The RV industry is a tricky one. On one hand, you have an incredibly traditional market offering that delivers consumers with a true one-of-a-kind, fun experience. RVing requires a significant investment that not everyone can afford, making it a “luxe” or niche experience. On the other hand, however, you have a sophisticated consumer audience that is used to immediate, personalized communication from businesses. RV dealers are left trying to bridge the gap between a traditional industry and non-traditional consumers, which, for a while, was a difficult bridge to build.
Today, however, there are innovative solutions on the market that are making it easier than ever to engage with RV consumers. One of these channels, business texting, is completely revolutionizing the way consumers want to be contacted by vendors. Modern consumers are completely flooded with messages every day. From countless spam emails promoting sales to cold calls and automated voicemails, many consumers have simply stopped answering their phones altogether. Nearly 20% of voicemails aren’t listened to, and this number is increasing every single day.
For RV dealers trying to engage with both current and prospective consumers, calling people isn’t conducive to a modern engagement strategy. Consumers are too digitally savvy to answer their phones, even if they know it is about an order update from a dealership. In order to break through the noise and engage with consumers where they prefer, RV dealers should start using text messaging instead.
Texting your RV customers instead of leaving endless voicemails can help grow your business because it:
Encourages a prompt response. While email and voicemails aren’t necessarily two-way communication channels, text messaging is definitely a method of conversation, and RV dealers looking for a response from customers should be happy about this fact. Consumers are 7x more likely to text an RV dealership back after they receive a text than they are to respond to a voicemail. If you’re looking for immediate feedback or an answer from a customer, then texting is your best bet.
Is more flexible for both parties. Can you think of the last time you personally sat by your landline waiting for it to ring? Thought so, which is why you shouldn’t expect that from your consumers, either. Even waiting around for a cellphone call is too much to ask in today’s age of immediate notifications and real-time conversations. Americans check their cell phones up to 74 times a day, which means you won’t be waiting around wondering if your message was received – you can know it was read and put the ball in your customer’s court for a response.
Appeals to a younger audience. Believe it or not, Millennials are one of the largest consumer groups of RVs, and, yes, they definitely prefer texting with businesses to phone calls and emails. While RV dealers might be used to dealing with older generations who prefer different communication channels, texting is the perfect way to maximize engagement with this high-impact generation. Also, Millennials are an incredibly influential group, which means that if they’re on board with texting then other age groups will soon be as well.
To learn more about using texting in your dealership, contact Kenect by visiting www.kenect.com, or you can call or text 888-972-7422.
