Running an RV campsite can end up being a full-time gig, especially if you’re located near a national park or another hugely popular tourist destination. Yes, parks closer to the northern hemisphere typically close down during the winter, but those that don’t see any snow usually find it worthwhile to remain open all year round.
Regardless of whether you can stay open all year or you have to close after the season, one thing remains the same — it would be hugely beneficial if you made more money while you were open. A great way to do this is to start selling your own products in the tuck shop. Merchandise is a great way for your regulars to support you, and it’s also a top-notch souvenir for one-timers.
Quality is key here, so if you’re not sure how to create a winning product line, look no further than this guide.
What to Sell As Part of Your Merchandising Line
There are so many different products that you can sell. As you grow and as demand increases, you can sell almost anything, but when you first start out, it’s important to keep your efforts more focussed. In general, you’ll want to sell the basics:
- Shirts
- Hats
- Bags
- Coffee mugs
These basics are universal, meaning everyone can use them. To get people to buy them and actively wear them (or drink from them) however, you’re going to want to up your efforts on the design.
Start with a High-Quality Base
A winning logo design can be absolutely wasted if the product it’s on is cheap and poorly made. That’s why your first order of business is to find a supplier that offers high-quality trucker hats, shirts, and more for your branding needs. These types of suppliers usually offer more interesting customization options as well, allowing you to design great, unique products that feel more thought-out than the standard logo-on-front shirts that they’ve come to know.
How to Create that Winning Design
Unless you have some design experience, or a passion to learn and workshop a whole product spread, it’s important to hire someone with experience. You don’t want to just put your campsite’s logo on and call it a day. In fact, you can usually get more out of your efforts by designing seasonal collections. This way, you have something to offer returning campers, who can buy your shirts the same way that a music fan would buy different band shirts for each gig they go to.
Tip: Have Staff Wear Your Merchandise
You can create a sub-brand of your merchandising products for your staff to great effect. What this means is simple: choose a different color than what you offer customers, and have your staff wear it so they’re easy to spot and identify. For example, create a small order of bright green shirts and trucker hats featuring your logo and branding (the same as your merchandising line). The only difference is the base color. Since it’s easy to spot and different than what campers would wear, customers won’t have a problem picking out who works there versus who doesn’t, and your staff will be out marketing your merchandising line while they’re at it.