Does your Campground or RV Park know it’s “WHY”?
Not sure what I mean?
A number of years ago, author and speak Simon Sinek burst onto the business scene with a TEDx Talk and book both titled, “Start With Why – How Great Leaders Inspire Action.”
This TEDx talk and the related book have both stuck out to me for many years and I would count them as foundational in my growth as a person and in the growth of our business.
So, what does this have to do with your Campground or RV Park?
Well, I could argue it has EVERYTHING to do with it.
You see (if you haven’t watched the TEDx yet, go do it!) the concept of Starting With Why has everything to do with your business.
As you will see when you watch the video (you’ve watched it, right?), your business and business processes are made up of 3 essential components; “The What”, “The How” and “The Why.”
I am pretty confident that almost all Campground and RV Park owners understand “The What” – you offer accommodations of various types to travelers and vacationers.
Now we could narrow this down based on the type of business you run.
For example, some folks are running family-friendly parks with huge water features that appeal to family vacations while others are running parks used exclusively by semi-permanent residents working in a given area (think oil rig folks in Texas for example). Still others are running parks alongside major highways offering quick, affordable overnight spots for travelers.
You see, most of us can pretty quickly identify “The What” of our business. We know generally who we are trying to serve.
This is the easy part of the equation as we will soon see!
Next we have “The How.”
Again, most Campground and RV Park owners are fairly clear on “How” they serve their customers.
You are pretty good at creating a great experience for your guest. You have a schedule and you stick to it. You clean every so often, you provide coffee, you hold fun activities.
You have a whole list of “Hows” that you follow in order to ensure that your guests enjoy their stay. Most park owners really knock it out of the park on “The How” section. Many of you went into the business to serve and so “The How” comes really naturally to you.
Finally we get to “The Why” section.
This, as the TEDx talk and the book argue, is where the success of your business ultimately rises or falls.
Most Campground or RV Park owners when asked “Why” they exist, would have a difficult time clearly explaining “Why” and would often resort to talking about their “What” or their “How.”
If I ask you the “Why” of your park, would your initial reaction be to tell me about the people you serve or perhaps the way that you serve them, or would you be able to clearly articulate to me the deep importance of your “Why”?
As Mr. Sinek argue in his talk, it is “The Why” of business that really causes people to use you versus going to your competitors.
If people truly understand “Why” you exist then are much more likely to use you and refer you to their family and friends in the future.
So, what does a good “Why” for a Campground or RV Park look like?
Well, that is a great question and one that is unique to each park and each park owner, let’s look at an example.
Based on our experience working with Campground and RV Park owners, we can say with some certainty that “The Why” has to do with serving people.
It has less to do with what type of people and has more to do with the innate desire to want people to relax and enjoy themselves. It has to do with seeing smiles of faces and the joy of a family sitting around a campfire together.
It has far less to do with money in the pocket of the owner than it does with lifetime memories for your customers.
You see, if you promote your “Why” as being focused on yourself, your customers and potential customers won’t feel emotionally attached to you. But if you promote your “Why” as being all about them, their joy and their happiness, then they will feel a bond to your Campground or RV Park they will probably want to return year after year after year.
What is your “Why”?
We would love for you to share that with us and our community so that together we can better learn to serve our customers.
If you want to share your “Why” with us or if you have other tips and tricks you want us to pass on to other Campground and RV Park owners, shoot us a note on our Contact Us page!
