I’ve been watching my clients’ stats very closely on the Internet. And what I’m learning is interesting to say the least.
Each client has used a lot of print media advertising and the “old school” RV park listings. You know, like Trailer Life’s directory, or Woodalls. And what I’m seeing in the referral numbers is a little shocking to both myself and my clients.
One client in particular advertises with a few of the directories. Their marketing budget per year is pretty steep. And after observing their data for the past few months we’ve found 1 single referral from a campground guide that isn’t inexpensive. During the same time frame we’ve found several hundred referrals from “RVParkReviews.com”
My client has noticed over the past few years that the bulk of guests coming through found her park on the web. She makes a point of asking each new guest where they found her. That’s why when I first spoke with her about rebuilding her website she was very open to the idea. Bottom line? “I have a marketing budget each year, and if the RV directories aren’t sending me customers then I can reallocate where my advertising dollars go.”
One other interesting thing we’ve found is that some of the clubs still produce good results. Passport America seems to do a very good job at driving guests to client websites. RV’ers have to join the program, and only certain parks are part of PA. But looking at the web referrals they are driving customers to the parks.
In the end it’s pretty clear cut. RV’ers are finding their next park through web searches. The directory companies seem to be missing the mark, and services like Allstays and RVParkReviews seem to be driving customer traffic today.