Fewer than one in 10 dealer websites feature live chat which is one way of dealer staff reacting quickly to customer enquiries.

According to the new survey from web marketing company GForces, only 16 out of the 200 largest UK dealer groups have websites that offer visitors this form of interactive communication.

Tim Smith, GForces commercial director, said: “You need to be able to talk with potential customers immediately these days. Any delay or unanswered questions about a car, part, accessory or service booking will lead to people clicking away from your site faster than you might think.

“People who engage with a business through live chat are more likely to convert than visitors who don’t. This is thanks largely to the speed with which they can have their questions answered.”

However, Smith warned that simply putting live chat on your site isn’t enough, dealers need to dedicate resource to it too. There needs to be a qualified individual on hand to deal with the enquiries as they come in.

One dealer doing that is Peter Vardy in Glasgow. It added live chat to its website and hired new staff to deal with the online questions generated.

Smith said: “Any edge in service you have over your competitors can make the difference in whether you gain or lose a sale. In this world of automated touch-tone systems, having a human being available to help a customer any time of day or night will give your dealership an advantage over the competition.”

http://www.motortrader.com/industry-news/car-dealer-news/30315-live-chat-provides-boost-for-dealers-business-survey.html

http://www.am-online.com/news/story/Lack-of-live-chat-is-costing-dealers-leads/42902411

http://www.cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/lost-leads-for-dealers-who-fail-to-chat/39403

The Motor Trader Industry Awards is a prestigious annual event run by MotorTrader, a leading specialist magazine for motor retailers.  GForces was this year handed the ‘Online Innovation’ accolade by ESPN football pundit, Ray Stubbs, for its lead tracking software: LeadBeast Tracking at the Grosvenor House Hotel function. The award was collected by GForces Commercial Director, Tim Smith.

This year’s competition in the Online Innovation Award was extremely high with entrants putting forward products and services of real commercial value to users.

LeadBeast, which was developed by internet specialist GForces, emerged as a clear winner for helping dealers measure the effectiveness of their online and offline marketing campaigns.

It collates information from a variety of media including phone calls, emails, pay-per-click, web enquiries and Live Chat, helping the user to decide how much resource to allocate to each channel.

Judges considered LeadBeast to be a cohesive integrated product and were particularly impressed by its single “dashboard” which covered all the media channels.

“LeadBeast is innovative and of real use to end users,” said Motor Trader editor Curtis Hutchinson. “ It provides all the necessary data about a dealer’s marketing activity in a single, easy to use format which gives it a significant commercial edge in the marketplace.”

LeadBeast provides cost per lead data for clients, linking campaigns to enquiries to give a truer measure of marketing effectiveness. It also helps with website development by providing data on which elements of the site are delivering results.

Tim Smith, GForces Commercial Director

This summer we have are very pleased to announce the launch of five amazing new automotive websites. All sites boast a clean interface, making the user/browser experience much more intuitive. Our sites are specially designed to complement present trends, demonstrate usability, functionality and inspiration to inevitably gain trust with clients and up sell.
Not only do we deliver our sites on-time but we ensure we make our websites search engine friendly and competitive. Our design team have once again defined the epitome of form and function and we couldn’t be more pleased with the end results.

Turnbulls of York

Skurrays

Devonshire Motors

Lifestyle Europe

Rockingham Cars

Our senior starters this month include Simon Upton and Amanda Colman

Simon Upton joins us as our Head of Information Services from Sainsbury’s where he had a direct reporting line to the board working as Head of technology procurement and head of marketing procurement where he managed £215 million spend across the UK, EU and Asia Pacific. Simon’s role is to help develop our client’s use of marketing data produced by LeadBeast.

Amanda Colman joins us as our new Project Office Manager. She has recently been a Project and Portfolio Manager at Anglo American where she implemented a global portfolio management processes across multiple business units and previous to that introduced a formal project management process to Ernst & Young in Southern Africa. Amanda is tasked with improving project delivery and to ensure GForces provides a consistently high quality, memorable project experience to our clients

We aim to recruit the brightest and best talent and our excellent retention rates are a reflection on how carefully we recruit – and then invest in – our staff. All of our colleagues demonstrate a considerable amount of transferable skills including adaptability, problem solving, leadership, commitment, self-awareness, teamwork and interpersonal skills.

The automotive industry’s first iPad chat application enables car dealers to answer chat leads making them more productive.
Features include a streamlined, easy-to use user interface to compliment the large touch tablet and supports both Wi-Fi and 3G pads.

We believe that many of our dealers will benefit greatly from the enhanced mobility and user experience that the iPad, combined with the chat app, offers
It’s already well known that adding live chat to your website increases leads and helps sell more cars and that it’s possible to access live chat via your PC or mobile. Now you can answer chat leads using your iPad wherever you are.

The high-res screen allows you to see rich contextual information about a perspective customer even before answering a chat.

Map their location; see which search terms they used on Google, track the web pages they looked at before clicking to chat with you, view previous transcripts and know which vehicle they’re interested in, including the cars facts; everything you need to move a prospect from a lead into an appointment.

We are pleased to announce we won the CarDealer Power 2010 Awards for Web Design.

This category was one of the hardest fought in the CarDealer Power. However with Codeweavers running up, we claimed the inaugural gong!

We thank our in-house design team who demonstrate creative genius and deliver amazing results every time, who produce stunning looking sites which are not only user friendly but generate dealer’s leads.

One respondent of CarDealer quoted: “GForces are good for companies that want to get someone to sort it all and not worry about it – they produce good looking and effective websites”

CarDealer Power – The Winners and the Losers

GForces implemented Peter Vardys Charity section on their website, The Peter Vardy Foundation providing sponsorship and volunteering services. They look to sponsor any good causes and charitable events that have an impact in their surrounding areas as well as other worthy causes.

In addition to building the web page, GForces donated Peter Vardy  £750 to spend as they see fit on their Charity foundation.

GForces donated a remote control spitfire plane on behalf of Squadron leader to their raffle for the breast cancer charity. Along with GForces, CAP had some really generous support from various business partners and whilst they have not completed all their charity initiatives yet they are looking good to crack the £3k barrier.

The winner of the plane was Rob Powis CAP’s head of key accounts.

We will be upgrading our site infrastructure and be moving your website onto a new server. This will be a completely transparent process in which we have invested the time and resource to ensure there will be no downtime or involvement from you. However, if you manage your own domain names you will need to make a few adjustments for the transition to fully complete.

GForces has a strong vision of exceptional service and is continuously considering how systems and processes are contributing to the service experience. This upgrade to the infrastructure is part of a long-term commitment to supporting this vision with industry leading systems tailored for performance, scalability and reliability.

Despite continual negative, inaccurate and biased reports from the Downs Mail newspaper, we were granted planning permission last night.

Phase 3 of GForces development is underway and expected to be fully operational by Christmas.

With doors now officially open for many school leavers and graduates we are excited about the prospect of growing the business even faster.

(Details to be released shortly)

GForces being a true community have traveled half way across the country to support many of their clients and potential new customers at the annual AM event. With exciting times ahead this is a great platform for all present to engage and share the thoughts on the market moving forward.

• GForces MD joins University of Kent’s Industrial Panel
• Pledges to open new facility for aspiring undergraduates

The University of Kent has appointed Giles Smith to its Industrial Panel, in a move designed to boost the appeal of the courses run by its web faculty.  Smith, managing director of leading web management firm GForces, will participate in discussions to shape the content and structure of the university’s degree programmes.

When the panel meets in a fortnight, Smith will draw on his professional experience to provide insight into how the university can better help students to prepare for careers in web management.  He will advocate an approach that gives a breadth of knowledge, as well as stressing the need for placements in a commercial environment.

“It’s vital that students are given exposure to a broad range of disciplines,” said Smith.  “That means offering tuition across multiple subject areas, but also introducing undergraduates to the real world of work, where skills learned at university can be put into practice.”

Smith’s appointment to the panel comes as GForces prepares to build an advanced digital media suite – just one of the facilities to be made available to students on placements at its Caring Lane premises in Bearsted.

“Whilst the recession has wiped out a large proportion of work experience opportunities, GForces is committed to providing hands-on work for students in Kent.  Our 30-week placements will enable would-be web professionals to experience the full spectrum of disciplines – from digital film to production and even client-facing roles.

“We are optimistic that planning permission for our new building will be granted later this month, to allow construction to begin immediately on what will be Kent’s most modern digital facility.”

Katie Van Sanden of the university’s Placement Office said, “We rely on input from leading Kent employers to help support our academic programmes to meet the needs of students aiming to succeed in business.  GForces will play an important role in this, and we’re delighted to hear that our aspiring undergraduates will be invited to take advantage of the company’s new media centre, once the extension has been approved.”

The Maidstone Planning Committee will meet on 10 June in relation to GForces’ application for planning permission.

G&M Motors and Honda has been an unbeatable partnership in the North Kent area for 35 years, they hold the Honda franchise for Dartford and Gravesham in Kent since 1972 and have been the longest serving Honda dealer in Kent. Their simple yet effective site boasts new and used car pages, an integrated

Horton Seat  has been in the business for55 years, the last 21 as Skoda main dealers and a full ISO 9001 quality standard accreditation, Horton Seat have all the skills and experience to make your purchasing experience fantastic.
Their new site not only displays their new Skoda franchise but has a flash offer page and both new and used car pages.

The exemplary reward was presented to Dinnages from Ingvar Sviggum, Vice President for marketing, sales and service at Ford of Europe and Nigel Sharpe, Managing Director at Ford of Britain.

Ingvar Sviggum states:
“This award recognises the commitment and outstanding achievement of Dinnages in 2009. Being a winner places this dealership amongst the very best in the whole of Europe. Your focus and ability to deliver excellence in customer satisfaction performance, vehicle sales, finance penetration and parts sales helps to mark both your dealership and Ford out as market leader, allowing us to jointly maximise revenue and profits.”

Ford are continually carrying out extensive research to better understand the level of satisfaction customers require when going through the process of buying a car or service. Meeting and exceeding these customer expectations only accentuates further Dinnages’ exceptional achievement.

Ford Dealer Principal Daniel Broyd comments:
“We are delighted and proud to receive the chairman’s award. It is the ultimate test of the service we provide because it is judged by our customers. It is a real tribute to the excellence and dedication of all our staff and a fitting recognition of their commitment to customer satisfaction.”

Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care.

James is planning on participating in a 4 day London to Paris bike ride on September 15th ending at the Eiffel tower with fellow cancer survivor friend Nathan Wake.  Not only do the cyclists face potential warm weather making the ride hard to bare but both have to carry 4 days worth of weight unsupported over the 288 miles.

GForces donated £500 to James for this cause as this charity is close to many of our colleague’s hearts.

Next year James is hoping to participate in a South America bike ride and Scotland to England ride to support the foundation. We wish them both good health and the best of luck on their trek.

You can follow James and Nathan via their Facebook page which will be updated regularly prior to and during the ride. You can also follow their tweets on Twitter. (Links uploaded shortly)

Saturday 29th May is the first day of practice for Steve Mercer. With the help and support of GForces Steve is hoping to improve on his 121mph average lap from last year (one of the fastest newcomers ever at the TT).  He is also hoping to improve on his best position from last year having now gotten a year’s worth of road racing experience under his belt.

Some key facts about the race:
• The race consists of 6 ‘20 minute’ laps of which Steve’s 24 litre bike is going to have to stop for fuel every 2 laps.
• Steve is racing on Saturday 5th and Friday 11th June in the Superbike and Senior races consecutively which GForces are sponsoring.
• Those who finish within 5% of the finishers time receives a silver replica trophy and those that come within 10% of the finisher’s time wins a bronze trophy.

Last year Steve had a best finish of 25th in the senior race. He was running 17th in the Superbike but didn’t finish as he ran out of fuel on the last corner! This year despite feeling the expected nerves, he is positive and eager to go all balls-out. Steve quotes “It’s so hard physically and mentally that people get a medal for actually finishing the race. I am out driving around that track as much as I can so I know it like the back of my hand. I am hoping to improve on my time and position from last year but i don’t want to set a goal for myself as I don’t want to be under pressure. I just treat it like a fast ride out with my mates.”

Not only can you follow Steve’s progress via his Twitter page but live timing is also available and great for supporters as you follow all the action from the 2010 Isle of Man TT LIVE for FREE!

The recruitment drive will commence as soon as approval has been granted for an extension to GForces’ current office premises on Caring Lane in Bearsted. Managing Director Giles Smith said, “We have been working in close cooperation with Maidstone Borough Council planning officials on our application, and we’re now hopeful of a positive outcome.

If the final seal of approval is granted in May, we can begin immediately to construct the extension and undertake the first phase of recruitment.” He added, “We are thrilled to be in a position to establish a substantial number of new full-time jobs, especially at a time when unemployment is rising in the county and economic uncertainty prevails.

These skilled roles will undoubtedly be of great value to the local job market, giving fantastic opportunities to Kent’s talented individuals in one of the most dynamic professional sectors.” Smith pledged that the positions will come with very competitive benefits, saying, “We want to attract the brightest and the best, so these will be well-paid jobs with salaries above the county average, helping to further stimulate the local economy.”

Of the traineeships, Smith added, “It is vital to equip keen university students, college goers and school pupils for a professional career in the web industry.  Our comprehensive programme of training and work placements will give these groups first-hand experience of the work we do and the complexities of working life in a fast-moving business.”

According to internet search monitor firm Hitwise, UK traffic to online video websites increased by nearly 180% between 2007 and 2008.

Smith said: “It’s clear the popularity of video as an online medium is growing very rapidly.

“Some of the dealers with more sophisticated marketing strategies are already using video to reinforce a competitive advantage online.”

However, Smith warned that, done incorrectly, a video can potentially do more harm than good. “If a clip goes on too long or feels fake, then it is likely to taint the impression viewers get of a dealer’s business.

“They should only put something up there if it’s going to be of real value or deliver a truthful insight to a potential customer. Look at the Confused.com style – granular home movies shot by actual clients – that’s the sort of human interest everyone wants to watch.”

Smith suggests topics of interest include new and used stock updates, new-car promotional clips (sometimes sourced direct from the manufacturer), special offers, company history and highlights of any charitable or sporting activities. Video testimonials, too, will provide prospects with valuable reassurance, clearly demonstrating how well existing customers are treated.
Smith added: “Sticking a video onto your website won’t turn a floundering business into a booming concern.

“However, every little advantage you can eek out over the competition helps, and the right clip might provide just that.”

GForces’ top tips for web videos:

Location – Make sure that video content is easy to find within, or accessible from, relevant parts of your website.

Content – Ensure that potential customers will be interested in what you’re saying. If unsure, gather opinions from customers that visit your showroom.

Look – Videos don’t have to look like they are shot in Hollywood – integrity and plausible content is the most important element.

Technology – employ the right kind of streaming technology, to make it easier and quicker for consumer to download content. A good web management firm will provide sensible advice on the latest solutions.

Duration – Keep it short and sweet. Stick to a maximum of three minutes.

GForces, the UK’s leading web management company for the automotive sector, is sponsoring mercurial motorcycle racer, Steve Mercer, in the 2010 National and International Road Race series.
The up-and-coming motorsport star is a whizz on two wheels, having claimed the title of ‘Fastest Newcomer’ in every race he contended last year at the world-famous Isle of Man TT races and Ulster GP.  Mercer also regularly competes in the British Superbike series.

Racing on a 1000cc Yamaha YZF-R1 in a striking blue and white livery with GForces branding, the 27-year-old from Maidstone, Kent, has had a great start to the 2010 season.  Last month at the Oliver’s Mount circuit in North Yorkshire he qualified in pole position and was more than a second faster than the second-placed rider.

The biggest campaign of the season will be the Manx TT, held between 29 May and 12 June.  First run over 100 years ago, the TT is the jewel in the international motorcycle road racing crown with over 60,000 people jostling for the best vantage points at the races.  Last year, Mercer wowed the crowds by posting an average lap speed of 121mph along the 37.73-mile course.

Mercer said: “Being sponsored by GForces is a fantastic opportunity for me and my team.  It will allow us to race and, most importantly, be competitive at the highest level against the best road riders in the world.  The Isle of Man TT is a massive challenge so to have the help and support of an ever-growing and successful local company is priceless.  I am hoping to repay them with some top results.  Watch this space!”

GForces Managing Director, Giles Smith, added: “We’re proud to be sponsoring Steve Mercer Racing.  Steve is one of the UK’s brightest motorsport stars and everyone at GForces will be cheering for him throughout the 2010 Road Race season.”

About GForces:

Established in 1999, GForces is the UK’s leading web management company for the automotive sector, working for more of the country’s top-200 dealers than any rival.  Designing and developing its own web management and online marketing tools, the company focuses on making the internet more profitable for its customers.

GForces supports vehicle retailers of all sizes – from solus outfits and car supermarkets, to the UK’s largest dealer groups – helping them increase profitability through better customer targeting, increased conversion rates and higher order values.

Read other stories on Steve Mercer below:

http://www.cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/gforces-backs-tt-bike-racer/36443

http://www.easier.com/71226-dealer-web-firm-british-road-racing-star.html

http://europeanmotornews.com/2010/05/14/dealer-web-firm-backs-british-road-racing%E2%80%99s-rising-star/

http://www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk/gforces-sponsors-one-of-british-motorcycle-racings-rising-stars/

The Auto Retail Network is UK’s premier networking organisation for senior executives and managers in the auto retail industry and they’ve invited us to run a new seminar/workshop on ‘Making networks work for you’. The topic is Online help/Call-backs/ Virtual Advisors as this is something we are particularly good at.

The seminar is looking to attract 30 attendees, taking in dealer group executives, dealer group marketers and car company marketers. There’s also going to be a high-profile guest speaker to conclude each session.
We feel very privileged to be considered for this workshop. Kevin Robins, our head of Client Services is speaking with headlines to include:

How useful are online help functions?
What about live virtual advisers? and Virtual advisers Best Practice…

Kevin Robins, Head of Client Services

Our sites are delivered on-time  and we ensure our websites are search engine friendly and competitive. Our design team have defined the epitome of form and function and our clients and ourselves couldn’t be more pleased with the end results.

Aspinall Foundation

Lincoln Minister School

STA Graydon

Last month we submitted some entries into the MotorTrader Awards 2010. It is with great pleasure that we confirm that EAG and Harwoods have been shortlisted for the Website Of The Year Category, GForces (Tiger Commerce) for the Product of the Year Category and GForces (LeadBeast) for Online Innovation for the Motor Trader Awards

The winner will be announced at the Motor Trader Awards gala dinner at the Grosvenor House in London’s West End on Wednesday 14 July.

]]> http://blog.gforces.co.uk/motor-trader-awards-finalists-2010/832/feed 0 http://blog.gforces.co.uk/new-april-launches/771 http://blog.gforces.co.uk/new-april-launches/771#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 09:22:21 +0000 GForces http://blog.gforces.co.uk/?p=771 We are very pleased to announce the launch of some amazing new automotive websites last month. All of which are specially designed to compliment present trends, demonstrate usability, functionality and inspiration to inevitably gain trust with clients and up sell.

Not only do we deliver our sites on-time but we ensure we make our websites search engine friendly and competitive. Our design team have once again defined the epitome of form and function and we couldn’t be more pleased with the end results.

Auto Owl (Caffyns new contract hire site)

Barnes Group

Read our Press Release here:

Kent Web Firm Plans Local Jobs Boost

Steve Mercer is competing at the Isle of Man TT  in the Superbike race this year with the help of GForces and is hoping to improve on his 121mph average lap from last year (one of the fastest newcomers ever at the TT). He was the fastest newcomer in every race he completed there last year. He is also racing on other road circuits this year such as Oliver’s Mount and the Ulster GP and he got fastest newcomer at the Ulster last year too. He had a great start to the season at Oliver’s Mount when he qualified on pole (1st) by more than a second faster than 2nd place (that’s a lot in racing terms) but unfortunately due to a rather large crash in another race he was taken off to hospital and didn’t race.

As well as road racing he also races on short circuits (e.g. Brands Hatch, etc). In 2008 he competed in the British Superbikes for the first half of the season, even winning a Superbike Cup race, but due to financial limitations we had to pull out. He then got a ride on the MSS Kawasaki bike standing in for another rider when he broke his wrist. This year he rode in the opening round at Brands Hatch finishing 14th (not bad for a very low budget team). He will also be entering into some of the local rounds for BMW Park Lane in the National Superstock which runs alongside the British Superbikes.

The GForces sponsored bike will run full GForces livery and has been specially designed in house by our head of design.

As most know, running a marathon isn’t easy let alone if you’re wearing a giant foam Tiger head on your shoulders. With 3 hrs 42 min 27 sec and a competing lobster to beat, Kevin has set an amazing  new world record and more importantly helped raise an impressive contribution for the NeuroMuscular Centre chartity. We congratulate him on his victory and  look forward to seeing him break this record again in the next marathon.