EDITORIAL

It's Not Gambling;

It's an Amazing
Magic Money Machine

We all enjoy going to Las Vegas or Atlantic City because of the promise of investing a little money and walking away a big winner. Although down deep we know the odds are stacked in the casino's favor, the "promise" stimulates our inherent gambling spirit. And since there are always a few who do walk away big winners, we continue to feed our dream of instant wealth, or at least, leaving town with more than we had upon arrival.

Obviously, when it comes to our businesses we are less apt to gamble ­ the reward usually just isn't worth the risk. Before taking a chance in business we need to know that the odds are stacked in our favor.

But what if someone came into your business and announced he had just the thing for you -- a virtual money machine. Chances are you'd be skeptical, but on the other hand you would surely want to see it anyway, right?

He sets up his contraption on your desk -- it's basically a six-foot long plastic pipe. To demonstrate the powers of the miraculous machine, he jams a one-dollar bill in one end, walks casually around to other end and extracts a $10 bill.

You've seen slight of hand magic acts before, so your skepticism increases instead of waning. Just as you are ready to physically toss this 'scam artist' out into the street, he says, "You try it!"

You reluctantly slip a dollar bill from your money clip and stuff it into the pipe. He says, now come around here and see what you get.

You slip your finger into the opening and this time, it's a $20 bill. Pretty amazing, you are forced to admit that this is even better than Las Vegas. Try it again -- a $5 bill. And gain -- a $10 bill.

You don't know how it works, nor do you care. It works and that's good enough for you.

You sign on the dotted line and now you are the owner of the Amazing Magic Money Machine.

In business, it's never that easy is it? Yet, there is an amazing magic money machine and if you aren't taking full advantage of it, you are missing a wonderful opportunity. What is it? It's the Internet.

In the RV industry there are hundreds of companies that, just like the amazing magic money machine, put a little money in one end and are pulling large profits out on the other end. The only difference is that it is not quite as simple as our hypothetical example above ­ instead of just pulling money out, there's a lot of work that goes into turning the small investment into a large return ­ but it most assuredly is worth it.

It boils down to return on investment (ROI). So if you invest a little and get a lot then your ROI is well worth the investment, right?

Let's take the example of World Wide RV in Mesa, AZ. (See story on page 6) World Wide RV spent about $2,000 to have their web site developed and pays about $150 a month or $1.800 a year for service. If they sold one RV a month that they wouldn't have sold otherwise, the company's ROI would be pretty good right. What if they were selling one RV week? That would be a fantastic ROI. The truth of the matter is World Wide RV is selling on the average three RVs a week to customers they normally would not have sold to, so what should we call that ROI? How about an Amazing Magic Money Machine?

As we talk to RV dealers around the country, it is amazing the stories we hear about their Internet successes. Here's another example. Hitcharama is the largest RV dealer in New Jersey, according to Statistical Surveys. According to Alan Libove, vice president of Hitcharama, 15% of their new and used RV sales come from leads generated through their web site and about 12% of the rental contracts. Libove says that prior to the Internet, newspaper advertising was the most cost effective type of promotion for his company with the greatest ROI ­ today, the Internet has not only replaced newspapers at the top of the list, but it so far out performs newspapers that it's not even a close contest.

Needless to say, Hitcharama's web site is its Amazing Magic Money Machine.

As incredible as it may seem, there are still a large percentage of RV companies that still haven't developed an Internet presence. And even those that have web sites, have not figured out how to use this remarkable opportunity. I cannot understand how after hearing success story after success story, these companies are not asking themselves, what are we doing wrong?

From what we can see, the biggest mistake most RV companies make with their web sites is categorizing it along with Yellowpages advertising.

In other words, just a static "advertisement" that tells people how to contact their companies.

The second mistake we see is companies not realizing that in order to realize the potential of this opportunity it takes work. In our story on World Wide RV, David Skogebo talks about the trials and errors he went through before finding the right formula for handling leads from the Internet. It would be worth your while if you want to increase the value of your web site to read this article.

The third mistake is web site content, or lack of it. Web site owners need to sit back and put themselves in the consumer's shoes ­ what it is they came to your web site to find. Dealers that only put up the logos of the manufacturers they represent simply are not rewarding the consumers for coming to the site. If the web site doesn't answer 99% of the consumers questions about the products and services you sell, you are only inviting them to go to a competitor's web site where the information IS available. It's hard enough to get potential customers to your web site - only to lose them once you've got them because you fail to fill their needs.

Number four in our list of mistakes that devalue a company's web presence is failure to respond in a timely manner. If a consumer came in your place of business and you let them wander around all day without finding out whether or not they are a prospect, I'm confident heads would roll. That being the case, why is it less important to respond to an Internet lead with any less diligence than you do for the ups that come into your store ­ folks, an up is an up regardless of whether it came by walking through your front door or through the front door of your web site.

Let's face it, times are changing and for you to be in business in the 21st Century, you need to understand that the way consumers are getting information about your products and services are different today than 10 years ago. Every year more and more shoppers are turning to the Internet and going on line to find information on a product or service they are considering purchasing. Can they get all the information they need today about your product and services from your web site? If not, why not?

Put yourself in that consumer's shoes. If you were a customer shopping for a product or service your company provides, would you stay on your web site or go someplace else where more information is available?

Yes, we would all like to have an amazing magic money machine, one where the risk is small and the reward is great. The Internet can be your amazing magic money machine if you are willing to make the financial and intellectual investment.

It's not gambling to view your investment in your web site as a way to get a great ROI; however, it may be a gamble with an unacceptable risk if you think that the Internet is not going to be important to your business in the years to come.

RVN