Buying a van online could be easier

Leader in customer experience benchmarking, Global Reviews, has announced today the results of a new independent study into the service offered by companies selling vans online.

The study measured customer experience on 11 van websites.  The sites were assessed against over 100 different criteria, including information available on the home page, model range shown online, customer support, owner advice, maintenance and accessories information, sales tools, insurance and finance information and the ability to request a brochure and test drive online.

The study found that Renault offers the best overall Van website with a score of 67%, followed closely by Vauxhall and Fiat with a score of 66%.  Toyotascored57% in the league table, followed by GMC 56%, GM 47%, Volks Wagen 45%, Mercedes 38%, and Scania 24%   against an industry average of 52%.  Despite a similar score, the top three websites had strengths in very different areas and few websites were found to be consistently good online. 

Sales tools to identify which is the most suitable van or compare different vans were found to be lacking on many sites.  Other important online features include van configurators and the ability to order a brochure or test drive.  The study found that there is a huge difference in the quality of these services when they are offered.

The study found that;

• All websites scored more than 60% on the quality of the online sales tools and Van configurators except for Ford, VW, Mercedes and Scania which offered no sales tools or configurators online. 
• All websites offer the ability to order a brochure or test drive online.. 
• Toyota offered the best information for van owners with a score of 59%. Only Renault, Vauxhall and GMC also scored more than 50%.
• Vauxhall and Ford offered the best customer support online with scores of 74% and 72% respectively. However GM Fleet & Commercial offered no customer support online.
• The quality of information about the model ranges was very good. Toyota led here with 78% while Vauxhall scored only 61%%.
• Vauxhall (90%) and Renault (84%) led the way with a high quality of maintenance and accessory information online.  Fiat scored only 41% for this category.
• However Scania offered the best insurance and finance information online with a score of 69%, compared with GM Fleet & Commercial (30%) and Renault (26%).

Global Reviews director, Adam Goodvach said:
“Consumers looking for vans online will have a different experience depending on the site they visit. With such a functional product, buyers have specific needs in mind when they are looking to purchase. Sales tools that could assist customers are not always present There is a clear opportunity for companies to improve customer conversion and build loyalty by adapting the experience to meet customer needs.”

Global Reviews looked at van websites globally to create a best practice benchmark with over 100 criteria against which 11 of the UK’s leading provider websites were assessed.
The benchmark was conducted in August 2007.

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For media inquiries please contact;

Catherine Swift
PR Contact
Global Review
020 8333 5870 / 07801 817 451
cath.swift@globalreviews.com

Adam Goodvach
Global Reviews Director, UK
020 7681 4065

Notes to Editors