11 minute read
New Wheels - How We’ve Changed Our Car Buying Habits
EyeonMotor Trade
New Wheels–How We’ve Changed Our Car Buying Habits
It’s a lesser known fact that Northern Ireland has more second-hand car dealers per head of population than anywhere else on these islands. But is wandering around a yard full of cars kicking tyres and gazing into engine compartments a thing of the past? Richard Buckley talks to Stephen Kelly, the new Managing Director at UsedCarsNI.com
Stephen Kelly reckons that our car-buying habits started to change as far back as ten years ago but it’s a change process that has been accelerated by the Covid pandemic.
He took over recently as Managing Director of UsedCarsNI.com, the leading marketplace website for used vehicles in Northern Ireland.
UsedCarsNI.com was formed by web developers Cecil Hetherington and Anthony Kieran back in 2006. The pair noticed that there were any number of car dealer websites but no single depository for all – or most – of the vehicles for sale in the region at any given time.
“I joined in 2010. Back then, we had 13,000 cars from about 300 subscribing dealers. Today, we’ll have 22,000 cars, 640 dealers and anywhere between 55,000 and 60,000 visitors per day on the site.
Over that time, we’ve worked hard on the functionality and capabilities of the site, improving it all the time for our customers, whether they’re dealers, private sellers or buyers,” says Stephen.
In addition, the team at UsedCarsNI.com hosts and manages some 270 different dealer websites.
“We use the site every day as if we’re looking to buy a car. That’s the most effective way for us to keep improving it.”
Stephen Kelly took over as Managing Director a couple of months ago, with Cecil Hetherington moving into a chairman’s role. Kelly’s previous job as Business Development Director was filled by Colin Quigg. The company has a team of account managers as well as a business support function.
Back in the day, Northern Ireland’s second hand car sales worked very differently. The Belfast Telegraph’s ad pages once ruled the roost and then Auto Trader became
EyeonMotor Trade
the ‘go to’ publication, with dealers clambering to get their car stocks into the magazine every Thursday.
“Then they did their selling on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the whole cycle started again the following week,” says Stephen. “But, when everything started to go digital, everything started to change.”
“Every year, there’s a new batch of 17-year olds, so we have to keep on our game. Just recently, we’ve added WhatsApp and SMS to the LiveChat facility that we already have on the site. Footfall in dealership has gone down significantly. There’s just no doubt about that. Customers are using other channels.”
That trend, he reckons, started some years ago but it’s been accelerated by the Covid pandemic which has forced the closure of car sales outlets for a couple of lengthy lockdown periods and has driven more and more buyers online.
Should marketplace websites get involved in sales to a larger extent? Stephen Kelly thinks not, at least when a dealer is involved. But there’s an argument for more assistance when it comes to private sellers.
“We have a lot of private sales and we have to remember that these people aren’t professional sales people. So we’ll try to help as much as we can.”
The very thought, several years ago, of buying a car online – without physically seeing it or driving it – and then having it delivered to your door on the back of a lorry would have seemed preposterous. But not now.
“Traditionally, everyone thought they they had to have a test drive but, more often than not, it was a 10-minute jaunt up the M1 or something like that. So I think attitudes are changing.”
Northern Ireland is different from other parts of the UK in that the landscape is dominated by independent car dealers rather than big franchise groups. The big three locally – Hursts, Agnews & Donnellys – account for around a quarter of the second hand car stock here at any given time.
Stephen Kelly says that UsedCarsNI welcomes and encourages reviews – of cars bought on the site and of the site itself. “We’ve even added a dealer review function to allow customers to provide feedback on any of our sellers. It’s transparency...and that’s what the site is all about.
The site has also added a vehicle configuration tool – enabling buyers to configure the new car they’re looking for and allow dealers to come to them.
“The economics of classifieds marketplaces are such that there tend to be only one or two dominant players in each market.”
Another unique feature of the local marketplace is the number of used cars brought over from GB to be sold. It’s essential given the relative lack of used car stock generated by our big franchise dealers.
“Go to a car auction in Glasgow or Manchester and you’ll almost certainly hear a Northern Ireland accent,” Stephen Kelly smiles. “Our local dealers are always looking for more cars, for more stock.”
The pandemic, he agrees, has also led to more demand for cars. A little like the housing market, the car market is benefiting from the amount of money available to customers unable to spend it on holidays and other items during the Covid crisis.
But the automotive industry has plenty of challenges to face – not least the advent of electric vehicles and optimistic government targets.
“I’m a bit sceptical,” says Stephen Kelly. “This is a rural country and we love our diesel engines. There’s a fair amount of suspicion outside of Belfast around electric cars and their range. Then there’s the amount of charge points needed and the price.
“If you have £30,000 to spend right now, would you go for a German saloon car with a diesel engine or a small French hatchback with an electric one?”
Here at Business Eye, we wouldn’t need to think too long about that one.....
EyeonNews
Rainbow Communications embarks on new plan for growth with Radius
Leading Northern Ireland IT and telecoms solutions provider Rainbow Communications is on new path for renewed growth after being acquired by Sunday Times Top Track 100 company Radius Payment Solutions.
Rainbow, founded in 1998 by Eric Carson and Martin Hamill, and which has more than 10,000 customers across Britain and Ireland, is one of Northern Ireland’s biggest tech successes.
The acquisition by Radius Payment Solutions provides Belfast-based Rainbow Communications with a new and solid platform for grow its brand across the island of Ireland and an expansion of the range of innovative services on offer for a wider range of companies.
With Rainbow’s experienced and committed delivery team, it delivers and implements vital communications, including cloud computing, mobile networking and high tech telecoms services for many of the region’s Top 100 companies and SMEs of all sizes.
Rainbow Communications founder Eric Carson said:
“For more than two decades, Rainbow has been at the forefront of tech innovation, driving digital connectivity for businesses right across the region and beyond, making it easier to communicate, to do business better and to compete effectively.
“For 2021 and beyond, I’m also excited to be passing the reins to a invigorated team who will lead a new and successful period of growth for the company.”
The Rainbow Communications brand and delivery team remains intact following the acquisition.
Rainbow Communications’ Stuart Carson added:
“We are delighted that by working alongside our new Radius team and our own long-established staff, Rainbow’s future growth and ambition is secured with a company which has the same forward ambition and ethos as we have always had and we look forward to the benefits of such a compelling integration will bring for new and existing clients in the weeks and months ahead.”
Earlier this year, Rainbow was accredited as a global Microsoft Silver partner, putting it in the top five percent of companies in the world which holds the award. It followed a rigorous audit of its operations by Microsoft which determined its top ranking for providing the best solutions for its customers.
Its newly-acquired silver status puts Rainbow Communications ahead of its competition, demonstrating a specific, proven skill set to clients alongside high quality, consistent delivery. It also means its staff are now part of Microsoft’s global network and support hub, sharing resources, training, and best practice advice.
Ray Ferris, Managing Director, Telecoms, Radius Payment Solutions, said:
“The acquisition of Rainbow Communications gives us a greater platform to provide non-mobile services to our growing customer base in Ireland. Rainbow has an excellent reputation in the local market and compliments our growing mobile business to give customers more choice with their transition from legacy technology to cloud services.
We are really looking forward to working with the teams and integrating the business with our Radius Connect team in Belfast.”
Radius Payment Solutions features in the 2020 Sunday Times Top Track 100 list, which is sponsored by HSBC and Linklaters.
Having achieved a turnover of £2.6 billion last year, Radius ranked 24th in the list. This is the ninth consecutive year that Radius has received this accolade, which recognises the contribution to the economy made by Britain’s largest 100 private companies.
Pictured (L-R) are Stuart Carson, Eric Carson and Martin Hamill.
EyeonPublic Relations
PR’s power in a postpandemic media landscape
The way we consume news has changed beyond all recognition, creating new challenges but limitless opportunities for the public relations industry and organisations in every sector.
Gone is the term ‘traditional’ PR - normally associated with press releases or statements used in ‘traditional’ news print brands - because everything now is effectively ‘digital’.
The impact of Covid-19, and even more so, the related restrictions on our lives, has accelerated the pace of digital transformation and the way we consume news and information.
Our biggest print news outlets have been busily accelerating their digital offer, combining highly sophisticated online and app technology with social media to share content more widely than ever before, arresting a steady decade-long annual decline in print sales to stabilise themselves on a more sound financial footing.
Those implementing paywalls are also those investing more in good paid-for journalism, with better premium news, subscriber content, features and analysis.
Though TV and radio lead in delivering our overall news consumption, according to Ofcom, the daily use of online and social media sources has exploded since the start of the pandemic.
Of course, many of us consume them all, at various points in the day, including digital radio, streamed news, YouTube and podcasts to keep us up to date via our mobile phones.
The positive impact for the PR industry is that the demand for news and information has never been greater. However, what’s important now for PR practitioners is that the approach taken to reach the right audience is more strategically focused to the appropriate channel and that messaging, news value, content and imagery are carefully aligned.
In 2021, the role of public relations in the marketing mix has never been more important, and a carefully executed PR strategy adds real, credible brand awareness, builds reputations and drives genuine interest and impact.
Digital PR builds SEO and rankings, boosts website and social media traffic, reinvigorates brand trust, generates leads and increases enquiries. When someone searches for information about you, your product or service, just think about what information you’d like them to find.
The acceleration of digital transformation, powered by the restrictions imposed because of
Covid-19, is also powering new opportunities for local businesses, opening up huge potential to work for clients anywhere in the world.
In this smaller, interconnected world where news is local, national and international, and our information sources are accessible anywhere in the world, forward-thinking, specialist PR practitioners are increasingly at ease working for clients both at home and elsewhere, increasing the depth of their strategic thinking and knowledge in new areas. Building new, wider networks is important for growth, relevance and experience.
The rapid increase in the use of technology has also enabled the industry to reach new markets, creating opportunities to deliver strategic national and international PR campaigns.
In our own experience, we’re already working with one of the UK’s leading pension platforms and a powerful financial disrupter ready to take private share-trading to a new level, while continuing to deliver compelling B2B and B2C work for one of the biggest UK automotive retailers and one of England’s largest councils.
For organisations – local, national and global – PR is a powerful means to grow your business. The rapid integration of media and technology provides compelling reasons to capitalise on the power of PR to drive growth and expansion in an increasingly competitive, complex world.
