We get the question alot ... How can I sell my rv parts and accessories on our website?

Of course the answer is as simple or complex as you want to make it.  First, let's review the different current known methods of doing it along with the pros/cons.

Distributor Solution

This is the most common that you see online.  You put a link from your website out to your 'branded' online parts store provided from your distributor.  Anything you sell from that you make a %. The pro is that it's easy to setup and run; requires little to no effort or cost on your part.  The cons are that your margin may not be what you desire and you really can't change or modify the way it looks or behaves.

At a recent NTP show an anouncement was made that NTP and Systems 2000 had formed a partnership for passing part/accessory data back and forth.  A great idea and we'll see how it pans out and evolves in the future.

Built In Storefront

Some website provider companies offer a built in module for you to sell parts/accessories on your website.  There are some providers that advertise this as a viable solution, but I havn't seen any of these in action yet.  The pro might be that it is built into your website and should look/feel like your site.  The cons are that you still need to have someone responsible for inputting and keeping up with all the data and photos.  Before jumping into this option I would take the time and make sure the system has all the necessary tools and features to process orders efficiently and compliments the way you want to do business.

Stand Alone Storefront

This is the one you are thinking of if you are looking at campingworld.com, rvpartsoutlet.com, or rvwholesalers.com.  This allows you to control your own destiny.  It's really a hybrid of the first two. One pro is that it looks/feels like your current website and your customers won't feel a difference using your website or your accessories storefront.  Another pro is that you'll have tons of products in their to sell.  The con is that it will require a ton of effort at your dealership to upload/manage the information and photos as you are essentially building your entire parts/accessories catalog online.  Keeping up with the constantly changing prices, specials, etc.. can be a challenging job by itself.

There are many different stand alone storefronts to choose from online.  Doing a quick search will return hundreds of options.  One we've found success with is www.Volusion.com.  Just make sure any solution you choose has the right tools and features to run things the way you need them to.

First Things First

Before you start down the road on any of these solutions I encourage you to ask yourself the BIG question... What is my purpose for wanting to sell accessorries on my website?  We all know the answer right?  You want to make more money.  Sell more stuff.

The next logical questions are...

• What will it take for you to actually make money (be profitable) at selling online? Consider up-front/ongoing cost, resources (people), profit margins, etc..
• Can you offer a competitive price? Comparison shopping is as easy as click, click on the Internet. Not having competitive pricing not only loses you a sale, but even worse can hurt your credibility online.
• How will you advertise you have an online storefront or are you thinking of just 'cherry picking' the folks who are currently coming to your website?

What to do ... What to do...

So, you've answered the questions and now you've figured out that you can make money at this.  The next step is to start thinking like your customers.  Think about things that interest them.  Think about the sales process and at what point can you upsell?  Put yourself in their shoes.  Here are some proven ideas to get you started selling products through your website and make money doing it!

Get Started

Sounds simple doesn't it? Yet, why do so many folks ask questions and get educated only to think that somehow knowledge by itself puts more money in the bank.  Knowlege only ads value when you put your knowlege to work.  So..

• Get a simple stand-alone store on your website or ask your website provider if they have a comparable module you can use.
• Start off with 10, 20, or 30 of your best selling/margin products.
• Get good photos, maybe a how-to video, some testimonials on each product, and tell folks how each product can help them.
• Advertise with simple ads on your website.
• Watch it work ...you'll get results if you follow the steps.
  

Pakcage Your Products

One competitive pricing strategy is to make up your own special product packages.  Maybe each package has 3 to 5 different accessories.  Much like the manfucturer has option packages.  Do the same on a simpler more cost effective scale with your accessories and see what happens.  Offering product packages changes the way shoppers compare you to others allowing you to hold better margins all because you cared enough to put together a total solution for your customers.

Email Responsibly

Email your current customers with new products and special offer, but don't spam them.  Make it a timely valid offer with info on how this particular product will help them in some way.  Solve a problem for them?  Make life easier for them? You can even keep your email copy simple and link back to your website for the special offer.  It allows you to reuse the web page offer on your site and email plus it gets them back to your website.

Accessorize Your RV

I remember back in 2007 when I purchased my first RV.  I even purchased from a dealership who was using our RV website design service doing my best to support our clients.  Believe it or not at the time of sale I wasn't even offered any accessories.  I had spent time looking online and knew of at least 5 different goodies that I wanted.  Now, they probably had their reasons for not offering, but I can't imagine I'm the only one who wants goodies with their RV.  What if when you listed your inventory on your website you could also list a few popular accessories to add-on or accessorize their RV.  What if you could even allow your website shopper to choose from those accessories and get a complete quote on the RV and accessories?  Be it a solar panel, step rugs, assist handle, hitch, bug screen, or slide toppers.  I've seen this in action on a dealer's site and it works.  It's simple ... just give folks the opportunity and you'll be surprised.

Let me know how you progress by adding your comments below.  Have you found something that works or doesn't work?  Let me know...

If you are interested in how we might be able to help your dealership be successful with selling accessories online or if you have questions about being more successful with your website itself just let us know by emailing us through our contact link.  We are here to help.

We've heard it said many many time how much folks at the dealerships responsible for managing the inventory absolutely love the RV Library Lookup.  Just recently we had a situation where a salesperson fell in love with the RV Library as well.  Here's the story...

A salesperson calls one of his team members here at InteractRV and says ... "hey, I've got this guy who has come in looking at a particular Dutchmen floorplan that I have in stock.  However, he is also looking at a Forest River floorplan at my competitor that is very similar.  He says he likes the way he's been treated here and would like to see a side-by-side comparison of the features and benefits of both RV brands.  I know you guys (InteractRV) have this RV Library thing, do you have access to a 2009 brochure for this Forest River brand."

The team member opens up his browser, goes to the internal RV Library management control panel and shoots the salesperson the 09 brochure.  The salesperson was super excited and eager to get the deal done.

What I find amazing about this whole process is that the salesperson now has knowledge of a competing product that he had no easy way of getting.  And we've all heard the saying ... knowlege is power!

Since this happened I have been taking some notes and writing down some thoughts on how we might make the RV Library more accessible to InteractRV control panel users for purposes such as this salesperson had.  I'd love to hear your two cents on the idea.  Email me kevin at interactrv dot com.

Credit Apps from your website to your lender in the blink of an eye.

InteractRV has recently launched a new credit application process that can save you time and in the end, money!

What if you could :

• Have a future customer fills out your secure website credit app
• Receive an e-mail or text notification letting you know the new credit app has arrived
• Open the new secure credit app as a PDF that..
  • Looks exactly like your lender approved form
  • You can print and/or fax directly to your lender

Secure, Simple and Fast!

Contact a team member at InteractRV today about getting your credit app process faster and more accurate!!

Contact us at (800) 515-9672!!

Thought about changing the look or feel of your website?  Maybe now is the time to consider a website face lift!  Whether you are a current client of ours, or a dealer looking for something new….we can help you! 

For many years, researchers have been studying the best time for a site re-design and why.  Most people are informed not to change their site because most consumers don’t accept change well.  Most people find it difficult to navigate through a newly designed site, and don’t like to create new techniques or habits. On the flip side, a new site re-design might make it easier for consumers to use, rather than harder!

Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself if you are considering a site re-design:

Do your analytics show that your site is performing well? 

• Are visitors immediately leaving?
• Is the time of visitors on site low?
• Are they viewing more than 1-2 pages?

Would changing your site really make a difference?

• Will changing the layout of design really make a difference?
• Will you have the same customer feedback?
• Will you have the same traffic?
• Will you increase traffic?
• Will you keep them on the site longer?

As stated above, will you upset previous consumers if you change the site or excite them?

• Will it be harder for them to navigate?
• Will they get confused?
• Will they love the new layout?
• Will navigation be easier for them?
• Will they view it as a dramatic improvement?

Could the current design be hurting your company in Search Engine rankings?

• Have new technologies in web design come along over the last few years that could help you generate more leads, possibly by getting rid of tables and like such?
  • Have you asked your current provider if they use old technologies?

Does your current site look outdated?

• Many new web design concept have come along over the past few years, which can make old sites look old.  Does your site seem to look “old” compared to others?

InteractRV does all of these things mentioned above!  If you would like to discuss the possibility of a site re-design, please call today! You can reach us at (800)515-9672.

Also, take a look some of our current dealers RV web design.

I received a phone call late this afternoon from one of our dealer/clients telling me about a wild phone conversation one of his salespersons just had with a web lead.

As part of our simple RV Dealer CRM one of the options is to receive notification of your web leads via text message on your cell phone.  So, when an website shopper submitted a request through this dealership's website a salesperson received the lead info within 10 seconds and made a call back to the shopper within the minute.

When the shopper answered the phone she honestly believed that this salesperson was watching her through her computer video camera while in her bathrobe and all.  It took a bit of convincing, but the online shopper eventually understood that all was well and there was no need to worry, but that this salesperson had just responded to her web request VERY quickly.

So, can you respond too quickly?  I don't think so.  Yeah, you might get a few strange conversations like the one in this example, but 99 out of 100 times the person on the other end of the phone will be ecstatic that you considered their request important enough to get back wtih them so promptly.

If you've watched the movie Field of Dreams you'll remember the voice from above speaking to Kevin Costner, as Ray the farmer, to build it and they will come. So, what does he do? He turns a corn field into a baseball field and mysteriously hundreds of folks drive in from all over to see the games.

Have you taken the same approach to your website?

Thinking that just having a website will bring in droves of potential customers to your dealership just may be setting yourself up for disappointment and frustration. Years ago it might have seemed like enough, but with search engines getting smarter and the competition getting stiffer having success on the Internet requires that you do more than just show up to the game.

The PO!NT : Simply having a website doesn't mean success. Making intentional and continual improvements to your website over time is the right way to get the results you are looking for. It's not hard or difficult. Get a plan together and make it happen.

The Internet Super Highway is much different than the highway your shoppers and customers use to get to your dealership.  You might get a number of opportunities to make a lasting impression as a prospect drives by your lot multiple times, but what about the shopper on the Internet … how many times do you get to make a lasting impression with them?

Most RV Dealership owners take great pride in their physical lot.  Many times spending millions of dollars to build outstanding sales and service facilities … and thousands each year on maintenance, landscaping, comfortable waiting rooms, and general upkeep.

Yet, even with over 80% of their shoppers and customers going to their website before setting foot on their lot … they’ve settled for a same old looking website that really doesn’t give their shoppers a lasting impression.

The Po!nt: Don’t expect your shoppers and customers to give you their business if you don’t give them a lasting impression with your website. Use your website to build trust and confidence in your future prospects and current customers.  Make your website look and feel like who you are as a dealership.  Not branding your website may be losing you sales!

The big question is ... who is your website designed for? The vast majority of RV Dealership websites are designed for the Buyer. The person coming to your website knowing exactly what they want. You know the typical navigation path .... New RVs > Travel Trailers > Less than $20,000 > List of what you have in-stock on the lot. Seems like the right thing to do, after all that's what every other dealership does, right?

With the typical Buyer taking 90 days to 1 year being a Shopper before making a decision shouldn't you ask yourself ... how does my website persuade the Shopper to trust my RV Dealership so that when they do become a Buyer you've already met their initial needs as a Shopper and naturally they look to buy from you first?

In the early buying stages (shopper), you save the visitor time by providing them with information and insight they would have otherwise had to work much harder and longer to obtain. They give you their time because they sense they are saving some in return. Conveying this information and insight with engaging and enjoyable website content further leverages this relationship by ensuring that visitors are not only saving time, but enjoying the time they do spend with you. Do that and it's a fair bet you'll end up turning your Shopper into a Buyer (customer).

How do you do it? What can you possibly do on your website to meet the needs of your website Shopper's? Start by listening. Get a simple feedback form where your Shoppers and Buyers can tell you what they like and don't like about your website? We've tested over 5 different forms and have narrowed down which one gets the best results.

Next, think simply about how your shoppers behave on your lot. Believe it or not your online shoppers have similar needs. For example, make it easy for them to get around your entire website so they can learn. Soaking it all in is alot of the experience for a shopper.

It might be something as simple as allowing your shoppers to find all your travel trailers with bunks in them. That's how people shop, isn't it? We've done this on all of our RV Dealer websites and it works!

That's a simple start and there are many other things you can do to get your shoppers hooked on you today ... so they'll be back. If you would like more info on how we might be able to help your dealership website give us a call at 1-800-515-9672.