5 marketing fallacies from the camping industry

The last season at the campsite is over and the next one is almost in the starting blocks. Many campsite operators are busy during the winter months, renewing facilities on the site and repairing what no longer works so well.

But it is not only on the campsite itself that the winter months offer a good time to review. The external impact and advertising of the campsite can also be reconsidered. This is where various misconceptions about campsite marketing quickly creep in, which we want to clear up in this article.

 

Misconception 1: "Things are going well anyway, so we don't need to invest in marketing."

The camping boom will continue this year: No other type of travel has grown as strongly as camping vacations during the past two years. So much so that many sites were almost overrun.

And if the place is full, what's the point of advertising? It's going well anyway, so we don't need to invest in marketing.

But beware: the competition does not sleep! Many campsites have upgraded and modernized in recent years. New facilities have been installed and the innovations spread via online media. A large proportion of campsites are registered on various platforms at the same time and promote their site via social media.

Those who sleep now can quickly be overtaken by the competition. Because if things are going well in the industry as a whole, the competition will be too. In order not to lose the connection and to win customers over again and again, you should also advertise when things are going well.
The clear advantage here is that satisfied existing customers can be reached with a much smaller marketing budget - for example, via social media or e-mail marketing to existing customers.

 

Misconception 2: "Our target audience isn't digital anyway."

Even though younger people have increasingly become true camping fans in recent years, the majority of campers are 40 years old or older. No wonder - fully equipped motorhomes, vans and the like have their price, which you can usually only afford in the second half of life. And even if it fits the cliché, in fact many campers are already of retirement age.

And this target group is not digitally active anyway.

More than half of those over 70 own a smartphone

Beware, this is a big misconception! Because already today, more than 68% (!) of people over 70 own a smartphone, and 73% of people over 40 spend up to 16 hours a week on the Internet. That's almost two hours a day. And this trend will continue, with future campers spending even more time on the Internet. Smart people are those who rely on digital advertising early on to continue to reach this target group.

 

Misconception 3: "I don't need advertising, our regular customers come anyway."

They have been loyal to the place for years: Your regular customers. They reliably come back every season or have perhaps rented the site as a permanent camper. The conviction quickly arises: "I don't need advertising, our regular customers come anyway."

But this is where a great opportunity is being missed: because the ever-growing target group of younger campers is being completely disregarded. While camping was still known as a form of vacation for pensioners and bourgeois just ten years ago, today more and more people are longing for a vacation in nature and the flexibility of camping. Many younger campers are even on the road for the first time with a motorhome and therefore do not yet have a "regular campsite".

The best way to reach the target group of new campers is online

This completely untapped target group is reached primarily through online advertising for campsites - for example, through various platforms, social media or reviews on Google and Co.

 

Misconception 4: "Ratings on the Internet are overrated."

What was word-of-mouth among friends and acquaintances a few years ago, is now reviews on the Internet. One in two now trusts online reviews at least as much as recommendations from good friends.

Over 80% of guests look at reviews before booking

If you make the mistake of saying: "Our online presence speaks for itself, we don't need ratings," you run the risk of scaring off many users and potential guests. According to statistics, more than 80% of all vacationers consult a rating platform for their stay. And places that have very few or no reviews are demonstrably reserved less than places with many (good) reviews.

If you are clever, you can encourage satisfied guests to leave a review right on the campsite - there are practical solutions for this, for example, linking it to WiFi on the campsite. This way, there is hardly any additional effort for operators and guests when writing reviews and at the same time you attract new guests via the review platforms. Learn here how to get more ratings automatically and without effort.

 

Misconception 5: "Online advertising for campgrounds is expensive and does no good."

"Online advertising for campgrounds is expensive and does no good."

Social media marketing, advertising on various platforms - all this means effort and, above all, costs. At the same time, you don't know at the beginning how much will come out in the end.

This quickly creates the misconception that "online advertising for campgrounds is expensive and doesn't do anything."

The all-clear is given here: Even if some portals and social media platforms require a (short) training period, they are often easy to use. In addition, most platforms are free to use and only those who want to launch additional paid campaigns (e.g. on Facebook) pay extra.

But placing paid ads is also often worthwhile. Especially on Google, because the search engine and the connected Google Maps are the number one place to look for vacation accommodations. Here it is important to adjust the ads so that they show up in the right search queries. But even for this, there are now providers who take over the complete management of the ad placement, so that you can be sure to reach the right target group. An investment that pays off, because ads always appear in first place. Even before the regular search results.

Other review portals like TripAdvisor or Camping.info (especially for campsite reviews) are also free of charge and at the same time offer a very large reach in the target group. With good photos and some reviews you can bring your campsite marketing a big step forward without high costs and much effort.

If you would like to learn more about marketing opportunities at the campground, feel free to contact us.