It was his show, and he was going to make sure everyone knew how committed NTP was to the success of the retail store at the RV dealerships they serve. An accomplished marketing professional, Tom Murphy is new to the RV industry but he came in with both feet firmly planted in the ground and a wealth of ideas in his head.

Tom has over twenty-seven years in marketing, sales and advertising. He has owned his own consulting company and has also authored a book titled, "Successful Selling for Introverts."

Murphy presented a seminar to conference attendees prior to the opening of the show. The room was filled and he presented the marketing philosophy of NTP and their desire to be much more than just a parts or accessories supplier. 

Tom said, "Our objective is to help the dealer manage their inventory better and maximize their profits by doing business with our company. W believe the thing that sets us apart from other distributors is the level of service we provide to them. This is a very competitive business and there are other companies they can do business with. Our dealers are very loyal and look to us for innovative programs that help them focus on the bottom line.

“The main objective of our annual dealer/supplier conference is to provide educational opportunities for the dealers and the vendors. We also provide them an education on new products, which is one of the highlights for many of the attendees. It also allows the dealers to get together in an educational environment rather than having them feel like they must fill their store with inventory. We want them to buy what they can sell, and spend a tremendous amount of time with them discussing inventory organization, inventory management, and servicing their needs."

Prior to the gathering on the Queen Mary in Long Beach,  Murphy surveyed their dealers to see what they were doing to get more business today. In a survey of 1800 dealers, with a better than average response, it showed that 31%were using a web site, 50% were using print advertising, 22% use open houses, 21%were using direct mail,  56%using point-of-sale activity and 54% used some type of in-store promotion.

Interestingly though, web sites are still not being used as effectively as many might imagine in this industry. While 53% of the survey respondents did have a web site, almost half,  47%, did not. 

When it came to catalogs, 48% of them used distributor catalogs, but 52% did not.

Murphy found out that 57% attended because of the educational value offered to the dealers, 69% attended to learn about new products, 34% attend to get special pricing, and almost a quarter of the attendees, 23%, combined the conference with vacation time.