Go RVing Offers Actionable Insight at ‘Path to Purchase’ Seminar

Pictured, from left, are: Sarah Neely, Go RVing; Courtney Bias, Go RVing; Tim Reimer, Ipsos; Angela Pitts, Ipsos; and Bill Baker, RVIA. (Photo: Gary Gerard)

ELKHART, Ind. – A “Path to Purchase” seminar this morning (Feb. 9) at the Lerner Theater in downtown Elkhart, Ind., provided RV Industry Association (RVIA) members with critical, in-depth insights into the decision-making process consumers face when purchasing an RV.

The seminar was based on Path to Purchase research conducted by Go RVing – the consumer-facing voice of the RV industry with a mission to inspire potential RVers – in cooperation with global marketing and public opinion research firm Ipsos.

“Throughout RVIA’s and Go RVing’s history we’ve always done consumer demographic profiles that tell us who RVers are, why they RV, where they RV, that type of information,” Bill Baker, RVIA vice president of membership and research, told RVBusiness this morning prior to the event, “This is the first time we’ve ever don research – it’s groundbreaking – to look at those buyers and ask, ‘How do they buy those RVs?’ It follows them from when they first had that idea … all the way though that buying process – how they collect information, how they shop, what they do at the dealership, in the first little bit of time after they become an owner.”

The information contained in the research will be helpful to OEMs, supplier and dealers who want to fine-tune marketing strategies, Baker said, as well as shore up areas that need improvement and emphasize processes that are already working well.

Going forward, Baker, who moderated the event and led the panel discussion, expects Path to Purchase to become part or RVIA’s normal cycle of research, “probably every three years, which is sort of the time frame that we do these bigger pieces of research. We’ll do another demographic profile and then probably do this.”

In addition to Baker, the five-member panel included: Sarah Neely, Go RVing senior communications and marketing leader; Courtney Bias, Go RVing director of strategic marketing; Tim Reimer, director of Ipsos North America; and Angela Pitts, Ipsos director of customer experience.

The presentation outlined the RV consumer buying experience from start to finish through a couple’s first and second RV purchases.

The event included in-depth looks into topics such childhood RV experiences, recent tent camping, affinity for the outdoors, aspirational RV expectations, resources used to conduct research, resources leading to knowing the exact unit desired, what makes a good dealer experience, what makes a good walkthrough, post purchase experience and the path to a repeat buy.

There were approximately 1,500 participants in the study conducted between July 2021 and February of 2022, according to information provided by the RVIA. Participants completed a 30- to 60-minute discussion through interviews via Teams or Zoom, followed by a 20-minute online survey.

The full study, along with the companion study on repeat RV purchasers will be available to all RVIA and RV Dealers Association (RVDA) members on both member websites as well as the Go RVing industry portal.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/go-rving-offers-actionable-insight-at-path-to-purchase-seminar/