At the 2010 Louisville RV Trade Show, one
of our dealers asked me, “Why would
anyone buy our motor homes”? This was not to say that we didn’t have
great motor homes but this was a question that needed to be answered. We
had made small steps in improving the Sprinter Legend model but in 2011, we
made a huge leap forward with our secret weapon, customers!
We developed what has become the Great West
Vans Customer Development Program where customers participate in every step of
the build process of new models and where we are making ‘on the
fly’ improvements, we involve current customers to obtain their feedback and
advice. We have thrown out the idea of making new model introductions in any
particular way such as model year changes in favor of constant
improvement. Great ideas don’t come just
on a yearly basis.
In February of 2011, we started a conversation
with a customer who needed more space to carry two very high-tech bicycles in a
Sprinter Class B motor home. No other
manufacturer wanted to discuss this need but we are always willing to spend the
time and hopefully listen. This led to us to consider every aspect of the
Sprinter Legend with an experienced RV owner and we discovered many new possibilities,
some of which had never been tried in a Class B before.
Imagine, opening your doors to customers
and taking their problems, suggestions and ideas as a challenge, turning a
something most would avoid and turning it in to an opportunity. Most would think this would drive a person
crazy, maybe, but the benefits from an open attitude far out way the cost and
the craziness.
Now we have 3 Sprinter Legend models, the
Sprinter Legend with many new upgrades and new options, the Sprinter Legend e built on the extended
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis and the Sprinter Legend ex which now has for the
first time in a Class B motor home, a Diesel Hydronic heating and hot water
system. We also found a way to up the
air conditioner to 15000 btu’s and the generator to 3.6 kw which is quieter and
much more able to handle the air conditioner. These are features only available
on a Great West Vans model.
This coming summer will be interesting as
we believe we collectively received 30 phone calls last year in a four week
period from people in southern locations who asked one question, how big is
your air conditioner? Now we can tell
the story that it’s bigger at 15000 btu’s (which sounds big), quieter (which it
is), more efficient and comes in a motor home that has exclusive Hydronic
heating and a big generator. We all know
the sales process is about starting a conversation and engaging the buyers in
building value and removing the objections. The customers who have participated
in the development last year have given us the opportunity to build a motor
home that addresses the common concerns from both those new to Class B motor
homes and those with years of experience. So we are really looking forward to
2012.
We will soon be starting to build the first
2012 “Activa”. This all-new model will
be built on the shorter Mercedes-Benz 3500 Sprinter chassis and will contain
some really neat features. Designed for
people who have a length restriction where they live or have more of a
travelling desire as opposed to planning to camp, this model will offer
flexibility for a wide audience. Diesel Hydronic Heating will be standard and a
new efficient way to utilize the available space. The counter will be where it belongs on the
camping side of the model and the fridge and microwave will not be on the floor
where it makes functionality not so functional.
For the last year we have also responded to
Internet enquiries in 4 to 8 hours, started a conversation with a prospect and
pushed those that were ready over to a dealer to close. Over 30% of our sales
in 2011 came from retail customers who we had passed on to dealers, much higher
than expected but it has shown that the Class B buyer is looking for more
service, more attention, better materials, fit and finish and most importantly,
someone who is willing to listen. In this regard we hope that other
manufacturers keep doing things the same old way, responding to customers in 3
to 4 weeks or never, we like it. The
other interesting thing is that we have sold every unit we have produced,
before it was produced and shipped for the last 16 months.
We will be looking at representation in a
number of locations this year. Our focus
is on the retail customer, to help make our dealers more successful. This might be a different approach, but it
works and we very much enjoy talking to customers.
