National statistics say that one out of every “12″ auto owner in the United States owns an RV. Those are big numbers! That means that this industry isn’t going away anytime soon. We are still getting customers on our lot, however financing is getting tougher and our selection isn’t what it used to be. Most dealers that experienced the slowing down last year were forced to cut back on ordering new inventory. Flooring costs have sky rocketed! It is getting harder to make payroll and many RV dealers have gone out of business.

There have been an increasing number of RV manufacturers filing chapter 11. The manufacturers that filed chapter 11 are selling their inventory for pennies on the dollar at bank liquidation auctions. The dealers that have new inventory in their stock are unable to compete unless they are willing to lose tens of thousands of dollars. The used inventory is affected similarly. Most dealers are unable to survive under these circumstances. To add insult to injury, the lot traffic with potential buyers have slimmed way down. When they have a qualified buyer, they have to jump through a number of hoops, including financing.

Anytime there is a downturn in our economy it brings opportunity somewhere else. For every downside, there is an upside. Knowing there are opportunities available the deal seekers come out of the wood works. These deal seekers begin their search online, looking for the perfect RV. If the dealer doesn’t have his website designed with SEO (search engine optimization) the customer will never find his RV! The fact is that for every RV there is a buyer somewhere. The trick is getting the two of them together.

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In a recent trip to Elkhart visiting various industry suppliers, manufacturers, and dealers I learned many things and had a few observations. First, as we all know Elkhart has been featured in the mass media many times with in the last year with both good and bad coverage. Due to the bad coverage I learned that some dealers are having more trouble getting customers and sales due to the media stating “Elkhart is dead.” They feel customers who once traveled to the “RV capital of the world” are now going elsewhere to make their purchases.

This statement leads me to my next observation. I didn’t see Elkhart as “dead.” Manufacturers are bringing back laid off workers, manufacturing plants are getting back to full production, and I saw many vehicles moving by local transportation companies which I can only assume are going to a dealer’s lot.

Finally, I noticed there was a “Made in America” theme at many of the companies I visited. Suppliers’ products, both to the aftermarket and to the manufacturers, shared this common theme and one manufacturer in particular took it a step further by endorsing products as “Made in Elkhart.”

I am hearing “Made in America” more and more in the RV industry and now “Made in Elkhart.” As a dealer and/or manufacturer in this industry, is this important to you? Will this influence you to purchase one product which is “Made in America” versus another which is made overseas? Is this a sales tool for you to perceive value to your customers? Do you see this as doing your part to help stimulate the U.S. and even Elkhart’s economy? Let’s hear your thoughts.

As I’m sure many of you know, RV Trade Digest, has joined two social networks: Facebook and Twitter. I have taken on the role of running our Facebook profile. Since the launch of our Facebook page we have become friends with many industry people.

Some utilize Facebook to keep in contact with other industry professionals or friends and some utilize it for business purposes!

A New Jersey dealership is using Facebook to help drive sales and get its name out there to prospects as well as existing customers!

One of the things that inspired me to write this blog is how this dealership utilized the photo album application, a standard feature of Facebook, to promote its rental units.

So far I have seen them use different albums to feature the different rental units available. Each unit has their own album full of different pictures of the exterior and interior of the unit with the title of the photo album describing the unit a bit.

One example they list is entitled: “Brand New Rental 2009 Class C 31′ with Slide” and it has a short description which reads: “Brand New 2009 Coachmen Freelander 1315 with a Queen Bed and Super Slideout.”

They’re also using the photo album application to share photos of their current inventory specials. These photos are typical exterior shots like you would show on your own Web site or an online classified site.

Using Facebook profiles or “fan pages” is one great way to advertise your dealership and/or small business. However, Facebook also offers traditional advertising.

Facebook can be used to get in front of numerous targeted audiences that could be beneficial to a local business. When going to the advertising page on Facebook, you can create your very own ad. The ad allows 25 characters for a title, 135 characters for ad copy and an image.

You then can choose how to target your ad. You can first target by location and then target by key words. For example, your target could be prospects within 50 miles of Madison, Wis., who have interests in outdoors, outdoor activities, camping, RV, etc. You can also target by age, education status, and other categories.

When looking at cost, you can set a daily budget of what you want to spend and you can choose to pay per impression or pay per click. Once that is decided you bid on the amount you want to pay per impression/click.

Now more than ever there are different opportunities for dealers to get their name in front of potential buyers.

What are some of the different things you have done to “think outside of the box?”