culture. The payoff: a better and more efficient way of working, fueled by technology, for everyone at the company, coupled with a robust guest and owner profile that enhances the experience for everyone.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Planning the change—it’s in the details
Large-scale change doesn’t work unless everyone is on board—especially those most impacted by it. Representatives from all facets of the business were brought in to make sure everyone had a seat at the table and an opportunity to voice concerns. Since enthusiasm for change is contagious and must trickle down from the top, a series of fun videos featuring Wyndham Destinations’ EVP of sales and marketing showed employees that their leaders were fully invested. Emphasizing the tangible benefits of change, this ignited excitement and adoption.
Results
Endless possibilities for people, profits and what's possible
Wyndham Destinations’ aspirations to extend and grow the brand beyond the traditional timeshare business isn’t something the company could have achieved without knowing their customers better and upending the timeshare buying experience. Thanks to a new customer experience mindset, Wyndham Destinations has increased consumer trust and delight. More insight and data on owners will also allow the company to better anticipate and plan for the future. This has revolutionized how Wyndham Destinations—and the timeshare industry—does business, making the customer experience seamless and customized, transcending any vacation ownership experience out there.
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