To keep automotive aftermarket professionals ahead of the curve, many of this year’s AAPEXedu 2016 sessions will focus on new ways to connect with today’s digitally savvy customers.

Sessions in the AAPEXedu Marketing, Branding and Customer Relationships track will include:

• Next Generation Marketing: Successfully Positioning a Brand or Service with the Millennial Buyer
• CRM is Not a 4-Letter Word (Getting ROI from CRM)
• The Digital Seller: How to Make the Internet Your Best Friend and Dramatically Increase Sales Success
• How to Become the Wikipedia of the Industry to Build Your Brand, Business and Bottom Line
• Content Marketing: Storytelling That Brings Bigger Revenues with Less Selling;
• Customer Experiences: Start Showing. Quit Telling
• No! Really! What is Your Competitive Edge?

The Marketing, Branding and Customer Relationships track is one of five education tracks in the 2016 AAPEXedu program. Additional tracks include Connected Car Opportunities, Sales and Purchasing, Industry Trends and a Service Professionals program.

A General Session address by retired General Michael Hayden, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, will round out the 2016 AAPEXedu program. Gen. Hayden will speak from 8 to 8:50 a.m. PST on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Venetian in Las Vegas. The AAPEX General Session is free to all AAPEX attendees and no pre-registration is required.

The AAPEXedu program starts on Monday, Oct. 31 and runs throughout AAPEX, Nov. 1 through Nov. 3, at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. All sessions are accredited by the University of the Aftermarket toward the Automotive Aftermarket Professional (AAP) and Master Automotive Aftermarket Professional (MAAP) designations.

AAPEX 2016 is expected to feature more than 2,200 exhibitors and 45,000 targeted buyers. Approximately 160,000 automotive aftermarket professionals from more than 140 countries are projected to be in Las Vegas during AAPEX.