The Haugen RV Group was founded back in 2018, but the story behind this quickly rising RV dealership goes much further back than a handful of years. Jason Haugen is the founder and CEO of the Haugen RV Group, and the story of this top-notch RV dealership group begins with Jason and his own origin story.
Jason grew up RVing all around the country with his family, creating a vivid and brilliant scrapbook of memories that he now holds near and dear to his heart. The memories did more than serve as a personal treasure trove, through. The recollections of the long drives, sightseeing, nature, and quality family time all inspired Jason to do something much larger. Somehow, he wanted to find a way to share that same experience with others.
The idea that other families should be able to experience the same type of adventure and quality time that Jason had as a child would eventually lead him to start the Haugen RV Group.
The First Dealership
Before the RV Group was founded nearly five years ago, Jason was in a position familiar to many of us: a little directionless, a bit uncertain of what tomorrow would hold, and yet, somehow very ambitious. Then, in 2018, Jason had the opportunity to purchase an RV dealership. It was a fair price, and with his childhood memories of RVing all around the country, it was an opportunity that felt more than right: it felt like fate.
Jason immediately felt pulled to go deeper into the world of RVs; what started as a business opportunity quickly blossomed into a full-on passion. Not long after this first purchase, Jason came across the chance to buy a second RV dealership. Deciding to take the plunge, Jason made the purchase. He officially began creating the Haugen RV Group, which he’s still working on expanding across the entire United States, with a current total of eight locations across Utah, Missouri, and Oregon.
The Haugen Way
The vehicle industry is one of the most competitive industries, making it an incredibly challenging space to enter without prior foundations. These challenges surface even more when it comes to niche markets within the vehicle space; this applies to luxury vehicle dealerships, sports car dealers, and, of course, RV dealers.
This is due to the specialization and industry reputation typically required to garner respect and trust from the consumer base. If the Haugen RV Group were going to find any success, they would need to bring something extra special to the table. Not only did the Haugen RV Group deliver, but they also had impeccable timing on their entrance into the RV dealership scene.
When thinking about “the Haugen way,” the first thing that always comes to mind is their company culture and customer service. Attention to customer service and the overall customer experience is what Jason and the entire Haugen RV Group pride themselves on. It’s what sets them apart from other RV dealerships, and it’s one of the main reasons the company has managed to reach a valuation of $100M in such a short timeframe.
Jason understands that no individual or team is perfect, but he emphasizes the importance of striving to be the best they can be, especially when it comes to customer service. The Haugen RV Group strives to get the customer camping as quickly as possible while constantly focusing on their customer retention efforts.
As with many success stories, good timing is almost as crucial as having a good product and service. The founding of the Haugen RV Group gave the new RV dealership a handful of years to establish itself and its name before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic negatively impacted many industries, some markets actually saw an influx of interest; one of those markets was the RV industry. With a growing reputation for some of the best customer service in the game, the Haugen RV Group saw its customer base expand well beyond the traditional RV customer demographics.
However, even with a strong reputation for excellent customer service, there are new challenges every year in the RV industry; technology is always advancing, practices and perspectives shift, and staying on top of the industry becomes increasingly difficult. With all of that changing behind the scenes, the Haugen RV Group continues to make the customer their number one priority. As Jason likes to say, “we know that we aren’t really in the RV business; we’re in the customer service business.”
Obstacles and Improvements
No venture can be seamless or completely problem-free. Anything worth doing in life is going to come with its fair share of obstacles, challenges, and difficulties, which is undoubtedly true in the world of customer experience and RVs. There are plenty of business aspects that can be challenging to overcome for a dealership, but a large portion of success is how you handle adversity. That’s where company culture and customer service heavily come into play, standing at the top of Haugen RV Group’s priority list.
By focusing on creating a healthy, productive, and inclusive company culture while optimizing the customer experience, the RV Group can more easily gain the trust and loyalty of their customers when they run into obstacles that can cause slight delays. While Jason sees the dated systems as one of the biggest challenges in the industry, he knows he can only control so much. Instead, he puts his energy towards treating his customer like family and setting unprecedented norms for how he treats his team members and even vendors.
Where Haugen Is Headed
With the Haugen RV Group largely self-sufficient at this point, Jason is focused on the big picture, large-scale expansion, and the overall growth of the RV Group. This means turning his attention toward marketing, advertising, and expansion efforts and using his network and influence to create additional interest in himself and his brand.
Over the next five years, Jason hopes he’ll continue to add and build upon the Haugen RV Group even further. He aims to bring the company from a $100M value to $1 billion within the next five to ten years. While this is a lofty goal, it speaks to the ambitious nature of Jason and his dedication to creating one of the best and most highly regarded RV dealership groups in the nation.
To achieve this, he plans to continue optimizing the customer experience from start to finish and prioritizing the development of the company culture. These are two of the main ingredients in the Haugen RV Group formula for success and will continue to act as pillars for the company moving forward.
A Few Final Words on the Haugen RV Group
Jason Haugen grew up RVing around the country, leaving a special place in his heart for camping, travel, and family bonding. There’s nothing quite as special as a family road trip when you all pile into the RV and explore the vast roads.
At the young age of 24 and without much direction, Jason took a chance and purchased his first RV dealership. It was a risk, chaotic, and came with quite a learning curve, but more than anything else, it spoke to Jason on a profoundly personal level. In the few years since then, Jason has dedicated the majority of his time and efforts to building and growing the Haugen RV Group to the $100M company it is today with multiple locations. With the company heading down a continued trajectory of success, Jason has his sights set on additional expansions and wants the Haugen RV Group to be recognized across the entirety of the United States.
Photography by: Courtesy of The Haugen RV Group
