The Tuesday luncheon at the RV Industry Association’s (RVIA) RV Aftermarket Conference featured a fireside chat with Ben Hirsch of Campers Inn RV sitting with John Tinghtitella of RV Designer, who serves as the RV Aftermarket Committee chair, for a series of questions about progress in the industry.
Tinghitella posed a straightforward opening question: What does the RV industry really need to do to improve?
From his perspective, Hirsch sees four areas that deserve particular attention: Quality, Service Capacity, Supply-Chain Management and Transparency.
While each presents its own challenges, Hirsch said it comes down to one objective — creating better ownership experience for the RV customer.
The first priority that comes to mind, Hirsch added, is quality.
“As an industry, we need to make sure that the quality of the products and services that we deliver to the customer are competitive not only with other dealers, manufacturers and suppliers, but competitive with other industries,” he said. “RV consumers have their expectations shaped by their interactions with companies across virtually every other part of their lives.”
Hirsch said that requires the RV industry to reconsider what it views as the finish line.
The industry historically has operated with a largely transactional mindset, he added, and the industry needs to ask what does the customer’s ownership experience look like?
Service Capacity Must Be Part of the Solution
Hirsch identified service capacity at the dealership level to be a major component of consumer experience.
For customers who have made a significant investment in their RV, waiting weeks just to get into a service department can quickly undermine the ownership experience.
“It’s just unacceptable that customers in some markets have to wait two or three weeks,” Hirsch said.
Increasing capacity, however, involves more than adding service bays or technicians.
Hirsch pointed to repair-event cycle times (RECT), parts availability and warranty as part of the process.
Better Supply Chain Management
Hirsch also pointed to supply chain management as an industry-wide issue with direct implications for consumers.
The RV industry has experienced periods when production and retail demand have fallen out of alignment.
Those swings can have consequences beyond inventory.
“When an industry overproduces and we have manufacturing plants turn on and off, that has to impact quality,” Hirsch said.
He believes better data sharing throughout the industry can help create a more balanced approach.
Manufacturers, suppliers and dealers increasingly have access to information that can provide a clearer picture of retail activity, inventory and demand.
AI Will Push the Industry Toward Transparency
The fourth priority Hirsch identified was transparency, an issue he expects will become increasingly significant as AI changes the way consumers research RVs.
The Campers Inn executive openly admits he can “nerd out” on AI, but said the important issue for the RV industry isn’t the technology itself. It’s what that technology will enable consumers to do.
AI can essentially perform many of the research tasks consumers already conduct online, only faster and more efficiently.
“Consider a customer looking for an RV that accommodates a family of five, fits a weekend camping lifestyle and can be pulled by a particular tow vehicle. AI can increasingly help that shopper sort through the marketplace.”
Consumers also want answers to more difficult questions like what is a good price and which RVs demonstrate better quality?
AI, according to Hirsch, will essentially shape the RV shopper experience. The RV industry needs to have that data available as AI scrapes the internet on behalf of consumer research.
