We’re continuously investing in our support processes, training and staff in order to meet the every need of our clients and to keep ahead of the changing world of the Internet. As we continue to grow in strength and number we continue to keep to our resolution.

To accompany our growth, we have now opened a second office. GForces Skunkworks is now home to our software development staff while all client facing teams (project management, web marketing, account support and sales) remain in Bearsted at the Corbin Business Park.

Furthering our dedication to providing complete client satisfaction, our account support team has already welcomed two new account support executives – ensuring that support is never more than a phone call away for all our clients.

Representatives from GForces are also in contact with local universities, such as the University of Kent and the University of the Creative Arts, to explore a range of additional placement opportunities, while at the same time advising course organisers on how to make their curriculum more relevant to the industry. The exercise will help support GForces’ ongoing recruitment drive as it seeks to maintain a rapid rate of growth.

Giles Smith, GForces’ Managing Director, explained: “We’re proud to be based in Kent and want to offer employment opportunities to as many local people as possible next year. This will not only help stem the tide of young Kentish people moving to London for work when they graduate, but it will also broaden the skill set of our youngsters and equip them for a bright future in the IT industry.

“Ultimately, we hope to offer around 20 graduate placements for schools and students, and a further 50 ongoing work experience opportunities on an annual basis. This would be a real bonus for the local economy at a time when placement opportunities across the UK are in decline.”

Studies by Nielsen have shown that more than 2.5 million mobile users surfed the Internet in the last quarter of 2009.
Here at GForces we’re constantly surfing the trends of Internet evolution and have today launched our new mobile site.

Our new mobile site has been specially designed to ergonomically fit your mobile phone screen, allowing our customers to view the essentials of GForces while on the move with their Internet phones. From customer testimonials to information on our web software and even this blog, visitors to our mobile site will have access to the GForces essentials just as quickly as sending a text message.

Log on from a mobile phone to www.gforces.co.uk and use our new mobile site to read about our web management, web marketing solutions, view our clients’ sections and to read and view clients’ testimonials.

The company has confirmed that a massive product offensive is in place and fourteen new car designs will be unveiled by the end of 2014. These models are likely to see a continuation of the “strong, more extreme and pure expression of the Peugeot style of tomorrow” that informs the SR1 concept car expected at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

The new visual identity is part of Peugeot’s strategy to improve their ranking in the world car market as Jean-Marc Gales, director of Peugeot and Citroën brands has the company’s intentions for growth in the years ahead, stating: “We are now the 10th worldwide brand in the automotive industry and our ambition is to gain 3 places in order to become the 7th in 2015. In order to achieve this, we need international growth, in China, South America and Russia.”

Launching in May, the RCZ sports coupe will be the first car to carry the new branding. Developed in-house and losing the blue-flag background of their previous imagery, the new logo will appear on all global communications and will take effect at UK dealerships from November. The new branding will mean Peugeot retains the Belfort Lion it adopted in 1858 and will see the logo accompanied by the new signature; Peugeot, MOTION & EMOTION.

The branding will begin rolling out to Peugeot’s UK dealership network from November.

At GForces we’re dedicated to ensuring your digital dealership is flexible and able to handle changes smoothly and effortlessly. Contact us today to see how we can help you roll out the new Peugeot branding across your online presence.

Watch a video about the new Peugeot brand identity :

Google have just launched their new touch-screen Android phone, which could shake up the fundamentals of the cellphone market with most phones working only on the networks that sold them.

The company, using the power of its brand, plans to market and sell the new phone directly to consumers over the Internet. Buyers would be able to sign up for network service from any compatible provider.

Most importantly, according to Mario Queiroz, Google vice president of Android project management, Google’s new smartphone is “where web meets phone”.

In Japan, a country that has always been fond of technology and innovation, smart phones and gadgets have been playing an important part in Japanese consumers’ lives for a long time. According to the New York Times, evolution of Japanese smartphones saw email capabilities in 1999, camera phones in 2000, third-generation networks in 2001, full music downloads in 2002, electronic payments in 2004 and digital TV in 2005! Today, the smart phones market in Japan sees much larger numbers than in the US or Europe, and many Japanese users rely on their phones not a PC for Internet access.

Back at home, it is said that the number of Britons browsing the web on mobile phones increased to 10.4 million in Q3 2009. Downloading applications was the second-fastest-growing activity, rising by one million users to 4.1 million in Q3.

The evidence suggests that the mobile Internet, already a way of life in some parts of the World, is the next step in the Internet’s evolution and user interaction. Companies and their products will find it easier to reach a customer’s pockets (quite literally) through their smartphones and customers, in turn, will have improved interaction with sales staff through web mobile-based applications (such as call backs, or sat nav maps).

However, according to E-consultancy, full realization and integration of mobile advertising is still a way off. A large proportion (41%) of companies are not planning any investment at all on mobile in 2010, with a further 49% planning only limited investment. Only 11% are planning to invest significantly but this increases significantly for the largest companies.

Whether mobile Internet is the next big investment for companies to use for advertising or generating return on investment is yet to be proven. However, the potential for reaching customers on an individual level via mobile Internet cannot be matched. The mobile internet, sitting literally in your customers hands and pockets is an extremely personal use of the web and allows businesses to better target customers individually and one that companies really cannot afford to ignore for much longer.

An analysis of the Google, Microsoft and Apple phones from a financial perspective (CNBC, USA):

Established for over 100 years, family-owned dealer Tates have 6 dealerships representing Renault, Hyundai, Kia and Citroen across Sussex, Tates Cars have just launched their new website with GForces.

With a crisp, clear design that makes use of video integration to present their history and values, the new Tates site allows visitors a user-friendly view of the company’s products and services via an easy-to-use vehicle search and even offers a feedback forum.

Visit our clients section now and find out how our NetDirector Auto platform can take your digital dealership to the next level.

The new Charters Group website has a great range of features to improve the customer experience including video integration, Contact at Once (live chat) and a virtual showroom where visitors are able to view and compare models them and request brochures. There’s also a finance calculator (with Codeweavers integration) to allow up-to-the-minute financing quotes with stock updates ensuring an accurate display of used cars for visitors to choose from.

Multi-franchise group Caffyns have launched a dramatically redesigned homepage with us this month. While staying loyal to the company’s established branding, the new homepage provides a clear and user-friendly interface for visitors to explore all Caffyns’ services and used car stock while serving as a portal to their multiple franchise sites

Vision Vauxhall

Independent dealer Vision Vauxhall’s brand new website is designed to incorporate features such as Live Chat and save and compare vehicles, while allowing direct and easy access to information for customers.

Visit our clients section now for further examples of our award-winning Digital Dealerships and contact us today to see how can take your digital dealership to the next level.

In a world where tweets, forums and facebooking have become part of daily conversation, advice famously passed on to Michael Corleone would serve businesses and automotive dealers well: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Word-of-mouth has taken on a different meaning and auto dealers need to be proactive in dealing with negative opinion. While a happy customer may recommend your company, an unsatisfied customer will fall over themselves in their hurry to share their displeasure and they’ll now do so via the largest soapbox available: the internet.

Before social media sites, information about a company was pretty much dictated by the company itself. Now there are thousands of sites offering users their own little Hyde Park Speaker’s Corner for a huge audience to read and participate in. From the latest pregnant celebrity, errors in last night’s episode of CSI to political quagmires, companies and services, it’s all up for debate.

Before brushing social media aside it’s worth noting that 67% of global internet users visit member communities (source: E-consultancy 2009) and 77% of active users read blogs. A recent survey on the impact of customer care reputation on purchasing decisions found that 40.1% of those surveyed turn to discussion forums and online rating systems to learn about companies customer care records.

Potential customers are only ever an adjective away from finding the online conversation on your business. This is something that companies ignore at their peril, just ask Dell about Jeff Jarvis. In 2005 Jarvis, an avid blogger, had a problem with his Dell computer and contacted customer support. His complaints went ignored and he turned to his blog. His “Dell Hell” struck a familiar chord with many Dell customers who generated hundreds of comments and a ripple-like effect of blogs and posts about Dell’s customer care.

By 2006, when Dell started to look at their online reputation, they found that 49% of online comments about them were negative.

For automotive dealers, online brand management is a vital part of the web marketing strategy. This means monitoring the online “buzz” and actively taking part in the conversation through the same portals your customers are using. This means dealers can not only prevent negative comments becoming widespread but can rectify complaints quickly and, in so doing, enhance online opinion.

Ensuring you make the most of your happy customers is just as important. One of our clients, a leading UK car supermarket, has a page on their site dedicated to testimonials from satisfied customers. In this way, not only do visitors to the site find the videos, but potential customers searching for opinions on the company come across glowing, positive feedback first.

In a market place where consumers are spoilt for choice, your reputation for customer care can make all the difference in attracting visitors. Stay in tune with the online conversation about your dealership, nip complaints in the bud, use the power of the web to spread the good word about your company and give customers more reasons to use your digital dealership over your competitors.

The last year has been one of continual growth and success for GForces and we’d like to take the opportunity to thank all our clients and suppliers. We saw numerous new websites go live with our ever-expanding and evolving range of NetDirector Web Software and formed many important partnerships.

Always looking forward, with a commitment to offering the very best to our clients, we went from 31 to 66 team members this year, all based in our offices in Beasted, Kent. Here are the teams that ensure we make the Internet profitable for your business.

]]> http://blog.gforces.co.uk/looking-ahead-at-year-end/339/feed 0 http://blog.gforces.co.uk/the-gforces-beast-gets-going-for-bangers-4-ben/331 http://blog.gforces.co.uk/the-gforces-beast-gets-going-for-bangers-4-ben/331#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:50:35 +0000 GForces http://blog.gforces.co.uk/?p=331 GForces are proud to be participating in Bangers 4 BEN which saw a team of ‘bangers’ head off from Ascot this morning, including our very own LeadBeast Beast.

Bangers 4 BEN is a charity challenge organised by Car Dealer magazine and BEN, the automotive industry charity which provides care and support to employees and their dependants in times of need. Earlier this year four members of the Car Dealer team raised £1,700 for BEN by buying ‘bangers’ for £250 and selling them after the event. All the cars taking part in Bangers 4 BEN will be auctioned off after the even with all money raised donated to BEN. Participants include main dealers from across the UK, independent dealers, car manufacturers and many suppliers to the motor trade.

Jamie Dixon, our Sales Director and Paul Hilton, Business Development Manager, will represent GForces in our LeadBeast branded banger, a 2001 Suzuki Vitara.

The event started early in the morning on Monday, November 9th at BEN’s Ascot headquarters. The destination on Day One is Inverness, in Scotland. On the second day, the teams will travel from Inverness to John O’Groats and then back down to Berwick-upon-Tweed. On the final day, teams will head to Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands for a few laps of the track and the finish line.

Check out GForces Leadbeast car pictures on Facebook and follow the GForces Bangers 4 BEN team’s adventures on Twitter.

The prize reflects the website’s ability to help people find exactly what they are looking for with its well-designed and highly-functional features such as “Live Chat” and “Finance Options”.
The awards are based on the Auto Trader Website Usability Study which was carried out during July. It uses feedback from over 600 UK car buyers to generate the winners.

The study was carried out by eDigital Research and Auto Trader who judged the websites on aesthetics, functionality, website styling, ease of navigation and speed of loading.

Winning this prize is a great achievement for The Car Shop since it allows car buyers to find information they need to be able to go through with their purchase.

Check out more of our award-winning websites and contact us today to see how we can enhance your online presence for success.

Walthamstow Academy and Paddington Academy, both members of the United Learning Trust, saw their new websites go live with G-Forces. The new sites bring an online representation of the academys’ curriculums and ethos while remaining true to the style of other members of the ULT and providing plenty of information for parents and pupils.

Check out NetDirector Learning or our Web Software to see how we can make the internet profitable for you.

With many changes taking place here in terms of team growth and development, this week has also seen some exciting new sites go live.

As part of the United Learning Trust, Manchester Academy’s new website makes use of our latest software development – NetDirector Learning to offer a full glimpse into all that the academy has to offer for both existing and potential-students.

With easy navigation, great functionality and an eye-catching design in keeping with the style used by the other schools and academies of UCST, the Manchester Academy site not only gives a full break-down of the curriculum and subjects but also offers a look into every element of studying at the academy.

McCarthy Cars, a Croydon based used car dealer, also saw their site launch with G-Forces this week. With a flash animation and crystal-clear images and high-functionality, this used-cars awebsite allows visitors to get as perfect a view of McCarthy’s stock as possible withouth actually visiting the dealership. Though with a full breakdown of services, finance deals and offers, the website serves all the functions of a digital dealership.

Also launched this week, NetTrade-Price are a drop-shipping company that make setting up and running a home-business easy for those that want to start selling online though are unsure what to sell and how.

With a wide product-portfolio and using Tiger Commerce as their ready-to-use straight from the cage ecommerce software platform. Their new website, making use of our NetDirector Content Management Solutions, mirrors the ease of use of their services in the navigation and with a visually effective look.

There’s many more sites poised and almost-ready to “go live” so stay tuned for further details and check out our clients area for a fuller picture of the work we’ve done.

Following on from our success in developing sites for educational bodies such as The United Church Schools Trust and The New Line Learning Federation,we’ve developed NetDirector Learning to provide an easy to use web management tool which enables schools, academies, colleges and universities to reduce out-sourcing cost and drive website return on investment.

Designed specifically for the education sector, NetDirector Learning offers a tailored solution to meet all your needs with on-going support and training included to help you keep your website up-to-date

We designed NetDirector Learning to assist in every element of your school website. From inception and design with our Award-Winning professional design service to the marketing and continual evolution of content, it’s all catered for by the latest addition to the NetDirector range of software. Your website can go from design to success without the need for any technical know-how.

Being first choice in your catchment area is a key requirement for many schools, academies and colleges and so ND Learning takes a balanced approach. From aesthetics to marketing, we create platforms that look amazing and perform well and build them to be as search engine friendly as possible so that your site is seen by the desired audience for your education sector with a award-winning designs and expert web marketing.

Discover how your school, academy, college or university website can achieve fantastic results online by checking out NetDirector Learning today.

G-Forces work with a number of leading Lotus dealers in the UK and G-Forces’ Tim Smith and Jamie Dixon enjoy a strong friendship and working relationship with Mr Haskey.

With it’s impressive lines and powerful engine, the 3.5 litre, V6 Lotus Evora will get you from 0-60mph in under 5 seconds and is sure to prove a popular choice with motorists looking for something different.

The Evora in question is one of Lotus’ new press cars, soon to be gracing the pages of many automotive magazines.  Tim Smith commented “Its styling is great and it is a whole different level in terms of sophistication for Lotus. It is a car you could drive to work in everyday without feeling you’ve just got out of a tumble dryer”.

G-Forces' Tim Smith (L), Jamie Dixon (R) and James Haskey of Lotus UK (Centre) with the new Evora

Check out the full video of the Lotus Evora visiting G-Forces on our Facebook page and take a look at the Lotus dealers in our clients section to see where you can get behind the wheel of the latest British sports car.

A recent newspaper article from a ‘noted’ psychologist declared optimism as the key to professional success in a recession – we’ll fair better if we’re smiling cheerfully. Thankfully this article was printed in the paper’s science section rather than business and for good reason.

Business advice from a psychologist usually found analysing body language on an Orwellian-titled reality-show is not the best advice for a company operating in a recession.

Blind optimism is more of a danger than an answer for business. Simply smiling and getting on with it is the equivalent of sticking your head in the sand while loss-making habits continue.

What will help companies get through these turbulent times and avoid the red ink being used for their statements is finding what they do best, sticking to it and seeing it through.

Take, for example, the high street music stores: one teetering over the edge and one gone before it was time for the January sales. Compare such lacklustre performance to a music shop like Rough Trade who are currently thriving and the “find what works best and stick with it” rule applies. Rough Trade sell only music, you don’t step through the doors only to battle books,  emblazoned shirts and mp3 accessories before you get to the music in a supposed music store.

While Auto dealers aren’t about to start selling box sets of the latest American sitcom on dvd, the need to find what works best and stick with it still applies for success when it comes to marketing your dealership. The importance of web marketing for your automotive website and dealership is well documented and the best way to find success in a recession is to find which marketing campaigns work for you and stick with them.

A full understanding of which marketing campaigns are working well for you and which aren’t is vital. There are many good tools available to analyse traffic generated from online marketing, including Google Analytics and Webtrends, and just as many – Mediahawk or BDM -that track success of the phone-based campaigns. However, to fully grasp which of your campaigns are working for you and warrant further investment, a program that collates online and offline data, such as Net Director LeadBeast, is ideal.

By collating information from both online and offline tracking, what marketing campaign is working for your dealership becomes clear. All users of LeadBeast have noted how significantly lower cost-per enquiry is from online marketing compared to offline.

It’s still important to note that balance is imperative but there is still too much credence on offline marketing. The pendulum is swinging toward web marketing and will continue to do su until the correct weighting is found for effective marketing strategies.

Only by investing in online marketing campaigns and sticking to them will dealers become increasingly optimistic. When the dust settles after the economic implosion you’ll be poised to take an even bigger bite of the market and reap the rewards of your hard work.

At G-Forces we beleive that it’s becoming increasingly important for dealers to see their websites as an extension of their showroom. This belief is strongly held by our web marketing team including Marketing Director Tim Smith who will be championing the importance of marketing through the recession as part of a new panel of expersts with AM Online. 

AM Online, the website for the automotive industry has a new feature: assembling a panel of experts to answer all your automotive questions of which G-Forces’ Tim Smith is a part.

Tim Smith is on the panel to deal with all automotive industry questions relating to the internet. Given that we’ve created some award-winning web sites through our web software and services for automotive main dealers, Tim is the man to ask.

Ian is a PRINCE2 certified practitioner, a member of APM and PMI UK. With his global background, Ian has lived and worked in North America, Europe and Asia, and over 20 years of IT and project management, his experience will strengthen our commitment to delivering quality services to our customers

New Line Learning Academies’ Federation Trust runs two academies via one governing body. Both academies are in the Maidstone borough and cater for male and female students aged between 11 and 18 years.

New Line Learning are currently rebuilding their two Maidstone sites and approached G-Forces to build a website that would raise awareness of their work and brand identity with a high-concept web design.

With high usability levels to allow ease-of-use for users of different abilities, the new website also serves as a portal to New Line Learning’s other activities.

We’re really proud of this site and think it stands out from the crowd and offers a genuinely fresh look, feel free to let us know what you think of it.

The British Jewellers’ Association (BJA) is the national trade association which promotes and protects the growth and prosperity of UK jewellery and silverware suppliers. With almost 850 member companies, BJA represents manufacturers, bullion suppliers, casting houses, diamond and gem dealers, designer jewellers, silversmiths, craftsmen and women, equipment suppliers, wholesalers, galleries, internet retailers and traders.

The partnership allows the BJA members to set up an effective ecommerce shop, with no initial outlay and no fixed term contract, therefore reducing the financial risk involved in establishing an online trading platform.

Kent Messenger will make e-Trade Pro available to its extensive business customer base via its online and offline sales channels. Kent Messenger group is a far-reaching multimedia company comprising newspapers, radio stations and websites. Touching the lives of almost 7 in every 10 adults in Kent, it is one of the county’s most trusted and recognised brands with a growing portfolio of digital media products aimed at small and medium sized businesses.

Chris Parker, Head of Digital Sales at KM stated “It is an exciting partnership and will give KM the opportunity to further spread its internet strategy. Working wiht G-Forces will also allow us to support our 50,000 business customers, many of whom are looking for help and direction in terms of e-business.”

G-Forces was established in 1999 and is head-quartered at Corbin Business Park, Bearsted with offices in Gdansk, Poland. G-Forces is an internet software company with a full range of support services covering web management and web marketing – providing professional end-to-end online solutions. G-Forces has over 1000 active websites under its management.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for both companies to wrok together to help Kent Businesses overcome the hurdle of online business.” says Tim Smith, G-Forces Commercial Director. “Kent Messenger Group is one of the most respected companies in the South East of England and coupled with our e-commerce expertise, this is the ideal combination to help businesses in this area trade online.”

We-Trade Pro is a customisable e-commerce software package which is available on online subscription from £99 +VAT per month. For businesses looking for a sophisticated, feature rich online shop, e-Trade Pro is the perfect solution with no set-up charges, no contract, no software installations and with the benefit of automatic updates and inclusive hosting.

Developed by G-Forces over a number of years, e-Trade Pro is easy to use and fast to deploy. It is processing tens of thousands of orders every month for businesses across the UK.

An online sales site, http://km.netdirectoretradepro.co.uk/ has been set up to market e-Trade Pro and customers can sign up here for a free, no obligation 14 day trial. e-Trade Pro will also be promoted via the Kent Messenger Group websites, print publications, exhibitions and business forums.

Kent Messenger and G-Forces…… Working together to bring results.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony was performed by honorary guests Jimmy Corbin, Maidstone’s last surviving Battle of Britain pilot together with Peter Ayerst and Rodney Scrase, fellow World War II veteran Spitfire pilots.

G-Forces chose to support the Biggin Hill Battle Of Britain Supporters’ Club and Gordon Wright, their Chairman, was presented with a cheque for £3,500. The money was raised from various fundraising activities that G-Forces’ staff had undertaken over the last 3 months including the auctioning of original artwork, signed by the guests of honour.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for coming and making the day so special.