Top 5 ways dealers can promote their caravans

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As a caravan dealer, to help you get the most out of Caravan Selecta we’ve put together some top tips to help you sell your caravans fast.

1. Add a dealer logo. You can boost your response with a dealer logo on all of your adverts, just send us your logo in a good quality format and we will add it to all your adverts.

2. Advertise in our e-newsletters. You can place your products in front of a potential audience of 27,300 subscribers by advertising in our customer focused e-newsletters.

3. Send us your unusual news. Send us your silly, funny or funky caravans stories and we will add them to our Facebook pages. We now have over 3,600 followers on Facebook and 1,900 followers on Twitter.

4. Use social media to engage customers. If you are a fan of Facebook and Twitter, yet don’t have the time to get the best out of social media or are not sure where to start and what will give you the best return, we can help you. We have a great new product that can take out the hard work, so you can free up your time and reap the benefits of this fast growing medium.

5. Add as many photos to your listings as possible. Our research shows that stock listings advertised with more than four photos have a response that’s 72% better than those that don’t.

Going to the Motorhome and Caravan Show?

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If you’re a caravan dealer and considering exhibiting at this year’s Motorhome and Caravan Show in Birmingham, you’ll need to start thinking about booking your stand.

Held 16-21 October 2012, the event is the UK’s biggest motorhome and caravanning show. The show will return to the NEC this year and an extra hall has been added so there’ll be more for visitors to explore this year than ever before.

Last year’s show was a record breaker – pulling in over 93,000 visitors wanting to compare all the latest model layouts, find out about the latest gadgets and to buy their new caravan in time for a start of season delivery.

This year’s exhibitors’ list already includes the likes of Bailey Caravans, Autosleepers, AS Caravans, Airstream Europe Ltd, Lunar and Vanmaster Ltd.

Attractions will include a cookery theatre with free live cookery demonstrations,  Motorhome manoeuvring and towing lessons by the Caravan Club, a dedicated pétanque/boules area, an accessories megastore, experts’ advice stage and a children’s crèche.

Visit the Motorhome and Caravanshow website for more details.

Are you a caravan/motorhome dealer who is interested in advertising on our marketing leading websites? Speak with one of the team today to discuss your advertising requirements.

Coachman Caravans takes the cake

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We loved this picture and post on the Coachman Caravans’ Facebook page. It’s a great example of how the business is using social media to engage customers. It was sent in by a customer who owns a Coachman Wanderer. He loves the caravan so much his wife bought him another  Coachman for his birthday – albeit in cake form!

The caption reads: “Many happy returns to one of our members on his recent birthday. They own a Coachman Wanderer and really enjoy their holidays in their caravan so much his wife bought him another Coachman for his 65th birthday!”

Are you a caravan/motorhome dealer who is interested in finding out how to use social media to generate leads and goodwill? Speak with one of the team today to find out more.

We’re number 1 – A year in the life of Caravan Selecta

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A year in the life of CaravanselectaHere at CaravanSelecta we’ve been very busy over the last 12 months improving our service in order to become more effective at bringing caravan sellers and buyers together.

One of our most important milestones was moving the website to new web addresses, www.caravansforsale.co.uk and www.motorhomesforsale.co.uk. Having made this change a number of weeks ago, we thought it was a great opportunity to analyse the latest data to understand what impact this change has had to caravan buyers and caravan dealers.

For buyers, our site now becomes even more visible in Google, resulting in more highly qualified traffic arriving at our website. The stats below show an impressive double digit % growth in both the number of visitors and the number of pages viewed. For example our page views have soared by 20% over the past 12 months and our visitor numbers are up by 14% on last year. This has propelled our site to be the UK’s number 1 caravan and motorhome classified website according to Experian Hitwise.

 

Jan-May 2012

Jan-May 2011

Change

% Change

Quantity of site traffic

Visitors

555,792

489,558

+66,234

+14%

Visits

972,865

890,130

+82,735

+9%

Page Views

5,570,876

4,656,094

+914,782

+20%

Quality of  site traffic

Pages/Visit

5.73

5.23

+0.5

+10%

Avg Visit Time

4 mins

4 mins

% new visits

55.49%

50.20%

+5.29

+11%

 

Increasing traffic quantity has had a clear positive impact, but this traffic needs to be highly qualified to benefit caravan dealers the most. Highly qualified traffic will translate into more advert views, greater enquiries and hence a higher likelihood of making a sale.

Most of the quality measurements also show a double digit % annual improvement, which means that potential caravan and motorhome buyers arriving at the site are even more qualified and of even better quality than this time a year ago. This is fantastic news for dealers and demonstrates the importance of listing stock on www.caravansforsale.co.uk and www.motorhomesforsale.co.uk.

Are you a caravan/motorhome dealer who is interested in advertising on our marketing leading websites? Speak with one of the team today to discuss your advertising requirements.

 

 

Department for Transport proposes new punishments for careless drivers

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Department for Transport proposes new punishments for careless driversRoad Safety Minister, Mike Penning, has announced the government has launched a consultation to gain feedback on proposed new measures to curb careless driving.

The proposed measures will make fixed penalty notices available for careless driving, which will give the police greater flexibility in dealing with some less serious cases of the offence. This will, in turn, free them from resource intensive enforcement processes.

The new incentive will also enable the police to offer educational training as an alternative to endorsement. As with other penalties, drivers would still be able to appeal any decision in court.

The newly proposed fixed penalty will be £90 with three points on the license of the offending driver. For more serious cases the offender may face higher penalties, however, these will continue to go through court.

However, Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) director of policy Neil Greig is skeptical. He told OutAndAboutLive.co.uk: ‘We are unconvinced that making careless driving a fixed penalty notice offence will improve road safety. Careless driving covers a range of offences, varying from parking to highly irresponsible behaviour, which deserves a court summons. The IAM strongly support driver re-education courses and these could still be handed out through courts.’

The consultation is open now and will close on 5 September 2012. The consultation document can be found on the Department for Transport website.

Are you a caravan/motorhome dealer who is interested in advertising on our marketing leading websites? Speak with one of the team today to discuss your advertising requirements.

Meet the dealer: Alex Levington from United British Caravans

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Dealer Profile: Alex Levington from United British CaravansEver wondered how other caravan dealers got into the trade and what makes them tick? In this, the first of our Caravan Selecta dealer profiles, we meet Alex Levington, General Manager of United British Caravans (UBC) in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Read on to find out about Alex’s best sale to date and why he thinks the Bailey Unicorn Barcelona is the best caravan ever made.

Briefly describe your job for us.
I oversee the whole site here at UBC. We have a massive outdoor leisure shop as well as a large display of new and secondhand caravans. We also have a busy service department which also handles warranty and insurance claims for most manufacturers and insurers.

What’s the best Caravan/Motorhome ever made and why?
I guess it is a choice between the Bailey Senator Series 6 Wyoming or the Bailey Unicorn Barcelona. Both top class caravans with loads of space and very comfortable beds. Family vans with full end washrooms and all the kit you need.

What three essential skills must a dealer possess?
A dealer must have a good working knowledge of layouts and models from years gone by to appraise part exchanges and give the best prices. They should also be able to match people’s requirements to caravans without focusing on costs – sometimes cheaper is better! A dealer must also give first class service in sales, their shop and in aftersales – the customer comes first!

What are the best and worst things about your job?
I love the buzz you get in the spring and summer months when it is busy. It is great seeing the smiles on people’s faces when picking up their new vans and stocking up with items from our leisure shop – ready for their adventures.

The Winter is not quite so good. We still dispatch vans , but nowhere near the same amount. The days are shorter and this is the time people bring their vans in to us to address any niggles they have discovered over the summer months. Don’t get me wrong, we love putting things right for people, but there aren’t quite so many excited faces.

What’s the stand out sale you’ve made to date?
Selling a top of the range caravan to a lottery winner. Every possible extra fitted such as satellite system, motor mover, full awning, porch awning, paint protection package, etc

How did you get into the trade?
I used to work in the Motor trade selling Renault. My ex Manager Nigel Harding had gone into the caravan trade and he tempted me to join him. I guess I owe him a massive debt of gratitude these days.

Do you own a Caravan/Motorhome yourself, if so what make and model?
I don’t own a caravan but can borrow pretty much any one I would like from our second hand selection. I have a daughter called Anya who is coming up 3 soon and she loves caravans. If she comes to visit me at work she spends lots of time exploring then taking me to the one she likes best. She is a big fan of fixed bunk models!

What’s the most important question you need to ask a potential buyer?
The most important questions are about the people using the caravan to select the correct layout. The layout is the most important thing to get right in a caravan. Positioning of toilets vs sleeping arrangements etc. After that you can talk about specification, but it is so important to get the layout right. Most first timers find they love caravanning but have chosen the wrong layout first time. We try and find the correct match the first time round as it is potentially an expensive mistake to make if you get it wrong

Who would play you in the film of your life and why?
The film of my life could be a box office hit. It would have to be a Guy Ritchie style film with the obligatory odd characters from all walks of life. Quite how the storyline would go I’ve no idea as I graduated from Durham University, went into the Fish & Chip shop business, owned a restaurant & bar in Durham City Centre, moved on to the car trade and then on into the caravan world. Who would play me ? I guess it would be Jason Statham – Audi driver.

Are you a caravan/motorhome dealer who is interested in advertising on our marketing leading websites? Speak with one of the team today to discuss your advertising requirements.

Government’s U-turn on caravan tax is good news for the industry

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Government’s U-turn on caravan tax is good news for the industryThe caravan industry received good news when the government decided against increasing VAT on caravans to 20%.

Up and down the country politicians have shown their support for the U-turn as have most people within the industry.

One caravan park owner told the BBC that it was “really good news and a victory for democracy”.

The government had planned to impose 20% VAT on the sale of static caravans, however, after a post-Budget consultation they decided that the VAT would only be introduced at 5%. This will start in April 2013.

This news was welcomed across the country as the industry trade body, the National Caravan Council (NCC), claimed that the tax increase would cause 4,340 job losses at holiday parks across the UK, with a further 1,446 jobs lost in the manufacturing sector and 1,500 at suppliers.

The NNC also stated that 90% of all caravans in the UK are manufactured in East Yorkshire and the Conservative MP for Haltemprice and Howden, David Davis, described the climb down as a “great victory for the people who opposed the 20% policy”.

He went on to say that it was common sense and that it will actually save money, whereas the other proposal would have cost thousands of jobs.

He continued:”With a bit of luck and good management this shouldn’t cost any jobs. So it’s a very good outcome.”

Guy Sparkes, the managing director of Patrington Haven caravan park in East Yorkshire, agreed with Mr Davis, saying: “It shows the government has listened to all the warnings and predictions that the industry has put forward.

“I think we would’ve had lots of job losses within our industry and the local areas, they would have had a knock on effect.”

Are you a caravan/motorhome dealer who is interested in advertising on our marketing leading websites? Speak with one of the team today to discuss your advertising requirements.

CaravanSelecta is the most visited caravan and motorhomes website in the UK!

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So, the latest stats are in from Exeprian Hitwise and we are very proud and thrilled to announce that CaravanSelecta (www.caravansforsale.co.uk) is now the most visited caravan and motorhome based website in the UK!

Source: Experian Hitwise 1-28 May 2012

If you look at the first 28 days in May, CaravanSelecta has been ranked the number 1 caravan and motorhome site for 26 of these 28 days, missing out on the number 1 position by fractions of a percent for the other two days.

Furthermore, stats from Google Analytics also reveal that for the first 28 days in May the site has been receiving, on average, a visit from a potential buyer every 13 seconds! How good is that?

And, we currently advertise over 17,000 caravans and motorhomes for sale with a combined stock value of a staggering £355 million pounds!

Here at CaravanSelecta, we’re looking to build on our May success and remain the number 1 UK website for buying and selling caravans and motorhomes. Look out for some exciting developments that we are looking to make to the website over the coming months…

Are you looking to sell a caravan or motorhome?  Private advertisers can advertise on our market leading website free of charge.  For business advertisers we offer highly competitive packages, contact us today to discuss your advertising requirements.

Upload more pictures to your stock listings on Caravan Selecta

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Caravan Selecta just keeps getting better and better. We are now offering dealers the chance to upload even more photos of their stock to their listings.

Previously you could only add up to six photos of your caravans and motorhomes, whereas now you will be able to upload 10!

But how will this benefit dealers and users?

Benefits to users
Anyone searching for caravans or motorhomes on our site will now be able to look at plenty more pictures before they make their mind up on a certain model. This is important as the more pictures you see the more of the caravan you see. It’s that simple.

When you are searching for a caravan online you will want to be able to look at the exterior, obviously, and as much of the interior as possible. And now you can.

Benefits to dealers
Dealers benefit too! If you have more pictures accompanying your ads then you are almost guaranteed a better response from users. It really is that simple. The more areas of your stock you can photograph the better.

Again, this is because the more pictures a user sees the more confident they can be that your stock is what they are after.

So there you have it, rather than showing users a couple of pictures of stock they can now see pictures of the outside, the bedroom, the washroom, the kitchen and close ups of any benefits or features you think they’ll want to find out about. Everyone’s a winner!

Photo by dareppi

Caravan Selecta sees meteoric rise in traffic

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On 3 April 2012 we moved Caravan Selecta over to new domains called ‘Caravans for Sale’ and ‘Motorhomes for Sale’ – you’ll be pleased to hear this has resulted in impressive traffic growth.

Since the migration we have seen a 64% increase in visitors which is nearly 25,000 extra visits every week, and we have also seen a whopping 110% increase in page views.

This increase in people heading to the site means that dealers who are selling with us will notice a far greater response to their ads.

This new change has meant that we are now indisputably the market leader for Caravans and Motorhomes on the web. We are number one in the Hitwise rankings, where it is clear we have moved well ahead of our competitors, and we also rank in the number one spot for the search terms ‘caravans for sale’ and ‘motorhomes for sale’ in Google, ahead of rivals such as Autotrader and Caravan Finder, which brings us thousands of extra visits to the site.

These search terms are now bringing in thousands of new visitors to the site each week, compared to the hundreds we were seeing before the site’s domains changed. In a competitive market ranking so high for these two search phrases really helps us deliver quality traffic to dealers’ ads. Below is the Hitwise graph that demonstrates our position for the week ending 21 April 2012.

Caravan Selecta sees fantastic increase in traffic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

** You might notice that for week ending 07/04 and the 14/04 we were in third (we were actually 1st these weeks too but our new domains weren’t being tracking properly).

 

So all of this new traffic means that more and more people are looking at your stock on Caravan Selecta than ever before!