Automotive Repair - Sales - Valet Business Plan

The key champion for the development of the website is the co-owner of Mad Keen Motors, Mark Keen. He will be responsible for managing the development of the site and will work closely with Adrian Monkey on the design and creation. He will also be responsible for implementing the promotions that will be run at least monthly on the site and will maintain the “Ask the Mechanic” section on the site.

Most of the site development will be carried out by the consultant, Adrian Monkey. He will initially be paid a pre-arranged fee as he completes each stage of development. Later he will be paid a monthly retainer to maintain the site.

Barry Keen will work with Mark to develop the content section of the site dealing with typical car problems and tips on maintaining your vehicle during the different seasons.

Website Demographics Strategy

The website will focus on the the first three segments, since the last segment of lifetime owners are less likely to be connected to the Internet. It will also target people in the local area who aim to move into any of these categories (buyers), by providing information on how to buy a used car, and links to sites that contain new car reviews and pricing information.

Traffic Forecast

The following traffic forecast has been created after researching other small local service websites, and based on the size of the potential market with Internet presence in the Backwater Downs area. It is a conservative estimate of monthly page views and unique user sessions.

6.1 Website Marketing Strategy

The website will have two main goals:

1. To provide potential and existing customers with information about their cars through the provision of a typical problems area, plus an Ask the Mechanic Question and Answer section, where they can have specific questions about their cars answered.
2. To ease the service experience and improve customer service through online booking database section that will allow them to review their cars service and repair records.

Key sections of the website will be:

• Question and Answer section.
• Ask the Mechanic section.
• Buyers guide–how to look for a new car.
• Links to information on car reviews–new and used.

Strategic Internet Alliances
Mad Keen Motors will rely on its alliance with Web consultant Adrian Monkey to ensure that the site is maintained and regularly updated.

Business Model
The aim of this site is not to earn direct sales, but to increase customer satisfaction rates, and therefore increase retention levels by 10%. In addition, the goal will be to encourage other customers in the Backwater Downs area to choose Mad Keen Motors over other service and repair facilities. The overall goal of the site in terms of increased sales is 7-10% over the next year.

Site Positioning
For sports car owners who value the importance of their car’s performance Mad Keen Motors website will give them tips on how to keep their car in tip-top running condition, with things that they can do themselves, as well as solutions that their local garage can provide. Unlike the local quick stop garages, it will provide part of the full-service solution for sports car owners. Unlike dealerships, prices will be competitive.

For older luxury car owners who value personal service, Mad Keen Motors website will provide another way for them to interact with the garage and provide excellent customer service. Unlike dealerships websites, it will not simply focus on new cars, it will provide them valuable information on their make and model of older luxury car as well as a full database of information on their car that they will be able to access at any time.

For buyers who require an abundance of information when making a purchase, Mad Keen Motors website will provide an extensive list of online resources, so will act as a starting point for their search for information each time they access the Web. Unlike other online sites it will also give customers information about what to look for in a used car, that may save them the time and money of a mechanics inspection.

6.2 Development Requirements

Website Outline
The site will be designed with the following technology: ColdFusion, SQL and HTML.

Home Page: explains the website’s relation to the company, with visible links to the other sections of the site.

Section 1 – Q&A: begins with search. Visible links will go off to the subsections below.

• Ask the Mechanic: simple form that sends directly to the head mechanic.
• Q&A Browse: users will be able to browse through other customer’s Q&A sessions.

Section 2 – Booking

• Page 1: first page will display available dates, customer clicks on preferred available time, and proceeds to the next page.
• Page 2: customer fills out name, phone number, and car problem.
• Page 3: confirmation page for customer to print off as a reminder.
• User Car Information: first page has two links: “Buying a car” and “Selling a car.”
• Buying a car: first half of page with summary information, bottom half contains links to helpful sites.
• Selling a car: first half of page with summary information, bottom half contains links to helpful sites.

6.2.1 Technical Specifications

Front End
Because most people in the UK currently access the Web from their homes at 56.6k or less, the user interface will be a simple as possible, though still looking professional. Graphics will be kept to a minimum in order to keep download times short. Though pictures of cars for sale will take up room, thumbnail views with access to larger views will be used.
Information will be organized in buckets listed on front of each page so navigation will be as simple as possible for users.
The Objectives of the User Interface will be:
1. To allow easy and fast navigation for the users.
2. To create interest so that people will use and return to the site.
3. Display a lot of content information in a simple a manner as possible.
4. To encourage user interaction, i.e. bookings online and questions to the mechanics.

Back End
The back end of the site will be very simple, since it is really an information only website. There will be a number of areas where a visitor can send an email to request an answer to an expert question, to get information about a used car for sale or to book in their car for service.
Visitors will be able to interact with the site in two ways:

1. Send an email requesting an appointment to have their car cleaned, valeted or repaired.
2. To ask questions about problems they may be having with their car, for example “I had new brake pads fitted on my car approximately eight moths ago and they have started squeaking. Is it possible that they are worn out already?”

We will be hiring a Web engineer, Adrian Monkey, to build the website, so he will build this functionality into the site. We will rely on Adrian to give us recommendations for the database we will use to support the site.

Resource Requirements
Mad Keen Motors will hire the services of a consultant, Adrian Monkey, to build the website. Both the back end and the front end will be outsourced. The contents of the Website will be developed by the company owners, who between them have over 60 years of automobile repair experience, and the secretary who has excellent writing skills.

Future Development
Future development will be assessed after the website has been launched and user tested. It is hoped that the site will be popular enough to include an area for online repair bookings.