What will todays 1 year old want when they buy a car?!

Posted on by
Reply

I’d like to think that my little cousin is ecstatic about me visiting because he loves me to bits :) but I think the reality is he loves my iPad more!!  I’m really in trouble when his 3 year old brother get his hands on it or worse still my phone!!  This is the reality of ‘digital kids’.  They’re growing up with the benchmark of tablet functionality so pretty much expect nothing less.  So what will their technology expectations be when they drive their first car?

According to Intel’s Staci Palmer, by 2013 the car is predicted to be the third most connected place people spend time and by 2016 there will another crucial factor in the purchase decision: how connected is my car!  Because of this, in The Telegraph’s article The connected car: coming to your street soon  it’s reported Intel has invested $100m over the next three to five years to act as a catalyst for innovation and to build relationships with manufacturers.

As we know technology is reshaping the way we research, engage, connect and purchase.  The question is will the gap increase between the digital experience manufacturers and dealers offer and what customers expect?  It’s one thing looking ahead to what todays one year old will expect (and rightly so), but at the moment so many fall short of even the basics in providing todays customer with an optimised multi-device and location experience.  In the UK its reported that 70% of businesses are not mobile optimised – shocking!  According to IAB research, if your mobile site hasn’t loaded within 3 seconds your customer has gone to a competitor!  It’s becoming more important that the online showroom experience is more consistent with the offline bricks-and-mortar showroom experience.  Are you turning away potential customers online?

1 person likes this post.
Unlike
Share

Why Dealer websites are crucial for the car buyer!

Posted on by
Reply

I was recently going through the Cap Gemini 11/12 report which details Information Sources that a prospective car buyer uses in their decision making.  Technology has impacted our lives from social connections, to education and purchase decisions.  Information is now instantly available and channels of communication are faster, interactive and more engaging.  In 2007 the average purchase cycle for a new car buyer was between 4 – 6 months.  Now in 2012 it’s between 1 – 2 months!  In addition the majority only visiting their dealership of choice 2 weeks before purchase.

A car buyer is 3 to 4 times more likely to purchase (generate a lead) on a Dealer website than a national site and from this report  53% of UK car buyers will use a Dealer website for their research compared to 48% using a manufacturer site!  That’s huge.  Yet sadly, many dealer sites do not have a consistent brand experience, outdated content and dare I say take longer than 4 hours to action leads… Result = competition has won the business.

For those Dealerships with great websites (and there are many) they will be testament to the importance of the online showroom – their website!

Be the first to like.
Unlike
Share

Is bigger better?

Posted on by
Reply
When it comes to twitter followers I believe its more a case of quality than quantity!  It’s one thing buying qualified leads and quite another buying followers.  What’s the value of buying (more) followers?  What will you do with them?  I’m a firm believer of keeping it simple starting with your objective – create value.  If you can be part of the story, provide thought leadership and interesting content people will listen, and more importantly engage – clicks, conversation or comments.  In some cases it does result in new business – but it starts by adding value.

I like the way Chris Brogan puts it “The challenge is to get more active and clicking numbers, the kind of people who take the plunge when you mention something is happening”

In his post Get more twitter followersChris has some valuable Do’s and Don’ts – hopefully the Do’s won’t be too much of a surprise!  I love 3 of his Don’ts, or as he puts it, ‘Things you might do less or not at all’

  1. Never once mention (or think about, or worry about) your Klout score.
  2. Never once think much about following “influencers.” Follow people who seem interesting.
  3. Don’t worry about retweeting the big guys. They have plenty of exposure already.

His blog is well worth a read, and could save you some unnecessary budget spend, time and resource!

Photograph Credits to Nancie J Wight

Be the first to like.
Unlike
Share

Does Social Media have an ROI?

Posted on by
Reply

In a word YES!  But as with everything the way you go about it impacts your results.  Personally speaking over the last few months as a result of the social web I have developed at least 2 strong business partnerships, build(ing) a brand reputation and secured several qualified business leads resulting in signed contracts! I did not spam my followers and connections with overt sales messages, but rather shared newsworthy content to specific audiences across different social networks.

From my experience in business, people buy from people.  Why? Trust, rapport and specialist knowledge – the rest will follow.  It’s worth bearing in mind that ‘word-of-mouth’ applies to both good and bad service, and if they have a bad experience they won’t just the traditional 9 people anymore, it’s countless numbers through the web.  The social web has great impact for brands, both positive and negative.  In my article How ‘Pollinators’ change the marketing equation for Land Rover  you see how an automotive brand targets their influencer audiences online resulting in highly effective reach, engagement and sales leads.  Brands that identify the various social communities and interest groups with their influencer audience, can generate measurable results using proven social platforms to reach this audience.

My personal view is that there’s a lot of confusion in the market place about social media.  In these challenging economic times, businesses have to prove ROI on their investments and marketing is no exception.  Social Media can definitely deliver an ROI for your business but to do so requires a well thought out strategy, which includes resource (time, budget, people) allocation.  Consider the basics:

  • how are your owned channels performing; engagement rate, discussion, interaction with and between fans and followers
  • which social networks and platforms do your customers connect on
  • what is the most effective way of engaging with existing customers and prospecting for the new ones through paid media
  • measure, monitor and manage activities

The more effectively brands develop and manage their paid media, the better the results with their earned and owned media.

How are you defining your social media strategy and measuring results?

1 person likes this post.
Unlike
Share

Best practices for mobile marketing with QR codes

Posted on by
Reply

Quick Response codes (QR codes) are similar to the barcodes used by retailers to track inventory and price products at te point of sales; the key difference between the two is the amount of data they can hold or share. When you scan a QR code with your camera-enable Smartphone you link to digital content on the web; activate various phone functions including email, IM and SMS and connect the mobile device to a web browser.

This comprehensive article by Angie Schottmuller of Search Engine Watch gives 14 best practices on QR codes for marketers including FREE tools to generate QR codes, management tools to track scanning analytics, relevant content and more.

Strategically QR codes have been used to gain market leadership for businesses as seen in this video of Tesco in South Korea  By strategically using QR codes they solved a daily chore for time poor customers creatively by allowing “the store come to the people” through virtual stores.

Result:

  • The number of new registered members rose by 76%
  • Online sales increased 130%
  • Market leader in online market and close 2nd offline

Tesco South Korea [Video]

Be the first to like.
Unlike
Share

2011 Top 3 selling cars: Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Corsa

Posted on by
Reply

SMMT released 2011 car registration details today.  According to the figures 2011 new car registrations fell 4.4%, however the 1.94 million units was slightly ahead of the 1.92 million forecast.

2011 Top 3 marques were Ford Fiesta 96,112 units sold, Ford Focus with 81,832 units sold and Vauxhall Corsa 77,751 units sold.

“Last year proved to be a challenging year for the UK motor industry,” said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. “Weak economic growth will make trading conditions tough in 2012, but record numbers of new and updated models, significantly improved fuel efficiency and exciting new technologies will help to encourage consumers into showrooms.”

Whilst it’s evident 2012 will see tougher trading conditions, there are definite opportunities for Dealer Groups to get consumers into their showrooms starting with the online showrooms where their research begins!  Consider your mobile strategy, as we know mobile retail is continuing to grow, according to Comscore datagems 1.7million mobile subscribers consumed automotive content on mobile devices.

Be the first to like.
Unlike
Share

How “Pollinators” change the marketing equation for Land Rover

Posted on by
2

Martini Media partnered with WPP’s research group, Added Value, to take a closer look at the influencer audience who comprises 25% of the population and is responsible for 70% of the spending online.

This video with an array of panelists includes Land Rover’s Communication Manager Ken Bracht.  Ken highlights the importance of luxury automotive brands reaching niche audiences through targeted marketing and why it is important to target these pollinators as part of their core media plan.  These “hyper influentials” not only become effective brand evanglists but are first in line for big-ticket items.  In the study 68% of Pollinators indicated purchase intent for luxury cars.

Technology is ubiquitous allowing marketers to effectively and effeciently reach their audience.  Brands need to be exploring ways to reach influencer audiences in social communities to improve engagement, brand awareness and lower cost per lead.  You can see how effective and measurable this channel can be for new vehicle launches.

http://vimeo.com/26596212

Be the first to like.
Unlike
Share

Jaguar’s Ian Callum on C-X16 ‘bloodlines’

Posted on by
Reply

Jaguar’s Design Director, Ian Callum, captures the soul of the brand in this great video on C-X16′s ‘bloodlines’.  It gives insight into the heritage and spirit of the brand and how design and product produce a work of art.  In the words of their Design Director “purity of line and intent is what Jaguar does best.”

 

 

 

 

Be the first to like.
Unlike
Share

Would you close your doors for business for 2 days out the week?

Posted on by
Reply

I’m certain we all know the answer to that – NO!  What a stupid question you may say… True, but many retailers are unwittingly doing just that.

According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) retailers without mobile optimised sites are losing out on nearly one-third of business based on new m-commerce research.  Alex Kozloff, Senior Mobile Manager at the IAB, describes this as businesses effectively closing their doors for two days out of the week.

Asked if a retailer’s website was not working on their mobile device, respondents answers were as follows:

  •  20% would buy from a competitors mobile site
  •   8% wouldn’t bother at all
  •   2% “other”

We can see from these stats that if your customers will benefit from your lost sales if your mobile site doesn’t measure up.  Survey also showed 40% of users believe m-commerce is the easiest way to buy products and services, so it’s less about experimenting with new technology and more expected service from brands.

In my blog on key learnings from Mary Porta’s retail review it’s evident that mobile is a key factor for changing the retail landscape.  In November Google launched ‘GoMo’ their mobile push for retailers to mobile optimise and those with well optimised mobile sites will benefit from higher mobile search rankings

“Consumers are ahead of the industry and clearly want to use mobile optimised sites to purchase products, so the solution lies with the retailers,” say Kozloff.  Does your mobile solution measure up?

1 person likes this post.
Unlike
Share

Which online channels influence car buyers purchase decisions?

Posted on by
Reply

Over the recent Christmas break I was keen to find some new Portuguese restaurants in the South West, so naturally I resorted to social media for my research. In less than an hour I had several tweets with recommendations and a quick search online showed they all had great customer reviews. Result: the restaurant made some new patrons through social word of mouth!

The process is no different for high risk purchases.  Mashable recently published  an article with data from M Booth and Beyond, high recommmenders, those that make purchase less frequently, purchases more expense and/or research requires more time and effort in the research, are 3 times more likely to recommend a product.

Data from M Booth and Beyond survey show top online channels that influence purchase decisions across various sectors.  44% of car buyers use car forums for their research.  The top  influencing channels for car buyers are branded websites, search results and online advertisements.

With this insight and knowledge of how the social consumer is influenced in their purchase decisions Automotive Dealerships and manufacturers should be investing in the following channel to increase their traffic and leads;

  • web and mobile search optimisation
  • monitoring what customers, influencers and opinion leaders are saying about vehicle performance
  • Dealer websites provide customers with a consistent manufacturer brand experience
1 person likes this post.
Unlike
Share