Grand Design Social Media Summit

chris-MGRV

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2010
Messages
727
For those of you who follow the Facebook groups, you might have already seen this, but it took me longer to get home. LOL.

Grand Design called the Social Media admins to their home in IN to discuss how we all best serve our user communities. There was me from the Forum (Jim as also invited, but could not attend), and the Facebook groups for the main Owner's group, Momentum, Solitude, Imagine, and Transcend groups, as well as the Rally group. The Reflection group was not able to attend. There were some Facebook groups that were not invited as they are not necessarily productive groups.

The focus of the meeting was how Grand Design was going to help us in our mission of supporting you, without intruding on our boundaries. We all discussed how we make some synergy between the groups, but also keep them segmented as well. Without going into the "Inside Baseball" areas, I will tell you that it was productive all around. What was clear was that we are all different here. Different than any of the FB groups. Not better, but different. We aren't the biggest, but I believe that we are exceptionally influential.

There are some minor changes that will come from the summit for us. First off, as a courtesy, I have created a group for our Facebook Partner Admins. I invited them all to join, and to participate in the forum. They are all truly exceptional people, as you know if you have met any of them. Second, I am creating a "Offers and discounts" group. We will start offering more of these types of things. I don't consider them advertisements, but instead perks. If you don't want to use them, then don't. If you do, then you do so at your own decision. I am neither endorsing nor supporting them, just offering the vendors a place to provide the discount. Lastly, I expressed to GD that I expect greater involvement from them on the forum. Our partnership is not a one way street. If we are going to have a manufacturer section, then I expect them to participate. Otherwise we will sever our relationship with them. They agreed whole heatedly, and we will meet further to solidify these efforts. I was very pleased with their acknowledgement of lack of participation, and their desire to help us.

I am also going to create some different content around the Owners Forum team, my wife Michaela will be participating more in blogs and on the forum, Grand Design will be creating more of the content that you have asked for (I passed the survey results along to them too), and so will I. I will be creating more first timer content, some good info concerning weights, towing, etc that has been requested as well. And I will also be putting together some "Emergency" management content for those that run into problems. Each of the groups will be doing some things like this.

Ultimately, Grand Design stressed that they don't want to manage our content. We stressed that we didn't want that either. We're unique and fortunate in that we have a Manufacturer's section, but they were very respectful in making sure that we owned our content' and they wanted to help us to provide great content to you. They also really wanted us to know some of the information that comes up over and over again. We will all be working separately, and together to improve some things so that each of the groups provide similar "baseline" information. Then it is up to us to manage our separate communities.

Let me be clear. We will not be like Facebook. We can't be, we're built differently. We have a great formula here. I will not be creating more free content. I will not introduce advertising, and I will not change the way we run this forum. I had been leaning that way, but I was reminded why I run things the way that I do. If $12.00 is too much for our content, then I understand. I also know that what we have created here is unique, and absolutely amazing. By charging, we put a tension into the content that encourages solid participation. We don't get much of the riff raff. When we do, it doesn't last long. I also know we may miss out on some great things. If you believe that you have great things to offer, let me know. I will work something out with you. You can work off your $12.00. Our forum is fast, there are no tracking cookies, there are no ad cookies. Our site is secure on SSL, and runs blisteringly fast. Compared to other web forums, we rock. Our speed is SNAP!

At the end of the meeting, I was truly impressed. The Facebook teams are made up of great people. We have our differences, but ended up really appreciating each other's forums. Please let me know if you want me to elaborate on anything, or if you have any questions. I will share more on some of the things later. Plan on contests and SCHWAG! Lol. It was clear, after my visit, that Grand Design is special. They do things in their processes that are not matched in the industry.
The Winnebago acquisition did not change the company. There have been challenges, and you all know them. The difference is how they are handled. We discussed a lot about how calls are handled, how people are handled, how people who discredit them are handled. I believe things will become more clear concerning that in the near future.

What became clear through all of the meetings was you. You are truly special. Your content, your wisdom, your creativity, your willingness to help each other, your comradery, and our forum family were especially recognized. I had many discussions about our content, and our members. Thank you, all of you for what you have built here. I was truly proud to represent you.

Thank you all very much.
Chris
 
sounds great Chris. I am at a campground and met an Imagine owner who came to look at my kayak rack...they were on facebook and never heard of our forum.....I love the give and take of this forum. Very helpful. I try to read everything as a just in case it happens to me! LOL I also try to share in my limited knowledge, and seems as though many on this forum do! Looking forward to more feedback and followup from Grand Design. Great job!!!!
 
Wow, great feedback from the summit. Just the fact that a manufacturer would even host something like this says a lot. Obviously, those of us that have experienced GD's customer service know how they treat their customers, but I don't think I've heard of a manufacturer being this involved in a members forum or FB equivalent. I'm looking forward to see what involvement they have in the forum on a go forward basis.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
The Grand Design RV Experience

Hi Chris!

I wasn't aware of the Summit meeting with Grand Design RV. I'm not surprised with Grand Design's involvement as I have experienced it first hand with my Solitude; however, they still impress me when they reach out to us owners. Great to hear that Grand Design's operations will remain the same despite being acquired by Winnebago as I am totally vested in "The Grand Design RV Experience" for the camaraderie, rallies, and most of all the client service! I want GD to be around a long time so I can keep enjoying The GD RV Experience and be able to buy a new GD RV sometime in the future.

I appreciate your summaries to keep abreast of the Website direction and other Grand Design interaction with owners. I didn't realize the Face Book Groups were separate as I'm not familiar with them. I only participate on this forum because of time commitment issues, so another reason I appreciate your summary.

Thanks for keeping us informed by providing such a detailed summary of the summit meeting. I am looking forward to the changes in the forum content. Money well spent! ;)
 
Chris

Although we are a newer member it is great that you have made this great forum. I have learned much here and hopefully may contribute something helpful sometime.
My wife is on the facebook stuff (I am not ,too much unfiltered junk for me), she tells me a few thing once and a while and I know I made the right choice of being here and not there.
It seems the folks on this forum are more in touch with the rv experience and that is great.
Thanks for all that you do to keep this going.
Also thanks to all the members for there contributions.
It will be great to maybe have better communications with GD going forward.

Thanks
Brian
 
Yet again, thank you Chris. You (Jim and the other mods) are wonderful. I truly appreciate your willingness to keep it ad free and private. I have learned greatly here and contribute to those that I can help in return. This forum is 100X more enjoyable then the facebook negativity. I am looking forward to good things to come. One thing I have noticed lately is an influx of "guest members" with only 1 or 2 posts that are much more negative than normal. It seems they are coming to complain rather then get help. Many times with issues that are more then addressable. Don't know if it is more newbees to RVing that didn't know what they are getting into or what... It does seem that more times than not the ones coming for real help are becoming site sponsors. Maybe it is getting near time to look at the "guest membership" access levels. By no means should people be shut out but negative posts and "guest" seem to go hand in hand...

Jim
 
Jim, I also was concerned about that new negativity. some may be venting or just trolling to stir the pot. But I have also seen where as the posts go on many do come around and realize that the forum and GD aren't that bad. Have seen where once their problems are resolved they have turned into productive members. Think maybe you're right about being newbies and not knowing what to expect or how to operate their RVs. To much control of newbies can send the wrong message and discourage new membership
 
Jim, I also was concerned about that new negativity. some may be venting or just trolling to stir the pot. But I have also seen where as the posts go on many do come around and realize that the forum and GD aren't that bad. Have seen where once their problems are resolved they have turned into productive members. Think maybe you're right about being newbies and not knowing what to expect or how to operate their RVs. To much control of newbies can send the wrong message and discourage new membership

Agreed and certainly don't have the answers nor want to turn anyone away but glad to see others are seeing the same thing. All of us accept (whether we should or not is different) an RV is a "work in progress"...

jim
 
Chris - thank you, so much for taking the time to share your experience at the summit.....this is awesome ! Just having a manufacturer take the lead to conduct this is transformational and consistent with the industry leading GDRV business strategy.

Those of us particularly longer time GDRV owners who learned about GDRV business model early on (and have experienced it in practice) to see a highly elevated commitment to owners, dealers, and other stakeholders is unique and special. Carol and I have had the opportunity to communicate with a number of (and meet a few) GDRV folks over the years as well as meeting others last month and last week in our visits to the Customer Service Center, office, and tours. I have grown to really appreciate and share how wonderful these folks are in supporting the GDRV mission in the caring, prompt, and responsive service they provide. This is an incredible story that just keeps getting better.

Are there hiccups in the product and execution - absolutely. However, as I have shared on the forum and in my business and personal life the the distinction is "what happens next ?" And, what happens next is not a one way street on just what or how GDRV responds but how we as owners and other stakeholders respond as well.

Chris - you have created a valuable and much enjoyed forum with many helpful, caring, courteous, respectful, and civil owners. Your communications early on sharing the reasons why you do this rang the bell with me and many other forum folks I am sure. The forum mission (I am paraphrasing) was have a platform to share, learn, educate, have a little fun along the way, etc. to improve the RV product, improve the RV industry, and ultimately the RV experience. It seems clear to me that you are achieving this and GDRV shares your vision. Really good stuff !

Dan
 
Chris,
I’m new to the RV lifestyle and even newer to the forum, but it doesn’t take much time to realize how knowledgeable, caring, and thoughtful the members are and their willingness to share. I look forward to many years of membership and being part of the GD community. Thanks for all that you and the other admin do on our behalf.
 
Chris,
I’m new to the RV lifestyle and even newer to the forum, but it doesn’t take much time to realize how knowledgeable, caring, and thoughtful the members are and their willingness to share. I look forward to many years of membership and being part of the GD community. Thanks for all that you and the other admin do on our behalf.
 
When you see it, tag it by clicking the Report Post button at the bottom. I've been tied up with a bad turbo, and diagnosing some of our other issues lately, and haven't been looking as closely. But if you tag it, I can see it and address it. I'm nice, initially.
Chris

Agreed and certainly don't have the answers nor want to turn anyone away but glad to see others are seeing the same thing. All of us accept (whether we should or not is different) an RV is a "work in progress"...

jim
 
I really enjoy reading and posting here. The knowledge I have gained and the mistakes I hopefully won't have, far exceed the $12 fee. The friendship that have been built are very cool too. I met some forum members at the Southern Oregon Rally earlier this month was also great.

Keep up the great work Chris and you too Grand Design. KEN
 
It sounds like it was a great time. I am glad everyone could get together and collaborate.
 
I started benefitting from this forum even before I ordered my ‘18 303, and have continually learned and gained invaluable knowledge that has helped me enjoy our new rig. Thanks so much for all you do Chris.
 
Thanks for the report, Chris. And thanks to you for the work of setting up and maintaining this forum.

Out of curiosity, I searched FB Groups for "Grand Design". Geez - there were 44 of them! (and yes, they were all about GD RV's). What a huge issue for the company to get it's arms around. Any one of them could have a critical customer care issue, and woe if they miss it and get blamed for "not caring".
 
And that is one of the issues. Anyone can create a Facebook group and be a presence. Same with a forum, but a forum is different because of the hosting requirements.
Chris

Thanks for the report, Chris. And thanks to you for the work of setting up and maintaining this forum.

Out of curiosity, I searched FB Groups for "Grand Design". Geez - there were 44 of them! (and yes, they were all about GD RV's). What a huge issue for the company to get it's arms around. Any one of them could have a critical customer care issue, and woe if they miss it and get blamed for "not caring".
 
There lies the cruxt of the issue with social media. A lot of manufacturers probably think they can ignore a lot of social media in it's 44 individual bookface (on purpose) fragmented form. Its just a bunch of people complaining and trolling. They can out last the "stuff" and since RV sales are sky rocketing they dont pay much attention to it.

But a forum like we have I think holds more weight, and since GDRV cares about customer satisfaction & feedback and its impact on their overall business model, both of us, this forum and GDRV will be a success. This forum was not the only resource, but certainly an important one, we used for making our decision to buy GDRV. Trailer Life mag was also a big contributor over a year before we made our decision. You hardly ever see a GDRV owner with problems writing to TL.

My .02
 
Out of curiosity, I searched FB Groups for "Grand Design". Geez - there were 44 of them! (and yes, they were all about GD RV's).

Wow! . . . 44 FB sub-groups :confused:. I can’t figure out why they feel the need to restrict their conversations down to only those with the exact same model RV. Curious . . . .

Rob
 

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom