Launching
an RV
Manufacturer’s Web Site
by Don
Magary
- To: RV
America On Line Guest Book
- From:
Name: JUNGIE_B
- Email:110023.153@compuserve.com
- Location:
GLENDALE, CA USA
- Date:
Tuesday, June 17, 1997 at
22:20:32
- Comments:
Very interesting web site. Hope
more RV industry manufacturers
join the site to interact with
users/customers
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A few weeks ago I
was standing in the Medford, OR, airport waiting
for my bags and started talking to a fellow
passenger who was concerned that his bags might
not have made this flight from his connecting
flight in Portland. He said he was on his way
home from the Philippines where he had just
closed a big deal — selling log cabin homes.
As we talked he
happened to mention that his customers had found
him on the Internet. That piqued my interest. He
said, three years ago he made his living with a
chain saw as a logger, but he bought a computer,
started designing log cabin homes, and put up a
web site to see if he could sell his designs. He
thought people in the area would be interested,
but was amazed to discover that inquiries were
coming in from around the globe. In less than a
year on the Internet, he had created a new
business not only designing log cabin homes, but
packaging the materials including lumber and
selling them internationally.
Quite a success
story, one of many where the Internet has changed
people’s lives. In our industry, there are
also success stories. As a group, RV dealers seem
to be having the most success — selling
big-ticket items. Just about every dealer who has
a web site we talk to have stories about selling
RVs to customers who initially discovered them on
the Internet. Stalkups RV Superstore in Casper,
WY, sold seven RVs during March to Internet
customers. Considering that they have had a
pretty slow spring season, that’s
remarkable. So with all the focus on Internet
success stories why are RV manufacturers lagging
behind in using the evolving medium to market
their products? Out of the 100 more or less RV
manufacturers serving the U.S. and Canadian
markets only a handful have web sites. And
notably missing are some of the biggest names in
the industry. A group that traditionally leads
the industry through innovation and drives the
market, RV manufacturers are falling behind the
power curve on this opportunity. Some of the
major manufacturers that have not overlooked this
new medium are Fleetwood, Winnebago, SMC Corp.,
Western RV, Holiday Rambler and Monaco. Continued
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