It’s safe to say that the general consensus of those outside of the industry is that running and operating your own campground business doesn’t seem all that difficult. From keeping an ear to the ground for marketing, dealing with booking and reservations, keeping up with ordering supplies, handling accounting or payroll, or hiring contractors, there’s a lot more to the business than mother nature and good times.
In the past, it was much more difficult to streamline and reduce the time spent tackling the day to day issues, but with the rise of technology and innovation, automating the campground is as easy as the click of a few buttons. We’ve compiled a list below of 8 tools every campground or RV park can implement to boost business and operate more efficiently.
1. MailChimp, www.mailchimp.com
According to Direct Marketing Association, email marketing yields an average of 4300% return for businesses in the United States, so it’s no surprise that many customers are generated by way of email. MailChimp is one widely used and versatile online email marketing tool used to manage subscribers, send emails, and track your marketing results. Users can easily use MailChimp to automate monthly newsletters making sure your emails get to the right people at the right time.
2. Hootesuite, hootsuite.com/
As we all know, social media can get very messy very quickly. It’s no easy task to keep a constant eye on all of your social media outlets. Hootesuite assists with that. Allow users to control their social media from one page, connect with customers, and bring more business to the campground.
3. Quickbooks, https://quickbooks.intuit.com/
It’s obvious that good accounting and proper money handling is one of the most important aspects of running any business. In the past, your choices were to either spend time pouring over your books and crunching numbers, or hire your own personal accountant to do the work for you. Quickbooks can turn every small business owner into an accounting pro with their easy-to-use software.
4. Moo, https://www.moo.com/us/
Business cards may not seem like an important part of your business, but having a creative and nice looking card can grab the attention of a would-be customer and show what your company is all about. Even in this digital age of ours, business cards are still widely used and make an impression. Moo is a great print marketing service that offers a wide selection of highly customizable business cards, post cards, and stickers, making it easy to stay in touch with your customers.
5. AmazonBusiness, https://www.amazon.com/b2b/info/amazon-business?layout=landing
Supplies, supplies, supplies...a necessary component to your industry. No one wants a not-so-happy camper. Keeping materials and inventory stocked is integral to running a campground business that provides a great experience. AmazonBusiness offers specific accounts to business owners that carry price savings, fast and reliable shipping, and the ability to keep an eye on everything you’re purchasing.
6. Bonfire, https://www.letsbonfire.com/
Booking and payment processing is one of the most sensitive processes in the campground business. It can make or break a customer’s decision on whether or not to book a reservation as well as being the starting point to their overall camping experience. Campground owners need a reliable, innovative, and customer friendly tool that allows them to handle the booking and payment process with ease. Unlike most antiquated tools, Bonfire is beautiful, simple, and intuitive. Did I mention that there is no contract and is cost-effective for a simple, family-run business?
7. Angie’s List, https://www.angieslist.com
Let’s face it, sooner or later, you are going to need a contractor for one thing or another. Maybe you have a busted pipe and you need a plumber, or one of your cabins or buildings needs some work. Angie’s List can mean the difference between getting a bad contractor and a good one. Angie’s List is a well-known site that makes it easy to find reliable contractors without worrying about whether the guy who is coming to fix your plumbing is going to overcharge you or leave a job unfinished. The site works off of ratings from other customers that have used a particular contractor, ensuring the reliability of the person that you call in your time of need.
8. Review Sites
Chances are, even if you did not set up a page, you already have one. This is because ANYONE can leave you a review, creating a page on review sites others can find. It is easy to claim your Yelp, TripAdvisor and Google pages. After claiming, make sure to respond to all reviews - good and bad. It will only help with your online reputation.
We hope you put these great tools to use! Feel free to give us your opinion or share your personal experience with using these products! Also, let us know if there are any other must-have tools for campground owners that we may have missed.
Your Friends at Bonfire
