Finding the Real Value in your RV Dealership Website !

Last week I was standing in line at the Post Office and behind me was a lady carrying a huge stack of envelopes.  We started to talk and I discovered her name was Joanne and that she and her husband had just purchased a RV.  She seemed excited about their purchase so I asked her if she would mind telling me about her buying experience.

Joanne explained they started their search by visiting some Spring RV shows in mid Michigan.  After attending the shows they went home and visited the dealers websites.  They didn’t find much info on the different types of RVs or floor plans while visiting the dealer sites to help them, but did follow a link to one of the manufacturer sites.  It took her awhile but she was able to find fifth-wheel with bunks floor plans.  While at the manufacturer site she discovered the dealer locator and found another dealer she didn’t see at the shows.  She called that dealer and two others from the shows.  Only one called her back and that is where she and her husband bought their RV.

One of the things I found interesting about her story was that she took over three weeks of doing research online after initially visiting local dealer websites that didn’t meet her needs.
Now, Joanne isn’t unique in her quest for being an educated buyer.  The auto industry reports that well over 50% of auto buyers research online before making a purchase.  With over 2.4 billion Internet users in North America as of March this year (Internet Usage Stats March 25, 2005), it’s obvious that websites have become a critical marketing tool for RV Dealerships.

A Dealer in Oklahoma, that I’ve been working with since July of 2004, began tracking all their showroom, phone, and website leads between January and March of this year.  The result was that almost 25% of all leads where influenced to visit their dealership because of their website.  They used the site for viewing new unit floor plans, used inventory, directions, phone number, address or learning more about their dealership’s history or annual events before contacting or visiting the dealership.

Initially, many dealers that I speak with tell me that their website is doing great yet they don’t know how many visitors actually come to their site, or how many leads come from their site, or how their visitors heard about their website, or what the most popular links are on their home page or other important numbers. And even if they do know the answers, the bigger challenge is analyzing the results to determine what improvements are needed to continue getting the most value from their website efforts.

When you start to view results, analyze them, and make appropriate changes to meet the desires of your future and current customers your sales will increase and more of your customers will keep coming back.

The real value in your website is what sales it will produce for your dealership over the next 6 months, the next year, 3 years, 5 years and so on.  To begin getting the value out of your site start asking yourself some questions.

Ask yourself if you have the right person or people currently working with you on your website?  You wouldn't hire a carpet cleaner to work on your car.  Get knowledgeable people to help your website be a success!

Does having your products listed on a classified site get you the biggest bang for your buck.  Research shows that many more people will visit your website first before contacting you about a classified unit listing.  Having a professional, usable website should be a top priority.  Relying on classifieds alone won’t bring you the best results.

Do you have any goals for your site?  Do you have the information your visitors want?  Do you make improvements based on your best guess or based on customer feedback and results?  Do you see your website as a powerful marketing tool in your overall marketing strategy?

Hundreds and even thousands of people will visit your dealership website in the coming months.  Are you ready?