Winnebago's Itasca Brand RV Dealerships Achieve Highest Ranking in 2008 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index

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Study reports that shoppers asking for a specific RV brand are pushed toward a different brand as much as 50% of the time

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif., June 2 -- Winnebago's Itasca brand RV dealerships ranked highest in the newly released 2008 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index(R) U.S. RV Industry (Class A) Study, one of a series of annual national benchmarking studies which measure how consumers are treated when shopping for a new car, motorcycle, RV or boat. Following Itasca in the rankings were Damon, Monaco, Holiday Rambler and Beaver. Brands showing significant improvement included Beaver, Tiffin and American Coach. Brands with substantial declines included Sportscoach, Monaco and Fleetwood.

RV dealerships in the U.S. typically carry multiple RV brands, and many dealerships focus less on individual RV brands and more on product offerings regardless of manufacturer or brand. As a result, shoppers asking for a specific, well-known brand of RV are often encouraged instead to follow more of a commodity approach and consider a product favored by the dealership. The 2008 study showed that RV salespeople try to 'flip' one shopper out of five from the brand they requested to an alternative product suggested by the dealership. "The most successful RV manufacturers build the value of their brands for their dealers and customers instead of allowing their products to be sold strictly as a commodity," said Fran O'Hagan, President of Pied Piper Management Co., LLC. Winnebago was loyally promoted by their dealers 92% of the time, compared to American Coach or Georgie Boy, for which dealers promoted competitor products more than half the time.

The 2008 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index(R) U.S. RV Industry (Class A) Study was conducted between June 2007 and April 2008 using anonymous shopper evaluations at 583 dealerships located throughout the U.S., representing approximately one in three of all U.S. Class A RV dealership locations. Examples of other recent Pied Piper PSI(R) studies are the 2007 Pied Piper PSI(R) U.S. Auto Industry Study, in which Acura was ranked first, and the 2008 Pied Piper PSI(R) U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study, in which Harley-Davidson was ranked first. For more information about the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index(R), and the patent-pending Pied Piper PSI(R) process, go to http://www.piedpiperpsi.com/.