There are a lot of RV Dealers waiting to list their inventory online on various RV Classifieds or RV Portal websites until they “feel” the 2009 season start. They are measuring that by when they see sales go up, which is a common mistake that up until this year has not really been a factor because there have been plenty of RV buyers out there. With the financing difficulty and other factors that deter folks from buying an RV now, your going to want to get your dealership and inventory out there in front of as many potential buyers possible.
Over the past 13 years, we’ve noticed there is definitely a marked trend as to when potential buyers start searching for their next RV to purchase. The “looker” trend starts in November and continues through December, which is demonstrated by the amount of time the average visitor spends on the website. During those months there is less traffic but they are spending considerably more time on the website. Then from December to January the number of visitors on RVUSA.com increases by 50% or more and the “lookers” continues their RV search.
Most RV dealers really start to see their sales increase in late March or early April, so that’s at least 2 good months for the “lookers” to find what they are looking for online and contact dealers for purchasing options. If you’re one of those dealers who’ve waited until April to start your online advertising campaign, then you’re not even on the radar screen for all those visitors who’ve been searching the internet since January and are ready to buy.
The good news is that from February to March the traffic numbers on RVUSA.com increases another 50% and then fluctuates a little each month until about September or October. As an RV Dealer, your website probably follows the same basic traffic trend. That brings my next question to mind.
Do you have access to view your website traffic stats month-to-month?
How often do you check your website stats?
How many visitors did you get to your website last month?
How long did those visitors stay on your website?
How did they get to your website?
What are your top 10 most popular pages?
Then you’ll want to watch your specific website trends for each of those topics to see if they are improving or not. It’s nice if the process of compiling your monthly stat report is automated and emailed directly to you, which is a feature that I implemented this past week on all of our hosted RV Dealer websites.
The bottom line is you have to get your dealership and inventory out in front of RVers in order to make sales. If you are unsure which websites you should signup with you can check out one of my previous blogs on that subject: https://cindyatrvusa.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/which-rv-industry-websites-you-should-advertise-on/
Let me know if you have any questions. I’m here to help you succeed online whether you are a customer of mine or not.
Cindy Spencer 🙂
NEXT BLOG: Who should host your RV Dealership Website?
