An investigation into the cost-effectiveness of franchised dealer marketing activities illustrates the growing importance of the internet to successful lead generation.

According to GForces, the UK’s leading (*) automotive web management company, marketing new and used cars via the internet currently generates 4.4 times as many leads as traditional ‘offline’ marketing techniques, such as print advertising and direct mail. Online marketing campaigns are also now by far the most cost effective – the ‘cost per lead’ for dealership offline activity is currently 9.8 times greater than for online marketing.

These striking new statistics have been generated through analysis of those UK franchised dealerships that are already using GForces’ new NetDirector LeadBeast tracking software, which provides dealer principals with unique, day-to-day analysis of the cost effectiveness of their marketing spend. LeadBeast was rolled out nationally in over 100 sales operations covering 48 locations.

LeadBeast gathers information about leads and enquiries generated through a dealer’s online and offline marketing campaigns, and presents easy-to-understand performance data on a ‘dashboard’ interface that can be viewed online. This helps dealers identify quickly and easily those marketing campaigns that work, and those that don’t.

Franchises that utilise the system have access to incredibly detailed data, such as cost per online lead versus cost per offline lead; total number of leads generated online and offline; and the percentage of enquires that come from ‘natural’ searches (i.e. those not resulting from a dealer’s proactive marketing activity). GForces is the first company to offer dealers this level of detail in a lead tracking tool, allowing them to maximise the productivity and cost effectiveness of their marketing programmes.

Tim Smith, GForces’ Commercial Director, said: “The level of detail available to dealers when they unleash LeadBeast is unprecedented. No other lead tracking system can monitor all the different types of enquiry – search engine, referral, pay-per-click, telephone, newspaper – in the same way, or produce such in-depth analysis.

“The roll-out has been a huge success, with the franchises involved reporting greatly improved lead conversion rates,” Smith continued. “A healthy balance between on- and offline marketing is key, and by identifying where your enquiries come from, what sources are working and how much they are costing, you can run a leaner, smarter, better business.”

More information about LeadBeast is available by visiting www.leadbeast.co.uk or calling 0845 055 9040.

About GForces:
(*) Established in 1999, GForces is the UK’s leading web management company for the automotive sector, working for more of the country’s top-200 dealers than any rival. Designing and developing its own web management and online marketing tools, the company focuses on making the internet more profitable for its customers.

GForces supports vehicle retailers of all sizes – from solus outfits and car supermarkets, to the UK’s largest dealer groups – helping them increase profitability through better customer targeting, increased conversion rates and higher order values.