Silver Group

Brian Roberts Website Analysis www.edmunds.com

 

Value Proposition

 

Kelly Blue Book adds value for their customers both looking for and advertising cars for sale in a few ways.

First and for most the site offers both types of users the ability to get a market value for the vehicle they are selling or the type of vehicle they are looking for.  The ability to do this allows users selling vehicles to know what they can comfortably ask for their vehicle. It also allows shoppers to have an idea is a seller is priced over market value.  Sellers in the case of Edmunds will mean dealerships as opposed to individual sellers as their listings appear to all come from dealership.

Additionally www.edmunds.com offers a host of car reviews, tips and advice on buying and selling cars, forums for users to talk to one another about vehicles. These allow users to complete a wide range of research before or while they are searching for a car. Edmunds also offers tools like a loan payment calculator to help users determine what they can afford to spend on a vehicle.

 

Business Model

 

            Edmunds appears to get its revenue largely from advertising. They are running ads for a variety of industry related businesses such as carfax, autocheck, lenders and the like.  Edmunds has also has a program for dealers to list new cars with three different tiers of membership. The site does not spell out if there is a charge for this but I suspect that either for a subscription charge or pay per click model Edmunds is generating revenue from these listings. 

 

Competition

 

Edmunds is not alone in the market place. They have several direct competitors.  A quick Google search for  used cars  gives us some insight into their competition for that key word and the market place. Their competition ranges from sites like autotrader.com to small local used car dealerships and used car giant CarMax.   Many of these competitors offer similar added value to their users.

 

Target Market

 

            The intended target market for www.edmunds.com is users interested in researching a new or used car purchase.  This is a very broad user group and would span a wide range of demographics. Intended user could range anywhere from a 16 year old who just got their drivers license to an 80 year old grandmother looking for a car to drive to church on Sunday and anyone in between.  The site is more of a research tool that would appeal to anyone looking for some more information before buying a car than a channel to make a direct purchase of a product. 

 

Marketing

 

            Edmunds markets their site in two main ways.  They are running Google adwords and yahoo search marketing campaigns bidding on keywords they believe that their intended audience will use in a search on those search engines. They are also running an affiliate campaign where they are seeking web sites related to the auto industry that they believe will attract visitors interested in buying cars. With both of these methods they will be able to attract visitors to their site which will add value for their advertisers.  

 

 Different Types of Customers

 

            The very nature of www.edmunds.com is very much geared toward patient and analytical buyers over the more impulsive buyer. This is because much of what the site offer is the ability for users to research, locate and price cars before purchasing one. There is no way for a user to  buy now  but they are encouraged to read articles compare vehicles and search for vehicles in matching their criteria that are available in their area.  This is common for websites in this category.

 

Tools 

 

            In addition to the standard tools like a loan calculator, advanced search functions, and vehicle pricing features Edmunds offer some additional tools once you register as a user.  The two most interesting things that you can do once you have registered as a user is save the listings that you find interesting so that you can quickly find them again and you can also save any webpage from anywhere on the web to you Edmunds account.  Saving searches and listings from within Edmunds is not all that surprising a feature however being able to save any listings you may find from anywhere on the web is a very handy tool.  Basically the way that this works is that you are given an icon to drag to the book mark bar in your browser and if you click that icon while on any site it will allow to save it s location in your Edmunds account.  The tool is not only useful but it promotes visitor loyalty by requiring a user to return to the site if they want to see all the listings that they have save from around the web and from your site. 

 

Order Placement

 

Edmunds does not have order placement in the traditional sense.  Edmunds does however allow you to request multiple quotes from local dealers. Once you find a vehicle you like you fill in a brief form and it sends requests to multiple dealers that prepare a price quote for you.  There is however no actual purchasing that takes place on the site so there is no need for them to handle payments. 

 

Delivery, Shipping and Returns

 

            With no actual stock to sell, Edmunds does not have to worry about shipping or returns.  In a sense the product is a price quote from multiple dealers which would all be delivered to customers electronically via email. 

 

Customer Service

 

            Edmunds does not have much of a need for human intervention in terms of customer service. As such there is no real way to contact someone if you are having a problem.  They do offer a fairly robust FAQ/Help section and allow users to submit questions to their forum.  I think that this approach is entirely appropriate given the goals of their site and no hard products to sell the need for customer support would be minimal. 

 

User Experience/Information Architecture

 

            I had used this site to help in research while looking for a car a year ago and noticed that they have recently undergone a redesign.  I initially chose this site to analyze as I remembered it being very jumbled and hard to follow.  What struck me was that upon returning to the site for the first time in a year was that it was not as difficult to navigate and find information as it had been previously.  The lay out and navigation works well and it is easy to find what you are looking for.   Though there is a lot of information on the pages it is compartmentalized well and it does not feel cluttered or overwhelming.  The site purpose is clear and the information is divided and categorized well.  Overall I think that the site redesign was done well and makes for a pleasant user experience. 

 

Utilitarian/Hedonic Shopping Experience

 

            Edmunds is not really set up for either shopping experience as users do not really have an opportunity to buy anything from the site itself. 

 

Possible Improvements

 

            The main problem with the Edmunds is that I see no way for an individual to post an advertisement to sell a car.  Everything is geared towards dealerships.  I think that adding that ability would help them tap into the same visitor pool as craigslist and eBay motors. This would certainly help to increase visitor numbers and ad revenue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asad Albu

ECT-455- Website Analysis Project

 

 

The website chosen for the analysis is Cars.com

 

What is the value proposition and business model for the site?

 

The value proposition for Cars.com is providing the customers who looking for new or used car a simple and easy way to look for their future car. I think, Cars.com uses all the business models, the consumer to consumer (C2C), the business to consumer (B2C) and the business to business (B2B). Simply, Cars.com provides a simple and easy way for customers to market their cars through the website and increase the selling chances and the profitability. Customers can search for any make, model, year  etc. However, Cars.com generates profit from the advertisements the customers post on Cars.com website and also from the advertisements that other related business post in the website.

 

Who are their competitions?

 

AutoTrader.com

CarsDirect.com

CarMax.com

Automotive.com

CarsSoup.com

CraigsList.com*

 

*CraigsList is a classifieds website but currently it is one of the top auto selling websites because it is free and the customers can put whatever they want in their advertisements such as many photo and videos without paying any money.

 

How does the website integrate with other channels?

( NOTE: A channel can be a retail store, a catalog, direct mailing campaign, etc. )

 

It appears that no physical stores for the cars since it just a marketing website. However, there are some integrated channels such as other website that are powered by Cars.com such as Yahoo.com. Moreover, Cars.com uses some websites as customer helper such as CarFax (carfax.com) for checking a car history and Kelley Blue Book Values (kbb.com) for making a rough estimate for how much a car worth. Also, it uses google maps for the location and direction for a specific car.

 

Who are the intended customers for the website?  

 

The main users are the car dealers since they have their car inventory and they need to promote the cars to sell them quickly and generate profit. Individuals who are either looking for a car or selling a car also users for Cars.com, but, the individuals are not the main users since they are not frequent buyers or sellers.

 

 

How does the site market and advertise in order to attract consumer interest? (Attract)

The Cars.com website appears third when someone search for the keyword cars on Google search engine, 2^nd on Bing.com, and 1^st on Ask.com. Moreover, many websites use Cars.com for their auto feature such Yahoo.com. Furthermore, Cars.com offer free posting with less features competitors such as AutoTrader.com they don t have anything like that. Furthermore, Cars.com post the advertisements of the users partners website for free.

 

How does the site attract different types of customers such as impulsive, patient and analytical buyers?  (Attract)

 

Because Cars.com does not have any kind of cart system, it has a little attraction with the different type of users. Cars.com attracts with the selling users only. When a user wants to sell a car on the website, Cars.com suggests different types of selling strategies for every type of user. For the impulsive user or seller they offer the selling option with all the features so help the car to get sold quickly. On the other hand, Cars.com offer less features with less price for the analytical user. For the Patient user Cars.com offers a free posting.

 

What types of tools and features does the site provide to enhance customer experience? Consider how the site applies web 2.0 tools and personalization. (Interact)

For a car selling and buying industry Cars.com provides all the tools for its users to have good experience. Tools such as:

1-   CarFax: checking a car history using the VIN number for the car.

2-   Kelley Blue Book Value: for find how much a car worth.

3-   Research: for finding more information about a specific car.

4-   Reviews: find what experts and consumers saying about a car.

5-   Advice: provides statistic about different things.

How does the site process order placement and payment? (Act)

Cars.com has different types of orders: Free, Enhanced and Premium every one of them has its own features. User chose the one he/she looking for and fills all the information about the car, the pricing and the contact information. Then , user can upload the photos of the car. Cars.com has different of payments methods such as PayPal and Credit cards.

How does the site handle delivery, shipping and returns? (Act)

The website does not handle any delivery and shipping options because the website offering a service and it does not handle any tangible products. However, for the returns, the Premium order option has a 90-Day Money Back Guarantee program in case the car not sold in 90 days. 

How does the site maintain customer service and support?  (React)  

The website offer simple customer support such as the FQA section in addition to the contact us form where a user fill the form and a cars.com representative get back to the user with an answer.

 

How useful is the site s special interface feature and arrangement of content?  (Usability)    

Cars.com team did a great job in enhancing the user experience by making it easy to navigate. Depends on the user s purpose of visiting, user can easily go to the page he/she looking for. In addition, user can do any type of query with minimum data entering. Most the fields on Cars.com are drop down lists. The cars search engine is fast, accurate and simple.

Describe how the site provides a utilitarian and hedonic shopping experience.

Utilitarian:

Cars.com offers basic and advanced search features for people who are looking for a specific car with specific features.

Hedonic:

For customers who are looking for a car and they do not know exactly what to buy Cars.com offers them general browsing by using abroad searching techniques with the search engine.

 

What are some possible improvements or enhancements you would recommend in order to improve customer loyalty?

Having a price ranges from dropdowns makes gaps in pricing in search engine. For example, if I am looking for a car that it will cost me $ 6,000. When I search on Cars.com it gives me price range options:

From $0 to $5,000, from $5,000 to $10,000...etc so if I choose the one from $5,000 to $10,000 I ll get a lot of search results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benjamin Levy
ECT 455
Section 801

Website Analysis

Autotrader.com is website for buying and selling new and used cars and providing information that will aid in the buying process.   Autotrader has the most vehicle listings at over 3 million vehicle listings per year.  The site caters to buyers and sellers and lists vehicles offered by private sellers and car dealerships.

The business model for Autotrader is one place that can help a car buyer through all steps of the car buying process.  The site has a section dedicated to researching cars.  When a decision to purchase a car has been made, Autotrader provides tools to help you sell your current car and a nationwide listing of cars for sale.  After a car has been found, Autotrader can even help you find a loan to pay for the car and insurance to cover the car.

The goal of Autotrader is to simplify both sides of the car buying process.  Sellers are offered a cheap and easy way to show the cars they have available to millions of users.  Buyers have tools that they can use to make an informed decision and a huge listing of cars to browse through.  Autotrader has to work both sides of the buying process because they need sellers to list cars and buyers need cars to search for.  The process of buying or selling on Autotrader is easier than traditional ways of selling a car using a newspaper's classified section or just adding a "For Sale" sign to a car.  The buying process is also easier because so many cars can be searched from the comfort of your home and Autotrader provides many tools that let buyers know if the car they are looking at is a good deal.

Autotrader faces a lot of online competition in automotive classified market.  their top competiors are cars.com, edmunds.com, eBay Motors, and craigslist.  They also face competition from smaller classified sites, non-automotive sites that have car listings (like facebook market), and community groups where users can list cars for free.  Autotrader also has to face traditional competition that comes in many forms.  This includes print classifieds in newspapers, direct mailings, cars sold by word-of-mouth, and TV programs specifically for listing cars.

The graph above shows how Autotrader consistently reaches more users than its main competition.  While Autotrader is the largest online car listing site, there are still many smaller players that it has to compete with.

Autotrader was able to become so large because there are a wide range of customers who use the site.  The site is used by private owners who buy and sell cars, individuals who sell cars often, and dealerships that list cars on their lots.  The result of this is a tiered approach for sellers and one end-to-end approach for buyers.

Autotrader attracts impulsive customers by adding a basic search on top of the homepage.  The site also makes extensive use of eye-catching images of cars to attract users browsing through the research section.  The site is best for analytical buyers though.  Autotrader features extensive information on pricing, owners ratings, editorial reviews, and countless specifications.  Autotrader offers specific searches based on a cars make, model, and year, body type, price range, and even the type of seller.  If an analytical buyer knows what they want, they have many search options, if they aren't sure, they have many tools available to do the research they need.  Patient customers have two powerful options at their disposal.  The first is the ability to save a car, and the second is the ability to set up an alert.  After registering at Autotrader, a buyer has the ability to save cars they are interested in and recieve email alerts when cars they are interested are listed on the site.

The tools that the site provides are designed to make navigation as easy as possible.  The first example is the options that are used to search for a car.  There are many options for searching cars, but selecting certain options will customize the search because the system knows what is relevant to you.  The site also tries to simulate the experience of seeing a car in person by providing detailed images of the cars, videos, and 350 degree views of the cars.  All of this is intended to close the gap between internet car shopping and looking for a car in person.

Purchasing a listing on Autotrader is actually similar to purchasing a specialized product on the web.  To place an ad, a user must choose the 5 week listing, the 8 week listing, the unlimited listing, or the VIP package.  The VIP package differs from the offers based on duration because it includes the unlimited listing as well as a service that gives premium placement, call and email screening, as well as other services provided by an Autotrader consultant.  After selecting a package, a user must select the options that they have, add a description for their car, input contact information, and upload any images they have.  The site also offers a 90 day money-back guarantee for any ads on their site.  Customer support is available via email or phone, but the VIP package has easier access to a representative, since they handle much of the selling process. 

Purchasing a car listed on Autotrader is a different experience since that involves dealing directly with the seller.  The site offers pages on sellers that provide additional details (typically dealerships), but the buying process depends on the party that listed the vehicle.  Seller information is provided directly on the car page so the prospective buyer can communicate directly with the seller.

The site is easy to use and navigate because the most common options are displayed prominently.  The search options also help because they help narrow the displayed options to only what the user is interested in.  For example, if the body type of convertible is chosen, only models that are convertibles are displayed in the drop-down box.

Autotrader provides a hedonic shopping experience by allowing a user to get straight to a search.   This processs is still not ideal because it involves the home page, a search page, a loading page, and then a results page.  A hedonic shopper would probably prefer a more robust search on the home page so they could skip the extra steps.  The hedonic shopping expereince seems to go on forever.  A regular car search has listins, sponsored listings, and dealership ads.  Once on a car page, you are connected to pictures and videos of the car, related cars, information on the dealership, reviews, and many specifications on the car.  I would suggest offering a simplified search upfront and reducing clutter by using AJAX to only show less used info when it is needed (such as the email seller form). These changes will increase loyalty by showing both types of users only what they are interested in.  I would also use the empty space on the top of the page (see below in red) to show the most important info to the users (price, mileage, location, and contact info).

 

 

 

 

 

Web Site Analysis of CarsDirect.com

By Matt Siehoff

January 28, 2011

 

Value Proposition and Business Model

 

CarsDirect.com prides itself on being the #1 Ranked car buying site online.  They promote low, no haggle prices and boast a large selection of all types of cars, trucks, SUV's and vans in all parts of the country.  Furthermore, since CarsDirect.com works with so many dealers, it is a fast way of comparing prices across dealers and finding a suitable dealer for the customer.

 

The CarsDirect.com business model is a combination of Advertising and Service based revenue.  While searching through articles or browsing cars for sale in the user's area, the user sees advertisements relating to the newest models from the large automakers or sites related to buying, selling & maintenance on cars on the sidebar.  There are three or four such advertisements on most pages throughout the site.  There is also a featured car on the site which is included on the main page for every section on the site.  Besides making money on advertisements, CarsDirect.com also charges users who want to post their car on the Web Site.  The service charge is based on each car which a user wants to post online.  The amount of the service charge does not change based on the type of car or the number of postings a user may already have on the site, it is a flat fee per car.

 

 

Competitors

 

CarsDirect.com's biggest competitors are both Web Sites and car dealerships.  Amongst the many Web Sites which advertise cars for sale online, the largest sites are autotrader.com, carmax.com, cars.com, edmunds.com as well as a long list of others.  Many of these sites are similar in that they have a large selection of cars for the user to browse and in that they post listings for both used and new cars.  Then of course the other large competitors of CarsDirect.com are car dealerships themselves.  While users can be connected with specific dealerships in their area through CarsDirect.com, they also may go directly to car dealerships that they know in their area, or from whom they've bought cars from in the past.

 

 

Marketing Channel Integration

 

Although CarsDirect.com does not have retail stores, catalogs or any other marketing channels besides their Web Site, they do not have a negative effect on the marketing channels car dealerships.  The integration of car dealerships on the site means that they do not necessarily steal customers from car dealerships, because they end up essentially referring customers to car dealerships in many cases.

 

 

Targeted Customers

 

With the variety of cars and articles that are posted on CarsDirect.com, the site has useful information which applies to a wide base of people who are interested in buying cars.  Higher income users looking for new and used luxury will find many luxury cars for sale through dealerships on the site.  Businesses or individuals looking for trucks will find and be able to compare trucks that are being sold through dealerships in the area.  Lower income users also can search through the large selection and variety of used cars that are posted on the site. 

 

 

Marketing

 

CarsDirect.com mostly advertises themselves through online advertisements.  Their site has information about the affiliate program CarsDirect.com offers, where web developers can place an advertisement on their site and will receive fifteen dollars if any user lists a posting after clicking on the advertisement posted on the web developer's site.

 

 

Accommodating different types of Buyers

 

CarsDirect.com does its best to accommodate each different type of buyers to provide a shopping experience which is useful and engaging to all types of customers.  For patient buyers, CarsDirect.com offers a price comparison where the user can compare different editions of both new and used cars within the same model.  The comparison screen offers comparisons on all the different specifications of each model.  The Rebates and Incentives feature allows users to search for prices on a given car model within different zipcodes, to give the user an idea of whether the car they are searching for may be cheaper in their area or in an area close by.  The Research section is aimed at giving analytical buyers a place where they can do research, both general research and research on specific car models.  The Automotive News and Views Section is also full of articles on a wide range of topics, including comparisons of popular car models, whether it is smarter to lease a car or buy a car and other useful topics for anyone who is in the car buying market.  There is a car featured on the main page for every section of the site.  For many impulsive buyers this is an attention grabber, which may attract them to take a look at one of the latest models.

 

CarsDirect.com does not offer very much in the way of personalization or Web 2.0.  There is a  My CarsDirect.com  section, but it is more geared towards those who have a posting on the site rather than someone searching for a car.  It does not allow a user to save searches or receive updates on deals or savings for a certain car model in the user's area, nor does it make suggestions to the user.  The site also does not allow customer to write reviews of car models or sellers.  The one Web 2.0 feature offered is the ability to comment on social media networks such as facebook or twitter.

 

 

Order Placement Process

 

In reality, CarsDirect.com does not have a very complex ordering process because it does not directly sell any cars.  Each car that has a listing posted on the Web Site is sold through whoever has posted that particular listing.  For instance, if the car is posted from a dealership, then the dealerships will handle the order, or if the car was posted by an individual the individual will handle the ordering process.  When a user finds a car and decides they want to purchase the vehicle or see the car first-hand for a closer look, they really do not even end up dealing with CarsDirect.com.  Instead the user must contact the dealership or individual by email or phone to set up a time to see the car or purchase it.  The ones who deal with the Web Site in terms of purchasing a product or service are those who post a listing for a car on the Web Site.

 

This is turn takes away a lot of the responsibilities related to customer service and support for a physical product from the perspective of CarsDirect.com.  Consequently, they do not need employees to coordinate deliveries or provide customer support to those who are being delivered a car.  Their listing services are connected to sellmycar.com, meaning anyone posting a listing on CarsDirect.com actually posts their listing through sellmycar.com. 

 

 

User Interface

 

Much of the content on CarsDirect.com is organized in an intuitive and user-friendly way, however there are some areas in which they could improve.  Without a doubt the New Cars, Used Cars and Research sections are the most valuable parts of the site for someone who comes to the site looking to search for a car.  The  Sell  section is also very important for the site because that is where individuals or dealerships post listings for their cars.

 

The Used Cars section is organized in a very user-friendly way, and allows the user to both search for used cars easily and to read an assortment of useful articles.  On the main page of the used cars section the user first sees a search form which has drop down boxes for the user to input the make, model and year of they car they are searching for.  Once the user has entered that information and hit submit, they are taken to a general knowledge page which has information on the specifications, prices and some general information on buying a used car.  After entering their zip code information, the user is carried to an excellent search page which shows them a list of options in their area with general information on the pricing, mileage and proximity to the user.  The user can then click on any option in the list to see more detailed information about the car and contact the seller.  The search page also allows the user to modify their search parameters quickly and easily by showing each parameter in the left sidebar and allowing the user to change it without having to start a whole new search.

 

The New Cars section is slightly less effective and more difficult to navigate.  The main page is similar to the Used Cars in that it shows a search form with a list of options for the make that the user wants to search for.  Then the user sees a screen showing each model for the make that they have selected and must select one of the models listed.  Next the user again puts in his/her zip code to find quotes for his/her area.  On the next page the user is given a set of feature packages which they can select to come with the vehicle, and once they choose a feature package they have finally arrived at the end of the searching process.  On the final page, information about the vehicle is shown and the user has the option to request a quote from a dealer in the user's area.  This process is ineffective in that the user must go through four screens in order to input data which should only require two pages.  Instead of allowing the user to choose a make, model and zip code on one page, as is done in the Used Cars section, the user must input data on four pages.  Perhaps this is done so that the user can see a picture of each model, similar to a showroom in a car dealership, but in the end it gives the feeling of completing a drawn out process. And in the end the user is only given the option to receive a quote from one of the dealerships in his/her area.  Searching through several different makes or models can end up being a very long process.

 

The research portion of the site provides users with a intuitive interface through which they can search for research on a specific car or browse the research articles that have to do with different categories related to buying cars.  On the top of the main page in the research section is a quick and easy search form which allows a user to find specific research and information for a specific make, model and year.  Lower on the page is a list of all the categories related to buying cars full of useful articles.

 

CarsDirect.com makes posting listings for a car straightforward and easy through their  Sell  section. After clicking on any link to post a listing for a car, the user is asked to select his/her make and then is taken to a registration page.  Once all the information is filled out users are taken to a group of pages which help them post listings and keep track of who is interested in their vehicle.

 

Possible Improvements

 

Overall CarsDirect.com is a well designed site which gives users a fast and friendly way to search for cars online.  The most important way that the site could be improved would be to make improvements to the usability of the site, especially the New Cars section. The process of searching for a new car could be shortened and made more effective.  Secondly, they can continue to add more content to their site.  Interesting and useful articles raise the stickiness factor of the site and make users want to return to the site whenever they want to look up car-related information.  This in turn means that the site earns more money from users viewing advertisements and makes them more likely to use the site in the future.

 

 

 

 

Betsy Marin

January 26, 2011

ECT 355-801

Website Analysis

WWW.CARSOUP.COM

  Carsoup.com connects you to your local dealers and private sellers and provides pricing and research information to help you find the right vehicle at the right price.  [1]

What is the value proposition and business model for the site?

          The value proposition for Carsoup.com is anticipated to benefit consumers and organizations. It gives consumers the option of self-service and gives organizations the capability to reach their market globally, allowing them to reduce the cost of marketing and selling expenses, increased operational and managerial availability. The benefits that consumers obtain from this website; the ability to BUY, RESEARCH, and SELL as their catchphrase that is on their website. The advantage of buying through carsoup.com is being able to purchase a vehicle of your preference: new, old or certified used from private sellers or car dealerships.

          The advantage of researching through carsoup.com is having the capability to see photos, specs and prices over the vehicles that the consumers are interested and want to know more information on the vehicle they are going to purchase now or in the need future. The advantage of selling; in which in this case, carsoup.com offers three types of selling technique; one, creating an ad listing and sell it to the public; two, get an appraisal value and trade-in your vehicle with a local dealer or a well-known dealer and three, donate your vehicle to charity.

 

          The business model that Carsoup.com showcases is the web business revenue-generating model; advertising-supported, advertising-subscription mixed, digital content, fee-based and web catalog. In which, this works for the business strategy that Carsoup.com has in place by maintaining both types of sales: business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B)

 

 Who are their competitions?

 

In this market, carsoup.com has quite a few competitors;

   Cars.com

   Autotrader.com

   Carsdirect.com

   Vehix.com

   Ebaymotors.com

   CarMax.com

   Craigslist.com

 

   Craigslist.com is a global classifieds website, where consumers are able to browse freely to their own liking and time. It is considered one of the top sells driven website based on the fact that there is no subscription needed or intended; there s no fee for posting your classified. One of the reasons it s one of the top websites consumers visit is because they are able to search, view and find other products they need in their home, for their children or an event.

How does the website integrate with other channels?

 

CarSoup.com is a marketing development website and its purpose is to attract consumers and give them the ability to view vehicles from multiple vendors, dealers and private sellers. It just offers a few types of web tools and features, like The Shop and My Garage; in which I elaborate more on the web tools and feature integration question.

 

Who are the intended customers for the website?  

The anticipated consumers for the website are prospective vehicle buyers and sellers.

How does the site market and advertise in order to attract consumer interest? (Attract)

 

Brand Names- It advertises well-known vehicle manufacturers; to name a few, Chevy and Ford while posing great values towards those vehicles

 

Quality Inspection Reports- They don t just only offer Carfax Inspection Reports but they also offer Auto Check Reports; which is part of Experian, one of the credit report evaluators. It allows access to view who owned the vehicle and you could check major vehicle problems; title check, problem check, odometer check and use and event check.

 

How does the site attract different types of customers such as impulsive, patient and analytical buyers?  (Attract)

Impulsive-The Search Tab is for the impulsive buyers; quick search button that will narrow down what they are looking for and from there on it doesn t matter to them if it s private sellers or car dealers, etc.

Patient-The Research Tab is for the patient buyers who want to take the time to look over photos, specs and prices.

Analytical-The Research Tab is also for the analytical but also the Carfax and Auto Check Inspection Reports Options are for the analytical buyer.

 

What types of tools and features does the site provide to enhance customer experience? Consider how the site applies web 2.0 tools and personalization. (Interact)

 

My Garage- It provides registered login: e-mail and password, the ability to manage ads, maintain service records and find trade-in values.

 

The Shop- It provides lower cost and better deals in vehicle maintenance, parts and services, vehicle insurance, vehicle services and credit services. There may also be coupons available at any time.

 

Video- Upload videos of New Test Drive, Classic Car Ads, LOL Funny Car Videos, TV and Movie Car Videos, and etc.

 

 

How does the site process order placement and payment? (Act)  

 

The website doesn t handle order placement and payment. If a consumer is interested in a vehicle they have to contact the private seller or car dealer and set-up arrangements if and when they could see the vehicle. It s likely to be a first-come first serve basis or whoever offers the most to the private seller and as for the car dealer, it s also who wants it the most on a first-come first serve. It s also likely, that private sellers would ask for cash and as for car dealerships they arrange finance options; car loans, they accept checks, cash and or credit cards.

 

However, carsoup.com does have a Finance Tab, where they offer for you to check your credit score and recommend some options of pre-approved loans, alternatives for consumers with bad credit and they even have private seller financing opportunities.

 

How does the site handle delivery, shipping and returns? (Act)    

The website doesn t handle delivery, shipping or returns because it is a marketing website.

   CarMax.com does free transfers from different CarMax locations; and depending if you want a certain make, model and year and it s at a farther location, CarMax will transfer the vehicle on a fee depending on the mileage.

 

How does the site maintain customer service and support?  (React) 

 

The way the website maintains customer service and support is by providing a Contact Tab; where they have three tabs; contact us, dealers and advertisers. In the contact tab they address how they could be reach; mailing address, e-mail, fax and phone and toll-free numbers. They provide information that their operators are available Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm.

 

In the dealers and advertisers tab they offering packages that suit the needs of helping promote dealerships and advertisers by proposing to them the tools and services they need to be successful on their website as well as maintain a good relationship with them.

 

They also have a Help Tab where they provide three tabs; FAQs, User Guide and Feedback. The  FAQ section is Frequently Asked Questions, The user guide section is  brief navigating on how to use the website and the feedback section is where you could leave your information and provide feedback to the developers and to the business management on what they think of the website; whether it s a terrible experience or an overall well experience, etc.

 

How useful is the site s special interface feature and arrangement of content?  (Usability)    

The usability meets the criteria of five methods that is looked upon as functional usability component; is it effective, efficient and satisfying. Yes, it is, it has learnability, rememberability, efficiency of use, reliability in use and user satisfactions as quality methods.

Describe how the site provides a utilitarian and hedonic shopping experience.

          Utilitarian- there are quick search buttons that narrow down what they are specifically looking for and from there they will have to look at their choice of listings.

 

          Hedonic- Yes, the website is very entertaining, and will leave the consumer to spend our hours browsing at listing, watching favorite car videos that users have uploaded. They also have the ability to come back and have their login to manage and save their favorite listings and videos,etc.

What are some possible improvements or enhancements you would recommend in order to improve customer loyalty?

   Pop-up Need Help GUIs offering customer assistance by implying to call or chat with an expert.

   Ad-Supported GUI Other Language Assistance besides English and Spanish; offer French, Italian, Arabic and Chinese as well.