Why FordDirect is driving in a new online marketing direction
FordDirect, a joint-venture Internet marketing cooperative Ford Motor operates with about 3,900 Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers, is overhauling its web strategy to keep pace with changing customer demand, FordDirect president Steve St. Andre tells Internet Retailer.
Over the next year Ford Direct will update its web site to give consumers better ways to research and shop for a car, truck or SUV based on their lifestyle or the type of vehicle they are looking for. Today, St. Andre says, most auto manufacturer sites deliver vehicle information based on engineering specifications such as engine size. But FordDirect under an initiative called FordDirect 8.0 is rebuilding its web site to give shoppers a way to shop for a new vehicle the same way they would at a dealership.
The web site, which FordDirect expects to begin rolling out in the third quarter, will allow users to define their own path through an interactive configuration process that allows them to pick as many or as few options as they want. FordDirect`s forthcoming web site also makes it easier for consumers to find the vehicle they are looking for in a dealer`s inventory. Using an interactive grid, consumers will be able to quickly and easily designate the options they want and pinpoint matching vehicles. The customer will be able to evaluate vehicle attributes and make intelligent trade offs, he says. The system will also allow users to compare against both in-stock inventory and inventory that is in-route to the dealership.
"When original equipment manufacturers began building their sites it was easier to aggregate data for the web based on engineering specifications," St. Andre says. "When customers came to a site they could ask questions about engine size, but not about what they are in the market for such as a car with four-wheel drive. Our new web site will be more intuitive and direct site users to vehicles based on their lifestyle and driving habits."
For customers who simply want to find a price and a Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealer with the available inventory, Ford Direct is introducing a visual, interactive quote page that will enable them to quickly contact a dealer and still have the opportunity to select options and view their selections.
"We are asking ourselves and customers through focus groups and research how they wish to shop online and then giving them a better experience based on their needs and lifestyles," says St. Andre, a speaker at the Internet Retailer 2005 conference in June.
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