November 01/11/2009

KENT WEB MARKETING FIRM HITS THE ROAD
FOR NATIONAL CHARITY RALLY

Bearsted-based GForces, the UK's leading automotive web management company, is taking part in a major charity driving event to raise money for BEN, the motor and allied trades' benevolent fund.

Bangers4BEN is an event organised by BEN and Car Dealer Magazine to raise funds for motor trade employees and their dependants in times of need.  A total of 26 teams will follow a route that takes them up and down the country in ‘bangers' they bought for no more than £250.  The 1,500-mile drive begins on 9 November.

Once the rally has been completed, the participating cars will be entered into a special auction, with all proceeds donated to BEN.

The GForces team includes Sales Director, Jamie Dixon, and Business Development Manager, Paul Hilton.  The duo's banger is a 2001 Suzuki Vitara, which has been given a graphic makeover to promote the company's latest software innovation, LeadBeast.

Speaking ahead of the event, Dixon said: "Our car's ‘beastly' appearance should mean it really stands out on the rally.  We haven't really talked about our driving strategy yet, but I think it will involve plenty of coffee, music and trying to stay on speaking terms!  BEN is a great charity and GForces is really proud to be able to support it in this way.  Hopefully the Suzuki will raise a decent sum for those in need."

Other rally participants include main dealers from across the UK, independent dealers, car manufacturers like Hyundai, Honda and Toyota as well as many suppliers to the motor trade, including web specialists GForces.

The event starts at BEN's Ascot headquarters and heads to the capital of the Highlands, Inverness.  Day two sees the teams travel from Inverness to John O'Groats and then back down to Berwick-upon-Tweed.  And on the final day, teams head to Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands for a few laps of the track and the finish line.

BEN's Director of Fundraising and Communications, Charles Davis, commented: "This latest challenge is another example of how committed the motoring industry is to our cause.  We wish all the entrants a successful and safe three days of motoring."

More information about GForces is available by visiting www.leadbeast.co.uk or calling 0845 055 9040.

Progress of the GForces Suzuki and the other teams will be updated throughout the event at www.CarDealerMag.co.uk where the teams will be blogging about the challenge.

 

  GForces hits the road for Bangers 4 Ben

 

TRUE EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE DEALER MARKETING MEASURED FOR THE FIRST TIME

An investigation into the cost-effectiveness of franchised dealer marketing activities illustrates the growing importance of the internet to successful lead generation. 

According to GForces, the UK's leading (*) automotive web management company, marketing new and used cars via the internet currently generates 4.4 times as many leads as traditional ‘offline' marketing techniques, such as print advertising and direct mail.  Online marketing campaigns are also now by far the most cost effective - the ‘cost per lead' for dealership offline activity is currently 9.8 times greater than for online marketing.

These striking new statistics have been generated through analysis of those UK franchised dealerships that are already using GForces' new NetDirector LeadBeast tracking software, which provides dealer principals with unique, day-to-day analysis of the cost effectiveness of their marketing spend.  LeadBeast is set to be rolled out nationally following a successful series of pilots involving over 100 sales operations covering 48 locations.

LeadBeast gathers information about leads and enquiries generated through a dealer's online and offline marketing campaigns, and presents easy-to-understand performance data on a ‘dashboard' interface that can be viewed online.  This helps dealers identify quickly and easily those marketing campaigns that work, and those that don't. 

Franchises that utilise the system have access to incredibly detailed data, such as cost per online lead versus cost per offline lead; total number of leads generated online and offline; and the percentage of enquires that come from ‘natural' searches (i.e. those not resulting from a dealer's proactive marketing activity).  GForces is the first company to offer dealers this level of detail in a lead tracking tool, allowing them to maximise the productivity and cost effectiveness of their marketing programmes.

Tim Smith, GForces' Commercial Director, said: "The level of detail available to dealers when they unleash LeadBeast is unprecedented.  No other lead tracking system can monitor all the different types of enquiry - search engine, referral, pay-per-click, telephone, newspaper - in the same way, or produce such in-depth analysis.

"Our pilot scheme has been a huge success, with the franchises involved reporting greatly improved lead conversion rates," Smith continued.  " A healthy balance between on- and offline marketing is key, and by identifying where your enquiries come from, what sources are working and how much they are costing, you can run a leaner, smarter, better business."

More information about LeadBeast is available by visiting www.leadbeast.co.uk or calling 0845 055 9040.

  True effectiveness of online marketing measured for the first time