J.D. Power Examines Efficiency of Automakers' Web Sites

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. January 26, 2009; Despite significant declines throughout the industry, one automaker, in particular, has stood out above the rest when it comes to Web-site usefulness, according to Wave 1 of the 2009 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study from J.D. Power and Associates.

Earning the highest Web-site satisfaction rating among all brands was Honda, with a score of 882 on a 1,000-point scale. Porsche was next at 867, followed by Mitsubishi (866), Kia (865) and Acura (862).

Basically, the semi-annual study measures how useful manufacturer's Web sites are during the new-vehicle shopping process. The sites are evaluated for appearance, speed, navigation and information/content.

Information for this wave of the study was gathered in November from more than 11,400 new-vehicle shoppers who planned to search for a new model within the next 24 months

"Honda resolved some minor navigation issues on their Web site, which helped them improve upon their fourth-place ranking in the previous wave," explained Scott Kane, senior manager of marketing/media research at J.D. Power.

"Currently, the Honda Web site performs well in all measures and demonstrates particular strength in speed, navigation and demonstrating options, features and specifications," he continued.

However, overall site usefulness for the industry has dipped nine points since June, as 16 OEMs had double-digit declines.

"Because of changes in the economic environment, many of today's new-vehicle shoppers are in a much different — and more challenging — financial position than were shoppers in years past, and many auto manufacturers have not prepared their Web sites accordingly," Kane pointed out.

"For new-vehicle shoppers, having the ability to go online to easily compare vehicles from various manufacturers, figure out monthly payments and find the best deal possible has always been important," he added. "However, in these tough financial times, these kinds of considerations have an even greater impact on the shopping process."

What's more, marketing budgets for OEMs have tightened up, as of late, meaning that many automakers' Web sites might not be able to meet all the expectations of consumers.

For instance, some automakers have simplified photograph and video offerings on their site or limited the variety of such media.

"Likely due to budget cuts, some sites that once had beautiful images in city and off-road settings from multiple angles showing off their vehicles' capabilities — things that resonated with consumers — have scaled back on the images offered," Kane noted.

"A hurdle that manufacturers are facing involves obtaining the high-quality content they need for their Web sites — such as images, video and animations — in a cost-effective way," he added.

"Finding synergies within their organizations as they create content for various marketing needs — both online and offline — will be critical in continuing to meet new-vehicle shoppers' needs," Kane continued.

Perhaps not too surprisingly, the study suggested that the more the useful an automaker's Web site is, the better chance it has to drive traffic to its dealerships.

"While it may be tempting for manufacturers to scale back development and maintenance of their Web sites, improved Web site design can translate into a higher volume of sales and a positive return on investment," Kane explained.

"Now, more than ever, it is essential for manufacturers to be strategic about their marketing efforts to capture their share of the diminishing number of new-vehicle shoppers," pointed out.

J.D. Power Unveils New Assessment Tool

In other news, J.D. Power introduced a new program to help automakers evaluate the success of new-model launches.

Basically, the Vehicle Launch Index offers OEMs metrics to help them assess how new vehicles performed in their launch years. Each vehicle is measured against benchmarks in the overall industry and its individual segment.

According to officials, the index includes all model introductions in the U.S. since 2007 and also monitors all current and future launches.

"With the introduction of the Vehicle Launch Index, manufacturers are now able to gauge the marketplace success of their newly launched vehicles through an external, independent source," commented Gary Dilts, senior vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power. "The Vehicle Launch Index provides a real-time, comprehensive view into marketplace activity, allowing manufacturers to quickly respond to ever-changing industry conditions."

The company indicated that the index considers such factors as turn rate, credit quality, residual factor, dealer gross profit, vehicle price and incentive spend, all of which can be critical to successful launches.

"In 2009, manufacturers are making multibillion-dollar investments in more than 50 major product launches in the U.S. alone," said Dilts. "Current market conditions demand a need for a third-party, syndicated assessment to ensure manufacturers maximize the return on their investment."