Automotive Internet: Social Media Networking Reaches More Prospects Than Search Engines, Portals

Recent Snapshot of New-Vehicle Buyer Online Activity

LAS VEGAS: 15 October 2009 - Social media networking Web sites, such as Facebook, have greater reach among new-vehicle prospects than online search engines or portals-such as Google and Yahoo, according to the opening presentation at the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Internet Roundtable.

The conference is currently being held at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, Nev., through Friday, Oct.16. The opening presentation included results from auto buyer clickstream analysis conducted by J.D. Power and Associates and Compete Inc., which involves tracking actual Internet URL visitation of new-vehicle buyers.

Automotive marketers that establish a presence on social networking sites can be particularly effective at finding and targeting new-vehicle buyers. Furthermore, employing tactics such as creating profiles or fan pages on these sites may increase opportunities for interaction with prospective customers. However, it is important for marketers to note that overt advertising on social networking sites tends to be received negatively by the target audience.

Clickstream analysis finds additional online usage trends among new-vehicle buyers, including:

* One-third of buyers visit an automotive brand site or third-party site six months or more prior to making a vehicle purchase, while two-thirds of buyers have visited at least one of those types of sites three months prior to purchase.
* Nearly one in five buyers (19 percent) who shop online first turn to dealer sites, with 41 percent first visiting manufacturer Web sites and 40 percent visiting third-party automotive sites first.
* New-vehicle buyers who shop online consider 2.9 vehicles, on average.

"Clickstream analysis provides a comprehensive look at online buyers and their realities of their shopping behavior," said Gene Cameron, vice president, media and marketing solutions at J.D. Power and Associates.

The conference also covers the use of social media analysis as a tool to more fully understand automotive customers, particularly due to the explosive growth of social media. Social media analysis of online automotive conversations finds the following:

* A large proportion of discussion surrounding hybrid vehicles revolves around competition and fuel efficiency, but there is considerably less discussion about vehicle pricing and features.
* There are fewer discussions about pickup trucks in 2009, compared with 2008, but discussion of hybrid vehicles and vans has increased.

"Social media is now shaping customer expectations in any and every way," said Chance Parker, vice president and general manager of the Web Intelligence Division at J.D. Power and Associates. "Listening to social media is increasingly on people's radar screens and people are scrambling to understand it. It's not enough simply to count the buzz, it is important to understand what that buzz really means to your brand."

The 2009 Automotive Internet Round Table is the most highly attended J.D. Power and Associates conference since the event was first initiated in 1984, with nearly 900 automotive dealers and industry professionals registered.

Source: J.D. Power and Associates