By Michael Moore, General Manager at Texas Advertising
Despite the advent of cell phones, Wi-Fi, AI and more, campgrounds are still a place where people come together to spend time with each other. RVers don’t look up ‘best Wi-Fi’ when they first seek out a campground. That may come later but their first criteria is a place they and/or their family would like to go hunker down for a few days.
As a campground operator, it’s up to you to cater to your customers’ needs after they’ve settled on a location. That could be a strong Wi-Fi signal, but it also includes various forms of customer service and relationship marketing to ensure they have a quality experience.
There are various ways to do that which I’ll describe below but let’s first look at why this is important. Some would say it’s common sense to take care of your customers but that doesn’t mean everyone does it or does it well. For example, how do you handle a guest asking about mobile techs? Do you have an answer for them, or do you leave it to the customer to Google it? Having a preferred choice for this VERY common problem can do wonders for you and your guest. First, you would know who’s coming into your park. I don’t know a park in America that is ok with anyone and everyone coming in and out of the park unchecked especially if they’re there to do work. Second, you want to refer people to someone you know does good work. Yes, Google reviews can help but would you rather be the one to show your guest the solution to a problem or Google? They’re much more likely to trust you going forward and make a return trip if they know they’re in good hands.
What about the data to back up this level of customer service? If that same RVer with a rig issue has a bad experience, they’re not just going to remember if they did or did not find a tech or the work they did but they’re going to remember where they were. That’s you. If you lose that, or any customer, it’s going to cost you six times as much to acquire a new one to replace them according to a recent Forbes article. Plus, 72% of people say they will switch to a competitor if they have just one bad experience (Northridge Group Study).
But Relationship Marketing can also make you money. According to a Bain and Company study, increasing your customer retention by 5% can yield an increase of 25-95% in profitability. So how can you do that? Chances are your guests are not from your area and would like to learn about the area. You can help by telling them about area attractions and events, local restaurants that they can’t find anywhere else, even the local vet you would take your pet to. Give them a reason to come back and, just as important, don’t give them an excuse not to.
All of this contributes to making your guest experience the best it can be. In these uncertain economic times, both in our industry and abroad, every dollar counts whether its saving it or making it. Go with the numbers and go with relationships – it’s that simple.
