The Importance of Aftercare in Caravan and Lodge Sales
When your happy new owners move into their new caravan or lodge or one of your valued owners has upgraded their caravan or lodge, the journey doesn't end once the sale is completed. In fact, how you treat them from this point onwards is crucial, the aftercare service provided can significantly impact owner satisfaction and loyalty. Here’s why aftercare is so important and how it can be effectively implemented in the static caravan and lodge industry.
Why Aftercare Matters
Building Trust and Loyalty
Providing excellent, efficient, and attentive aftercare ensures you build trust with your new and existing owners. When they know they can rely on you “to get a job done” and communicate with them effectively after the purchase, they are more likely to be open to upgrading and recommending you and your holiday park to family and friends.
Addressing Issues Promptly
Even the best products can encounter issues. A robust aftercare service ensures that any problems are addressed quickly and efficiently, minimising any heartache for the owner.
Enhancing the Owner Experience
Aftercare is a massive part of the owner experience. By offering ongoing and consistent support, you show that you value your owners and are committed to their satisfaction and overall happiness with their choice of your park.
Key Components of Effective Aftercare
Understanding & Offering Warranty
- New Units offer a warranty from the manufacturer which can give your owner peace of mind and build trust. Are you aware of the different warranties offered by each manufacturer? Can you or you salespeople confidently explain what’s covered and not covered to ensure no surprises for your owners later down the line? Do your new units undergo a thorough PDI (post delivery inspection) on arrival to alleviate issues down the line?
- Used Units What do you offer your new / existing owners in terms of warranty for a pre-owned caravan or lodge? Are you following the “consumer rights act 2015” to guide you in your preparation and handover of used caravans or lodges?
Maintenance Plans
Do you offer services for your owners whether it be through yourself or a third party? Is there a published price list for owners?
- Gas Safety Test / Service
- Electrical Safety Test
- Pat Testing
- Outside Washing
- Decking Options
- Gutter Cleaning
- Slab Cleaning
- Winterisation
Owner Support Channels
Ensure Owners have clear instructions on how to communicate any issues or problem they may encounter. Maybe you have a dedicated aftercare person whom everything is channelled through. Could you have a more efficient system to report problems such as:
- Dedicated email address such as owners@ Jobs@ Support@
- App system
- Owners Portal
Automation
Are you fully aware of all your owner-related issues, whether for a new or used unit? Consider investing in dashboards to get a real-time overview of outstanding tasks, ongoing work, parts on order, and completed jobs. These dashboards should integrate with your existing system and be accessible on both monitors and mobile devices for convenient and time efficient management.
Feedback Mechanisms
Create feedback mechanisms to gather owner opinions on your aftercare services. Use this feedback to continuously improve your offerings. This could be with follow up calls or create an automated survey which gathers your owners feedback and creates a score. This can then also be used for marketing purposes to highlight your great service as testimonials.
Tips and Tricks
Display some tips and tricks from other owners on social media and create 20 second videos to assist their owner experience, especially if they haven’t owned a caravan or a lodge previously.
Best Practices for Delivering Exceptional Aftercare
Personalised Service
Tailor your aftercare services to meet the specific needs of each owner. This should include personalised follow-up calls and the ongoing plan to resolve their issues.
Prompt Response Times
Aim to respond to owner queries and issues as quickly as possible. A quick and efficient response shows that you value their time and are committed to resolving their concerns.
Transparent Communication
You must keep your owners informed of their ongoing issues to ensure transparency and great owner care.
- Communicate in person, follow up with an email
- Communicate by telephone, follow up with an email
- All communications with tradespeople, engineers, manufacturers communicate by email and ensure your owner is aware
Always keep robust records of all interactions and outstanding issues to alleviate confusion.
If waiting for an engineer visit from a manufacturer or parts, communicate with them weekly and inform your owner of your endeavours to chase it up. Trust me, it saves you a lot of heartache overall.