from lead to loyalty: a vacation owner’s customer journey...understanding and optimizing the owner...

From Lead to Loyalty: A Vacation Owner’s Customer Journey

Executive SummaryStrengthening owner engagement and loyalty to drive higher revenues and satisfaction requires a bold new approach to understanding and improving the full range of interactions between customer and vacation ownership company. Mapping the journey, from the owner’s perspective, will spotlight pain points to be removed and touchpoints that could be better. It also will pinpoint necessary organizational changes, such as breaking down department silos and organizing critical communications on a single technology platform. This white paper outlines the business case for journey mapping, steps to focus on, and tips for getting started on the path to delivering a better owner experience.

© 2018 Nordis Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Lead to Loyalty Forum Attendees, May 7, 2018 Nordis Technologies is proud to introduce a first of its kind, timeshare industry white paper, Lead to Loyalty: A Vacation Owner’s Customer Journey. It outlines the concept of the owner journey and its importance in driving revenue, reputation and loyalty. The white paper also suggests ways to map and enhance the journey while highlighting the vital role that communications can play in improving owner engagement and satisfaction. Why the owner journey? Vacation ownership companies, like those in many other industries, are seeking to grow and gain a competitive edge by improving the customer experience. Building a comprehensive and cohesive strategy to accomplish this begins by mapping owner interactions and touch points and identifying where technology does and doesn’t support the journey. Owners are increasingly expecting more personalized, convenient and rewarding communications such as those offered by Amazon and other consumer leaders, and technology is fundamental to delivering on that demand. That’s where Nordis comes in. Founded in 1989, Nordis has a long history of serving the vacation ownership industry. Our patent-pending, state-of-the-art Expresso product suite is used by both branded and independent developers and management companies to streamline and automate statements, letter and owner communications, process digital payments and administer HOA elections. Expresso can enhance owner experience with omnichannel communications, flexible payment options and secure, online voting, plus enable companies to customize offers, vacation confirmations, reminders and other owner interactions to boost engagement and satisfaction. Nordis now works with companies that represent more than two-thirds of the U.S. vacation ownership market. And we are true believers in the power of mapping the owner journey and leveraging technology to raise the bar on the owner experience. We hope you enjoy reading from Lead to Loyalty: A Vacation Owner’s Customer Journey, and welcome the opportunity to discuss your owner communication and payment needs. Best regards, Bryan Ten Broek Vice President, Business Development

Streamlining Communications and Payments

Nordis Technologies: From Lead to Loyalty: A Vacation Owner’s Customer Journey

The path to better owner experience and

communications begins by mapping and

tracking the customer journey so it can

be adapted, leveraged and improved to

meet these higher expectations. In turn,

understanding and optimizing the owner

journey is the stepping stone to new levels

of customer engagement and subsequent

vacation ownership company revenue

derived through upgrades and referrals.

Fifty-nine percent of timeshare sales

revenue comes from current owners,

according to the 2017 AIF State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry prepared by E&Y, and they spend more,

too: The value of a first-time buyer transaction is $17,803 versus $21,577 for an existing owner, according to

the 2017 AIF Financial Performance survey conducted by Deloitte.

It’s a similar situation when it comes to losing customers, according

to the financial performance study. Rescission rates, or the percent

of purchases cancelled during the allowable period following the sale,

usually 5 to 7 days, are more than twice as high for first-time buyers

than existing owners: 22.9% versus 9.3%.

In short, it’s very expensive to create a new vacation ownership

customer. So once a prospect becomes an owner, it’s critical that

communications and interactions are organized and coordinated for a

better overall experience. Doing so fuels future referrals and upgrade

sales, while lowering blended sales/marketing costs. Engaging owners

with a seamless and positive customer journey also reduces loan and

maintenance fee delinquencies, making the organization more profitable.

From Lead to Loyalty: A Vacation Owner’s Customer Journeyby Bryan Ten Broek

It’s not enough for vacation ownership companies to do well with some or even most of the interactions with owners and prospective owners. Customers want better than that, and fully satisfying them at all times to build lasting loyalty will take a new strategic focus on their experience and communications.

New ownertransaction value

Existing ownertransaction value

AVERAGE TRANSACTION VALUE, 2015 & 2016,U.S., NEW OWNER & EXISTING OWNER$30,000

$25,000

$20,000

$15,000

$10,000

$5,000

$0

Source: 2017 AIF Financial Performance

$17,163 $17,803$20,879 $21,577

2015 2016

SALES FROM NEW OWNERS

Source: 2017 AIF State of the Timeshare Ownership Industry

ExistingOwners

59%

NewOwners

41%


What’s a Customer Journey?Customer journey is the increasingly popular term used to

describe the total of experiences that customers go through

when interacting with a company or brand. These experiences are

often called touchpoints, marking specific transactions between a

company and the owner or prospective owner.

Touchpoints occur in a variety of channels, functions and time

periods. They include an owner or prospect reading a marketing

brochure, visiting a web site, using an app, receiving an HOA

meeting notice, casting a vote, and talking to a salesperson or

owner services representative.

However, the customer journey demands that the sum of the

experience is greater than its parts, or touchpoints. Customers

of traditional hotels that get the journey right may be 61% more

willing to recommend the experience than customers of hotels

that merely focus on a few touchpoints, according to The CEO

Guide to Customer Experience, a report by McKinsey. There’s no

reason vacation ownership resorts cannot achieve a similar level

of preference.

One important difference between a string of touchpoints and an

effective owner journey is perspective: It must be seen through the

eyes of the customer. Also, one size definitely does not fit all. Every

step of the owner journey should be easy, enjoyable and targeted

because interactions are based on a particular customer’s needs

at the time. For example, first-time buyers exploring their first

trip are looking for different interactions than seasoned owners

seeking new and diverse vacation options or wanting to upgrade

their ownership to allow more experiences or flexibility.

Mapping the journey helps identify owner pain points along the

way and gives vacation ownership companies opportunities

to reduce friction and increase engagement. When mapping,

companies often find disconnects between how they are

structured to interact with customers and what needs to happen

for an optimal customer journey.

Benefits of Focusing on the Owner Journey

Vacation ownership companies can reap sizeable gains from focusing on the customer journey as a strategic way to communicate.

Marketing Benefits

+ Creating a consistent brand experience from lead to loyalty

+ Improving owner satisfaction and engagement

+ Cultivating loyal owners that refertheir friends and family

+ Moving beyond loyalty to nurturing brand ambassadors

+ Establishing market leadership

Operating Benefits

+ Fueling revenue growth

+ Decreasing operating costs

+ Reducing operational complexity

+ Increasing collections and reducing the cost to collect

+ Boosting employee engagement


Defining the 3 Tracks of the Vacation Ownership Journey Despite clear overlap and opportunities for synergy, the owner journey currently involves many different

departments or business units of the same vacation ownership company, often operating independently in

silos. This is a big stumbling block to improving connections.

The industry generally operates in three silos or tracks. First, the sales and marketing track, then the vacation

track that starts with reservations or exchange and ends with the guest experience while on vacation. The

third silo is the financial/administrative track, focusing on mortgage financing, annual maintenance fees and

HOA governance. More often than not, each track operates its own system, resulting in multiple, possibly

conflicting communications with owners.

While the term journey suggests a series of sequential steps, there often is no final destination, unless you

want one-time customers. For vacation ownership, and many other industries for that matter, the journey is

on a loop, with owners repeating transactions and revisiting touchpoints. There also are one-off interactions,

such as the need to make a last-minute cancellation, or customers that fall into collections and later become

current. And in some cases, the journey must end with owners that enter a life stage that no longer is

compatible with owning their vacation for a lifetime, in which case viable exit paths are emerging.

While the final journey map needs to follow a comprehensive path, it’s useful to start by identifying the

touchpoints in three main tracks.

If each department is operating within its own silo, the company is likely not delivering the optimal owner

experience. While individual touchpoints may be great, that does not mean the experience as a whole is.

To change that, organizations should first map the entire customer journey, then execute a strategic

reorganization aligned directly with that journey. Doing so takes time, but the reward is worth it.

Starting with Owner CommunicationsTo begin getting in sync with the customer journey to build momentum for this mindset and approach at

your organization, secure some early wins so employees and owners can see and feel the difference. Owner

1 2 3

There’s initial and ongoing sales and marketing that involves outreach,

sales process, purchase, contracting, referrals and upgrades.

The vacation aspects of the journey can last for months every year. Owners plan, book, prepare,

pre-check, arrive, experience their vacation, check out and share

through comment cards and with photos through social media.

The financial/administrative part of ownership is continuous, with monthly mortgage payments, annual assessments and the

homeowners’ governance and elections process.


communications is a critical component of the strategy, and a

great place to start because it:

• Cuts across all three tracks.

• Represents important but currently uncoordinated touchpoints

along the journey.

• Leverages easy-to-use communications management tools

resulting in more consistent experiences and operational

improvements.

With a customer communications management (CCM) system,

you can put siloed tracks and functions on a single technology

platform for developing and distributing new owner welcome

kits, vacation confirmations, pre-arrival packages, owner invoices,

notices and other documents. CCM simplifies and streamlines the

entire communications process, and this can be done without a

massive IT overhaul or upgrade.

Consider how complicated owner communications are now:

Large, purpose-built, branded resorts, with an average of 130

units per property, dominate the industry. It’s likely that each

unit represents about 70 ownership interests for a total of 9,100

individual owner families.

Let’s say you have, on average, 12 communications each year,

excluding mortgage statements. You now have nearly 110,000

communications annually for just one resort! That’s a big number

and many owner preferences to manage. It’s even more arduous if

silos are operating at cross purposes.

A CCM system, on the other hand, facilitates collaboration,

compliance and coordination. CCM technology lets you create

a content library with text, logos, images and more, plus build

document templates for all of your owner communications.

You can leverage data tables to deliver highly personalized

communications. If structured properly, a single data file will

dynamically merge all elements to customize each letter, bill or

other customer document for multi-channel delivery via print/

mail or email.

CASE STUDYHow a Vacation Ownership Leader Harvested Benefits of Focusing on Customer Journey

ChallengeWhen it came to communications across hundreds of properties, a large branded vacation ownership company was operating within a silo mentality. It had too many departments working independently on owner communications, creating a fractured workflow process. Five departments used different mail/print vendors at a variety of price points. Proofing materials and getting appropriate approvals was a manual, labor-intensive, and often duplicative process. There were reporting issues, no centralized archive of prior communications, no built-in accountability and no process for getting electronic opt-in from owners to move to money-saving digital communications.

SolutionThe solution included a three-part strategy. First, the company identified all of the owner touchpoints and mapped the end-to-end communications process for the complete customer journey. Then, it used CCM technology to introduce a centralized information workflow process to focus on these customer interactions. This technology organized the information and broke down the siloed approach to provide visibility, empowerment, consistency and accountability across departments.

ResultsA singular technology platform creates branded communications with consistent design and print packages across multiple properties. Content can be leveraged across different communication types to ensure brand consistency. Employees have complete visibility to communications and can be held accountable for work product. Transitioning to one pricing model delivered $200,000 in savings. A push for e-delivery yielded another $150,000 in savings in the first year with a 25% owner opt-in rate for HOA maintenance fee statements.


Owners benefit from consistent messaging and coordinated outreach, removing potential conflicting,

redundant or irrelevant communications and other interactions that can sour the customer experience.

At the same time, CCM technology gives vacation ownership companies the ability to track results, such as

email open rates, to pinpoint ongoing opportunities for improving the journey. The right system makes it

possible to track the owner journey over multiple properties and product types so resorts can quickly detect

issues and improve the customer experience.

The Journey from Prospect to Owner Communications related to this track are crucial because it sets the tone for how the customer feels about

the decision to buy. This track also is important because marketing and sales costs typically consume more

than 40% of sales revenue, an expensive proposition to create a new owner. Financing also comes into play,

with 62.4% of customers financing their vacation purchase in 2016 for an average term of 119.8 months,

according to the financial performance study referenced earlier.

So, it’s key to have a positive customer journey

from the get-go given the considerable investment

companies make during the sales and marketing

process with four key touchpoints:

1. Tour Invitation

2. Sales Tour

3. Financing

4. Cancellation

Our Tips to Improve the Journey at this Stage

Don’t go quiet immediately after the owner makes the purchase. We know that companies have already invested considerable resources to get that customer, who now has five to seven days to cancel the sale. As a result, sales teams are hesitant to “rock the boat” or spend more money. But connecting with owners during the rescission period is now more important than ever: Use the first week to make the new owners feel good about the purchase. Jump right in and communicate to get them ready to make their first reservation.

Making the Most of OwnershipThe vacation experience offers room for significant improvement in engaging and connecting with the

customer. From booking the trip to pre-arrival to on-site activities, companies need to make sure the

entire experience is outstanding. This requires anticipating needs and communicating options about meal

reservations, pre-stocking groceries or booking tours.

PORTION OF NET ORIGINATED SALES THATWERE FINANCED BY CONSUMERS, 2016, U.S.

2015 2016

Cash or cash-out within first 90 days 24.6% 22.1%

Cash down payment 17.2% 15.5%

Financed value 58.2% 62.4%

Total 100.0% 100.0%

Source: 2017 AIF Financial Performance


No one wants a vacation to be marred by either a lot of setup time or on-site disappointments. For example,

if a customer is booking in high season and can’t get into the best restaurants or do certain activities

because they are full, the customer will have a disappointing experience. However, if a customer knew

certain activities needed advance booking by receiving a heads-up text or email from the resort, then it’s

smooth sailing and the customer has a much more satisfying vacation.

Our Tips to Eliminate Friction Points

Make sure you take advantage of pre-arrival check-in. In advance of arrival, resorts collect credit card info and arrival times to streamline the check-in process. It’s a crucial resort practice at vacation ownership properties because many people check in at the same time for the week. By doing pre-check, you eliminate long lines and let vacationers get to their rooms quickly – a win-win for all parties.

The Financial/Administrative JourneyThis part of the customer journey can create many friction points because interactions here are about

money and annual homeowner association elections. This part of the owner journey involves three major

touchpoints:

1. Mortgage Payments

2. Annual Maintenance Fees

3. HOA Elections and Governance

Keep in mind that even billing statements can be an opportunity to improve customer engagement and

create strong relationships. How? Start by including information that educates customers about related

products and services including reservation availability or marketing offers. Vacation owners can see

beautiful photos displaying options for their dream vacation. Billing statements also can be used to drive

electronic delivery and payment opt-in. So, don’t let that prime real estate go to waste.

The best way to engage owners is to meet them where they are. Some want communications mailed while

others prefer materials that arrive in their inbox. Some want both: For example, we’ve found that when it

comes to HOA-related communications, many owners like to receive hard copies of election materials but

prefer the convenience of online voting.

There’s a lot of opportunity to provide better or new ways to connect based on owner preferences. Thirty-

five percent of resorts offered a mobile app in 2016, according to the industry report prepared by EY. That

grew dramatically from the previous year due to a few large developers going mobile, but participation is

a long way from where it should be. The most common uses for mobile right now are making payments,

taking a virtual tour and checking into a facility.


Text messaging is another capability that owners are looking for – particularly for facility check-ins. Digital

wallets, a secure way through a smartphone app to pay for goods and services and store documents like

boarding passes and event tickets, are gaining in popularity. Digital wallets could be used during all stages

of the ownership experience such as issuing mobile vacation confirmations, displaying virtual membership

cards, sending push notifications, and delivering bills that include the ability to submit payments right on

smartphones.

Adding choice and convenience in HOA election communications and voting could improve participation by

delivering a better overall experience. There are applications, sometimes integrated within the CCM system,

to quickly and easily customize election communications and the voting process to comply with the specific

requirements of each resort property, such as weighting based on ownership and total number of owners.

Our Tips to Eliminate Friction Points

CommunicationsOffer multiple channels for communications and payments of annual maintenance fees or monthly mortgage statements to enhance engagement and satisfaction. Every time you communicate with an owner, offer an opt-in for digital delivery. Providing digital communications, including mobile-optimized electronic bill presentment and payments, is especially important for millennials or Gen X because younger owners like to do business on their phones.

PaymentsSet up an option for monthly payment plans for maintenance fees rather than require a single installment payment due in December when budgets are tight due to holiday spending. Along the same lines, offer the ability to schedule payment reminders via email and text. You’ll reap the benefits of reducing defaults and bad debt and increasing owner satisfaction.

ElectionsAdd an electronic voting option for annual HOA elections and related communications to increase convenience and participation, making it easier to reach a quorum. Vacation ownership companies will find it more convenient and efficient, too, with automatic versus manual ballot tabulation and other cost savings. An analysis of a large Nordis Technologies vacation ownership client showed a reduction in cost of nearly $3.00 per owner per year for every owner who converted to online voting and digital election-related communications.

Leveraging the Customer JourneyOnce in place, a single platform for managing communications, payments and elections can do much more

than optimize existing owner programs. It’s the essential tool for offering more choice and convenience,

such as digital statements, mobile payments and online voting, that makes life easier for owners and

improves the journey while boosting internal efficiency, creating more revenue, streamlining operations,

and enhancing brand consistency.

But it would be a mistake to stop there. Your owner communications and thus your owner journey can grow


with these systems. Companies from Disney to Virgin Atlantic and Starbucks to Bank of America are raising

the bar with omnichannel communications and experiences, according to digital agency Louder.Online.

Incorporating omnichannel touchpoints involves developing and delivering personalized interactions

and communications across channels—digital, print and agent-assisted. Companies using omnichannel

capabilities tailor and target interactions, offers, and communications so they are more meaningful and

useful to customer segments or even individuals. It’s a huge step beyond simply putting owner names at the

top of a generic letter sent to all owners and calling it customized.

It’s this laser focus on delivering an outstanding customer experience that can make all the difference in the

marketplace. It will attract and keep owners and confer competitive advantage.

Mapping and Fixing the Journey

Companies making the transition to a customer journey model will require some cultural shifts and technology investment. Technology can help remove the barriers between departments as well as map and manage the customer journey. But it takes more than tech, and we’ve developed suggestions to jumpstart your focus on the customer journey.

1. Create a cross-functional team with one person responsible for the owner experience.

• The governance role could be assumed by your chief experience officer, chief marketing officer, or someone in a senior role who has a view of the owner journey across the entire organization.

• The team should report directly to the CEO who can authorize resources and rearrange organizational priorities, if necessary, to quickly solve urgent paint points.

2. Map the entire journey from lead to loyalty. The owner journey doesn’t end at sendingbilling statements.

• Make sure you involve your owners in the process through surveys and focus groups.

• Create an organizational imperative and awareness of the importance of the owner journey along with asense of shared accountability for getting it right.

• Journey mapping and monitoring are an ongoing process. Organizations are dynamic, and change will affect the owner experience. Re-evaluate the map and conduct research at regular intervals. Rotate new people onto the team for a fresh perspective.

3. Be brutally honest about pain points. Each group must be accountable for service highlightsand lowlights.

4. Start with the biggest pain points.

• Pick your top pain point and focus on fixing this one area. Attempting to solve too many pain points at one time may lead to nothing getting solved, weak solutions, or delays. When you’re done solving your first pain point, move to another.

• If the solution to a big pain point is complex, apply project management and break it into smaller components. But don’t get tripped up in bureaucracy – you’re trying to move the needle on a pain point as quickly as possible.


About the AuthorBryan Ten Broek, Vice President, Business Development, joined Nordis Technologies in 2016 to manage

and grow the company’s already-large vacation ownership client base. He also is responsible for business

development and market expansion in the healthcare and financial services markets. Before joining Nordis,

Bryan spent more than 21 years with Interval International, a leading global provider of vacation ownership

services. Bryan graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor of science in political science.

For more information, contact Bryan at [email protected]

ABOUT US

We’re changing the rules for handling communications and payments

Nordis Technologies is an innovator and leader in offering technology solutions to solve

communications and payment challenges. Our Expresso™ application for streamlining

and managing communications and payments is a game-changer. What started out

as a better way for us to manage production and printing for clients has grown into an

important leap forward for transforming how businesses communicate and work.

Expresso™ places full control of customer communications right at your fingertips. That’s why leading healthcare, financial

services and hospitality companies rely on our technology to develop and disseminate their most critical communications

and to manage online payments.

We don’t stop there, though. We deliver a complete solution, from planning and development to print and digital production

and distribution from our two state-of-the-art facilities in Coral Springs, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. Coupled with our

Expresso™ platform, we offer a turnkey solution for all your print and digital communication needs.

Contact us today at (954) 323-5500, or email [email protected], to learn how our end-to-end technology and

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