RV IMAGAZ by ZAGAMI

Raise the Flag .... oops, make that Flagg!

zagami@tiac.net — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:10:00 GMT

Much has been written about the need for dealers to embrace the Internet and become proficient with Web 2.0 technologies to service their prospects and customers and grow their business. Despite the industry's current economic challenges, this is a story of two companies that get it. Not only do they get it, they have mastered it.

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NERVDA fights a good fight, but finally had to cancel the 2009 Boston RV Expo . . . . .

zagami@tiac.net — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:00:00 GMT

If it had been a championship boxing match it would have gone 15 rounds and lost on a decision. If it had been a marathon, they tripped fifty yards from the finish line and just couldn’t get up. But it wasn’t either of those; it was an attempt to salvage the third Boston RV Expo put on by the New England RV Dealers Association and despite the valiant effort of key dealers and their executive director, they just couldn’t get their membership to commit to a major show, in a major market, given the challenging forces impacting all segments of the RV industry.

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Break a leg in Louisville this week . . . . .

zagami@tiac.net — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:33:00 GMT

As the key players, including most movers and shakers in the RV industry, head to Louisville this week we want to wish them well and hope that there will be great excitement among the new products that RV manufacturers introduce at this year's important show.

Hopefully, the frustrations and challenges presented to our industry this year will soon be in the rear view mirror. Maybe we can spend a lot more time in 2009 looking out the windshield and driving down a new road to success and recovery ..... now wouldn't that be something to look forward to?

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Baby Boomer Bubble Burst .... now what do we do?

zagami@tiac.net — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:23:00 GMT

All of the Baby Boomer prospects that the RV industry has been cultivating through the Go RVing campaign have disappeared from dealer showrooms across the nation. The fallout of the current financial meltdown has impacted the RV industry beyond the expectations of anybody closely tied to RVs. Nobody could have predicted the devastation that has turned this industry upside down or the loss of dealers, suppliers and manufacturers that we have witnessed this year.

The Baby Boom Bubble has burst, and it will be a long time before the target audiences of the current Go RVing campaign come back into the lifestyle.

So where do we go from here? How do we use the Go RVing campaign to keep a spotlight, however dim, on the great pleasures that our industry provides to millions of people in 2009?

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Hi Yo Silver .... Make that Hi Yo QuickSilver!

zagami@tiac.net — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:02:00 GMT

While preparing an article for Pop UP Times, I renewed my relationship with Scott Tuttle of Livin' Lite RV and was amazed to learn there isn't a single dealer for these creative all-aluminum pop-ups that should be selling like hotcakes these days. Now I don't want this to be a commercial for the QuickSilver product line but I do think some dealers may be missing an opportunity to drive new traffic on to their lots and into their showrooms.

The simplicity associated with this tent on steriods should be an attention getter if prominently displayed to catch the attention of people driving by a dealer's lot that would not normally stop in given the current economic climate.

What are the New England dealers missing here, or what do they know that other's don't? What do you think?

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The ugly duckling of the RV industry ..... not!

zagami@tiac.net — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:21:00 GMT

When I see Recreational Park Trailers I see dollar signs. When the RV industry sees them, they run in the other direction. Some even go so far as to say they are not "really" an RV.

They were once part of RVIA, and then they were thrown out of the association. They responded by forming their own group. Then they were in the Louisville show, then they were thrown out, and then they were invited back in again. We are going to give these guys a complex! They must feel like the ugly duckling as portrayed in the classic children's book by Hans Christian Andersen.

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Did Pete Liegl just outsmart the industry?

zagami@tiac.net — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:39:00 GMT

It wouldn't be the first time that Pete Liegl went left when everyone else was going right. His recent dealer gathering may have been a stroke of genius in gathering his flock in Elkhart to hear the Forest River story straight from the top, and see what the company is doing in light of the financial challenges impacting the RV industry - all up close and personal.

They could have done the same thing in Louisville, but they never would have gained the mind share, and more importantly, the purchase orders and sales commitments that I'm sure they garnered with this captive audience.

This is an industry built around the relationships enjoyed between dealers and manufacturers. Quality products, fair warranty reimbursement, timely parts shipments, and a stronger focus on customer service must be blended in these relatioinships for the industry to recover from the current downturn.

RVDA has provided the forum of choice for dealers to actually rate the relationships they enjoy with the manufacturers they choose to represent at their dealership. With such an important program, why don't more dealers participate?

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We have nine reps but only two are any good . . . .

zagami@tiac.net — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:59:00 GMT

Those are not my words folks, they came from a dealer that responsded to my Friends or Foe article that appeared in the August/September issue of RV Industry News. I wrote about this topic several years ago and was hoping for a different reaction this time around. After so many successful years one would think that manufacturer's would have invested some of their profits in training programs for the people they send out into the field to meet with their customers - the dealers! Based on the early returns, that came flying in on e-mails and phone calls from our readers, this is still a very hot topic, so - as one dealer suggested - let's carry it over to the blog and see what the rest of you have to say on the subject.

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I'm back and ready to go.

zagami@tiac.net — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:35:00 GMT

This entry is just a note to let readers know why I was off the Internet for awhile and that I will be back in action tomorrow with a new blog.

edit: We have moved this blog and all comments over to the forums...the forums are much better suited for personal topics like this.

You can go to the top of the page and click on "community" or simply click here

Thank You for understanding,

Wolfgang

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