4:40 pm, September 20, 2010
Entries to this year’s Car Dealer Ewards are already flooding in – here James Baggott and a selection of our judges look at one entry
THE wonder of the worldwide web means even small dealerships can fight with the big boys. You only have to look at one of the very first entries in the Car Dealer Ewards 2010 for proof of that.
Paul and Roz Kepke-Smith run Wirral Small Cars and have managed to produce a brilliantly unique and attractive website. ‘We are only a small concern and wanted our website to be an honest reflection of the company we are and the personal service that we offer,’ said the couple in their Ewards entry. ‘We did not want an Auto Trader-style website that looks just like thousands of others.’
Instead the couple approached Click Creative with a bespoke request – and the company produced the site online today. Wirral Small Cars also has a Twitter and You Tube presence and invests a lot of time and effort in producing videos of cars for the website.
It certainly impressed our judges. Stewart Niblock from Ewards headline sponsors Autotorq.com said it was a ‘great, clean and uncluttered website’.
‘It focuses simply on the cars (rather than too many confusing offers and options) and shows they have worked hard to bring their brand alive online,’ explained Niblock.
Car Care Plan’s digital marketing manager Matthew Strudwick spends his working week analysing web offerings and loved Wirral Small Cars’ ‘attractive site’ too.
He added: ‘It is clearly laid out, simple and easy to navigate. I like the good selection of exterior images for each vehicle listing, and it’s helpful that contact details are always to hand. With a Twitter feed, You Tube video walk arounds of each vehicle and an embedded Google Map it’s clear that Wirral Small Cars are really embracing online to drive business.’
Impressive stuff. Serial Eward winners and Car Dealer Power favourites GForces know a thing or two about building a good site, so praise from the firm’s Tim Smith is high praise indeed.
‘The most impressive element for me is the amount of video they have for stock which shows they care and attention they have for their business and subsequently their target market. Most dealers don’t have the time, resource or more often inclination to do this and this reflects they will look after you.’
BCA’s Keith Rountree was most impressed with what the small dealership had managed to produce on a small budget compared to some franchised dealers. He said: ‘It’s encouraging to see a small family-run business making their own mark online. Wirral Small Cars’ website reflects the proposition of the business: small, uncomplicated, personal and good value.’
And finally Martin Hill, from Car Dealer Power web design runner up firm Codeweavers and regular columnist, added his praise to the site. ‘They obviously understand the importance of social media and social marketing – both Twitter and You Tube feature prominently on their site, which tend not to be standard offerings on small used car websites,’ said Hill.
If you think your site could be a potential winner make sure you get your entry in soon. This year we’re looking for winners in seven categories.
We’ll be accepting entries for the following categories in 2010:
1. Single Franchised Dealer – this is open to all franchised dealers that represent just one manufacturer
2. Multi Franchised Dealer – open to all franchised dealer groups that hold franchises for more than one manufacturer
3. Car Supermarket
4. Independent Dealer
5. Car Manufacturer (automatic entry)
The Web Innovation category is nominated and voted for by the judges and then the panel will pick a winner during our judging day. This Eward can be handed to any business connected with the motor trade which the panel feels has done something truly innovative in the past year.
The Special Achievement Eward will also be nominated by individual judges and decided upon by our panel at the judging day to be held at headline sponsor Autotorq’s Fulham HQ.
