Billion Dollar Rush for the Digital Driver
(PRWEB UK) 13 March 2014 -- Digital Drivers now outnumber all other car buyers. According to McKinsey & Co.'s report on the future of car retailing, 100% of used car buyers and 80% of new car buyers do their research for their next car online.
The importance of Digital Drivers is underlined by the potential sale of Cars.com in the USA for over $2 Billion, as reported on 12th March by Bloomberg.
Investment in showrooms and marketing campaigns to entice motorists in to meet car salesmen is being eclipsed by the money pouring in to online automotive sites which are now the starting point for most car buyers.
‘Word of Mouth’ is recognised by most marketers as the Holy Grail – harness that and success will follow. Now Digital Drivers have Google and the specialist automotive sites at hand but are increasingly looking to other people’s opinions on a car’s reliability, economy, driving experience and if other owners would recommend their car.
Unlike the travel sector where online reviews like TripAdvisor have become essential, the automotive sector has been behind the pace and independent and authoritative review sites have been slow to evolve.
WeLoveAnyCar.com has over 500,000 driver views on its car review site and now plans to recruit another half a million reviews in 2014. It will only allow proven owners to submit a review to maintain the integrity and independence of the review site – building trust among all Digital Drivers.
A spokesman for WeLoveAnyCar.com said, “With the potential $2 billion purchase of Cars.com, it seems that the money men, if not the traditional automotive sector, are recognising that the car buying process has changed for good. Digital Drivers start their search at home or in the office. They are using information they can trust – and that will increasingly be available from other car owners. That’s why we’re investing so much in doubling the size of our world beating car review site.”
In the next few months, WeLoveAnyCar.com will be contacting car owners to join the Digital Driver revolution by submitting a review on the car they own or have owned in the last 12 months. In order to ratify any reviews, they will also ask other drivers – of the exact same model – to say if they agree or disagree with the review someone else has made. This process, called ‘Digital Diligence,’ means that potential buyers can weigh up the value of each review they read.
David Titmuss, We Love Any Car, http://www.weloveanycar.com, +44 7505301098, [email protected]
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