Our latest consumer survey results suggest that 80% of buyers are looking to buy in the next 3 months, 77% are looking for deals, and 85% would be willing to use a click-and-collect programme with a dealer (click the infographic to view the PDF version).
Our Head of Talent Michael Fitzsimmons caught up with TLA’s Executive Coach Steve McCann to discuss the role of coaching, the TLA team and executive development.
Our leadership team have been working with Steve for a number of years, and he has become a key asset for TLA in getting the best from our people.
Watch the talk here:
Online publisher Next Green Car and performance marketing specialist TLA have extended their partnership to help automotive brands reach in-market electric car buyers as they research their next vehicle.
The partnership will see TLA deploy custom-built engagement tools across Next Green Car’s portfolio of electric vehicle-focused review, news and guide content, with the aim of capturing consumer interest and helping them make an informed green car purchase.
As part of the agreement, TLA will also be responsible for lead generation from Next Green Car’s search, social and email channels.
While the UK automotive industry is facing an unprecedented challenge as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, SMMT’s May forecast predicts that market share for electric vehicles will grow by 85% in 2020, as the vehicles become more affordable and accessible to an increasingly climate-conscious market.
This is a view shared by TLA, who believe that helping buyers to make informed purchase decisions is essential for helping the electric vehicle segment to prosper, and have spent the last year developing electric green-specific engagement tools to support the market. The partnership will provide TLA clients with access to more in-market consumers at all stages of the buying funnel, while enriching the site experience for Next Green Car visitors.
Research shows that 80 per cent of consumers visit a third-party website during the research phase of a purchase, with 65 per cent using them to start their journey. Next Green Car is one of UK’s most popular websites for car buyers looking to switch to an electric car having built deep knowledge and experience of the market over the past ten years.
TLA, meanwhile, has 18 years’ experience in the automotive sector, connecting in-market car buyers with brands such as BMW, VW Group, Ford and Mercedes-Benz. With extensive consumer reach across a network of publishers, and underpinned by Platform X, its blockchain-based end-to-end consumer acquisition platform, TLA attracts, qualifies and guides in-market car buyers in making their next purchase.
‘Exciting Partnership’
Next Green Car’s COO Melanie Shufflebotham said: “We are delighted to be working with TLA whose industry experience and specialist tools complement our existing content and will enrich the visitor experience. This exciting partnership will help consumers make a more informed decision when it comes to switching to an electric vehicle bringing significant benefits to NextGreenCar.com’s visitors as well as TLA and its clients.”
TLA CEO Anton Hanley added: “We’re proud to have extended our partnership with Next Green Car. Its website is a trusted source of high-quality electric vehicle and green information for car buyers and enthusiasts throughout the country. Combining their excellent content and extensive audience with our technology and processes will allow us to create even more quality opportunities for our clients to connect with hard-to-reach consumers and increase sales.”
For more information, contact the team.
About Next Green Car
Next Green Car is the UK’s leading green car website with a mission to help car buyers switch to electric motoring. Established in 2007, Next Green Car has been tracking the market for over ten years and has a deep knowledge of electric cars. Car buyers can search and compare any car currently available in the UK, and compare many criteria including price, tax, running costs, range and emissions. With the latest news and reviews on all-electric cars, Next Green Car is a destination for car buyers researching their next car purchase. Next Green Car has also developed and operates Zap-Map, the UK’s No.1 map of public charge points.
Click on our infographic below to find out what our audience is telling us:
Our consumer survey activity, conducted as part of our usual in-market buyer conversations since 23rd March, continues to suggest that around 47% of buyers have not changed their timeframe to purchase a new car – albeit against a slight fall since the end of March – while the majority of those who have extended timeframes have done so by up to three months.
The last week has been punctuated by positive consumer news from several outlets. According to AutoTrader, at least 82% of consumers are still looking to buy a vehicle in 2020, with 25% of these looking to buy as soon as they possibly can; only 2% were no longer looking to buy. HeyCar, on the other hand, reported a 35% increase in web traffic in the first two weeks of April, alongside a 40% increase in consumers expressing their interest in purchasing vehicles. Jim Holder, Editorial Director for WhatCar? and AutoTrader, suggested this week that traffic to both sites “lit up” in the wake of Government confirmation that dealers are able to deliver new vehicles.
Meanwhile, after the largest fall in UK consumer sentiment since 2008/2009 in March, PwC has suggested that sentiment has rebounded in April to a level similar to 2013, when the global economy was emerging from recession. While this level remains significantly lower than anything since that point, the month-on-month improvement does suggest there is some resilience in consumer demand.
What does this mean for brands?
While purchase activity remains very low, these signs suggest that there is pent-up consumer demand in the market that must be addressed when lockdown is lifted.
While we have little idea what retailer footfall will look like when restrictions are lifted, TLA research suggests that 50% of consumers would now be likely or very likely to purchase a vehicle without physically visiting a dealer. As long as brands and retailers can accommodate it, remote or online sales may support recovery even if footfall is low. The increase in live chat and instant messaging traffic reported since lockdown supports the fact that consumers are increasingly willing to engage with retailers and brands through digital channels.
What should brands do?
As per our previous communications, the time to act is now. Latent consumer demand needs to be serviced, and brands and retailers must nurture enquiries now to support post-lockdown sales. This point was also supported this week by HeyCar Chief Commercial Officer Karen Hilton, who suggested that “dealers who have warm leads can use this time to educate their customers on purchase options, finance and even the delivery options currently on offer… Get to know the customer and their circumstances – that way you’ll know when they are in the position to buy.”
With TLA research suggesting that consumers are more likely to switch brands, and the possibility that extended new car order timescales may push consumers into used and nearly-new purchases, educating, informing and nurturing consumers while they are in the critical research period will play a major role in supporting recovery.
How can TLA help your brand?
TLA has developed a number of new lead types to support brands in preparing for recovery, each addressing a consumer group at a specific point of the buying cycle.
We have also introduced several other lead types, including car configuration, KMI and digital brochure, to support other consumer requests and requirements.
TLA is committed to supporting its partners through the current period in order to emerge into a strong recovery position. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information, or to explore how we can address your specific needs.
Antony Neill
Head of Data Insight
E: [email protected]
