The more customers use their RVs, the more likely they are to stay in RVing.
Those of us in the industry who love and live for camping can consider it a given that once an RVer joins the RV lifestyle, they will always be an RVer.
Unfortunately, statistics tell a different story. A steady stream of customers use their RVs less and even give up RVing entirely.
The good news is that your dealership team can play a big role in driving increased RV use, and many of the best practices do not require more time or resources. They simply require an increased awareness of what you are doing in your daily tasks and how it can make a difference.
Let’s take a look at some of the key areas of opportunity.
Are you getting to know your customers? Do you have the gift of gab? This is important for building rapport and for when we ask questions like, “How are you enjoying your RV? Would you buy this model again?”
The customers’ responses can give you a pulse on their RV use and open the conversation up to hearing about things they dislike. Listening to the customer is key to understanding where they are and how we can help them.
- Do they understand all the features? Sometimes the things they dislike about the RV are features they are not using or are not using properly.
- Has their life changed? Getting married, having kids, becoming empty nesters, enduring health problems and even getting a dog are all lifestyle changes that can impact customers’ RV uses.
In the above examples, knowing what impacts customers’ RV use provides us with powerful information. Is your team making
the effort to connect with your customers? Doing so provides an opportunity to suggest ways the customer might not have considered to enjoy their RV more. Even customers who have owned many RVs may need guidance on new features, accessory options or even different ways to adapt their RVing style to new life situations.
Remember that what we do matters. Many of our daily tasks have a tangible impact on our customers’ RV use. Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT) indicates that many customers would love to hit the road more, but their RVs are unfortunately in the shop for far too long.
Every department in the dealership plays a role in reducing RECT.
Sales
Are you educating the customers on the best ways to service their RV?
- Do you tell them the importance of proactive maintenance and care?
- Do you tell them the best times to get work done to maximize time in high season?
- Do you tell them how to schedule maintenance and what service will be needed to fix the RV quickly (good information, picture/video, etc.)?
- Do you communicate with service advisors about customers who might benefit from looking at a different RV?
Service
Are you thinking about what the RV will need next and when the best time to do it would be every time you interact with a customer?
- Are you keeping a tangible and visual schedule the entire team can see?
- Are you actively scheduling and marketing work for the slower months?
- Are RVs being prioritized and triaged within 48 hours?
- Are you closing out tickets and getting RVs picked up quickly?
Parts
Are you making sure the dealership has the right parts at the right time?
- Does the service department know as soon as all parts are in for a job?
- Are you tracking lost sales due to parts not being available?
- Do you inform the team about backorders that could impact customers?
Lot/Detail
- Are you improving efficiency and quality control?
- Do you help keep the lot organized based on what RVs will be needed next?
- Are you looking every RV over as you pass it and alerting the service department about any issues?
Understanding our customers and ensuring they have the best understanding of how to enjoy RVing requires a mix of both soft and hard skills. Empathy is key to our relationships with customers, our internal team and interdepartmental collaborations. The more we support each other, the better it is for everyone.
Be sure to follow these tips every time.
- Clarify how to best do business with the other departments.
- Share helpful information with other team members as soon as it comes up.
- Talk through issues. Do not talk about team members negatively. Work together when something arises to resolve issues and strengthen processes and relationships.
- Educate customers, either individually or by offering clinics, to make them more comfortable with their RV.
- Make suggestions such as, “Have you tried…?” Chances are, you have some excellent insights on how to overcome barriers or encourage your customers to get out more.
Do not wait for someone to ask you about an issue. The more you educate customers and share helpful tips that meet them where they are currently, the more you demonstrate that you really do care—about their business and about them.
Valerie Ziebron is a leading industry expert and top-rated speaker. She has delivered thousands of presentations for dealers and their OEM partners to help dealerships ‘flip the switch’ from reactive to proactive business practices.
