AUTO TRADER REWARDS EXCELLENCE AT THE INAUGURAL CLICK AWARDS
September 4th, 2007Auto Trader, the UK’s no 1 motoring website and magazine, has celebrated best practice in website usability amongst the motor industry, with the first ever Click Awards, held at The Savoy, London, on 4 September 2007.
The Click Awards are based on the Auto Trader Website Usability Study, undertaken in July of this year. It formed the qualitative and quantitative study into the ‘user experience’ of 500 UK car buyers across over 50 motor manufacturer and dealer group websites, analysing the usability of each site across a number of core buying and selling disciplines.
The Website Usability Study, undertaken by eDigitalResearch and Auto Trader, was the largest of its kind in the UK and researched the views and opinions of motorists who were thinking about buying a new or used car. The websites were judged on a range of criteria, measuring the quality of customer service online; website design; the use of animation and engagement with the customer; ease of navigation; and the search tools and features available.
The Study analysed how easy it was to use a website by observing how efficiently users could complete their tasks and how satisfying the process was, and whether the site did what the customer expected, did it well and did it quickly.
Auto Trader’s objective for the Study was to gain a deeper understanding of consumer usage of automotive sites and identify what drove a satisfying online experience for users, when they were searching for new and used cars.
News Broadcaster Natasha Kaplinksy presented the ten Auto Trader Click Awards as follows:
Categories and Winners:
Manufacturers:
• Auto Trader’s Motor Manufacturer Website of the Year 2007:
Winner: TOYOTA
Highly Commended: Volkswagen
Highly Commended: Mini
• Best Motor Manufacturer Used Vehicle Locator:
Winner: HYUNDAI
Highly Commended: Skoda
Highly Commended: Porsche
• Best Motor Manufacturer New Car Builder:
Winners: VOLKSWAGEN
Highly Commended: Subaru
Highly Commended: Hyundai
• Best Motor Manufacturer Customer Service:
Winner: HONDA
Highly Commended: Jaguar
Highly Commended: Mini
• Best Motor Manufacturer Virtual Forecourt:
Winner: TOYOTA
Highly Commended: Vauxhall
Highly Commended: Land Rover
• Best Motor Manufacturer Home Page:
Winner: TOYOTA
Highly Commended: Hyundai
Highly Commended: Mini
• Best Motor Manufacturer For Purchase Intent:
Winner: BMW
Highly Commended: Toyota
Highly Commended: Land Rover
Dealer Group - AM 100 Top 20:
• Auto Trader’s Motor Dealer Website of the Year 2007:
Winner: HARTWELL PLC
Highly Commended: Lookers PLC
Highly Commended: Perry’s Group
• Best Motor Dealer Vehicle Locator:
Winner: ARNOLD CLARK
Highly Commended: Lookers PLC
Highly Commended: Perry’s Group
• Best Motor Dealer Customer Service:
Winners: DUTTON FORSHAW
Highly Commended: Sytmer Group
Highly Commended: Lookers PLC
A number of manufacturer websites have improved dramatically since last year’s Website Usability Study and manufacturers and dealer groups have shown considerable investment in the requirement to show their brand and product in a positive and creative way. The best performers of previous studies have been matched in many cases and overtaken by others.
This reflects the need to provide effective communications to a growing number of car buyers who are becoming increasingly ‘multi channel’ in their research approach.
Highlights this year included new creative approaches seen in sites such as Mini, reflecting their brand and advertising image. Volkswagen’s presentation of the newly launched ‘Eos’ was outstanding, as was Land Rover’s contribution to Rugby Union with their ‘Love Rugby’ feature. Other areas of improvement have seen clearer pricing and promotional offers being featured more heavily – Vauxhall and Renault both scoring well here.
Presentation of the vehicle range and comparisons by both price and size were well thought through on the Chevrolet site and the Fiat showroom created considerable impact. Also of note was the clear site sections brightly colour coded on the Suzuki home page providing clear sign posting for new site visitors.
The impressive used car search engines used by Jaguar and Land Rover and noted in our 2006 review have been matched this year by the introduction of improved search functionality across a range of sites.
Some dealer groups are also leading the way in terms of presentation of vehicles, with the ‘My Showroom’ feature from Arnold Clark, fast and accurate search engines from Lookers and excellent vehicle presentation from Perrys, with ‘Other Suggested’ cars intuitively being offered alongside the selected car.
Not surprisingly, the Study found a correlation between propensity to purchase and a good offering as an online virtual forecourt. Potential buyers are being swayed by what they find on a manufacturer or dealer group website. Whilst there was not such a strong correlation between customer service and propensity to purchase, we know from research gathered elsewhere, that service is a strong driver of revisiting and reuse of a brand and its products.
Matt Thompson, Marketing Director at Trader Media Group comments: “Over the last three years, our Website Usability Study has provided valuable insight into how motorists interact with manufacturer and dealer websites, and what they rate as good and bad on a site. We have been able to benchmark excellence across a range of key online indicators and this data has been welcomed by the motor industry.
“As a Group, we have designed and built over 4,500 dealer websites and commissioned the research to gain a deeper understanding of the user experience of motoring websites, both for our trade customers and autotrader.co.uk.
“Now, we are delighted to be celebrating best practice amongst manufacturers and dealers in the Auto Trader Click Awards. For the first time ever, manufacturers and dealers have been rewarded for their websites, as decided by UK motorists, rather than a panel of industry experts.”
Auto Trader has positioned itself as the channel of choice for buying and selling a new and used vehicle, built on the combination of local targeting and comprehensive national coverage and can be accessed via its magazine, website and WAP components.
If you would like to learn more about the usability of your website and how it scored in the 2007 study, please contact Craig Stevens, Commercial Director at Trader Media Group on 0208 544 7000 to arrange a meeting.
- Ends –
Methodology:
The Auto Trader Website Usability Study consisted of a qualitative and quantitative study, with over 500 motorists surveyed across over 50 websites. 2007 marks the third year that the research has been undertaken by Auto Trader with eDigitalResearch.
Each website study was undertaken by eDigital Research in July 2007 – changes made to the sites after this period then may not be reflected.
Scoring for each section was rated from zero for ‘very poor’ to four for ‘excellent’.
Manufacturers surveyed: Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Saab, Seat, Skoda, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Dealers surveyed: Arnold Clark, Camden Motors, Daimler-Chrysler, Dixon Motors, Dutton Forshaw, Ford Retail, Greenhous, Best Price Car, Inchape, Jardine Motors, JCT 600, Listers Group, Lookers, Marshall Group, Pendragon, Perrys, Rea Group, Robins and Day, Sytner and Vertu Motors.
Website surveyors had just brought or were thinking about buying a new or used car. The gender mix was 70:30 male:female.
Notes to Editor:
Autotrader.co.uk has been voted amongst the top 10 most trusted online brands, reliable websites and best websites to visit* according to The eSuperbrands Council – experts in marketing, managing, creating or reviewing Internet brands. (*Source: eSuperbrands 2006)
With 13 regional Auto Trader magazines across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, the brand is building a competitive position across all effective channels including print, the web and mobile. Auto Trader provides buyers and sellers including dealer groups and motor manufacturers with an interactive digital offering across mobile (Orange, O2) and online (AOL and MSN).
Auto Trader is owned by Trader Media Group, which also publishes market leading niche titles such as Top Marques, Bike Trader, Truck & Plant Trader, Ad Trader, Motorhome and Caravan Trader, Boats and Yachts for Sale, Boat Trader , Farmers Trader, Auto Freeway, TNT magazine – all with the largest reach in their sectors, through magazine readership and web visitors.
Trader Media Group publishes over 70 titles every week with a combined circulation of 1.5 million and has leading websites for its top titles.
Trader Media Group, a division of Guardian Media Group, employs over 3,900 people across 40 locations in the UK, Ireland, Holland, Italy and South Africa. The Group is looking to expand on its winning formula - developing a car supermarket and one-stop-shop for motorists; giving trade customers the opportunity to choose all effective channels to market; building the service and relationship with dealers and manufacturers; and strengthening its portfolio of automotive and specialist classified titles.
Trader Media Group wholly owns and operates www.CarZone.ie, Ireland’s no 1 motoring channel for new and used cars, the Contact Advantage Group a leading CRM software provider and 2nd Byte a market leading web services business to the motor industry.
For further information, please contact:
Karen Hughes/Caroline Burnell
The Drum Consultancy
Tel: 020 7025 8044
Fax: 020 7025 8100
Email: karenh@drumbeat.co.uk
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