February 26th, 2008 by admin
In an extensive survey conducted by the trend and opinion research institue ethority GmbH & Co. KG concerning the field of automobile in consumer generated media, the most important issues as well as upcoming trends and customer needs were identified. The survey is concerned with comments in online communitites and weblogs which are received by a large audience and, therefore, have quite an influential opinion forming effect. Product-related topics, e.g. road performance, value for money, technological details but also certain aspects like experience made with service and garages were discussed. The fields of alternative modes of drive and buying a car abroad the EU proved to hold a high density of discussions.
Only by knowing the consumers’ needs you are able to be responsive to them and adjust the development as well as the marketing arrangements respectively. On the so-called web 2.0 (online communitites, weblogs and opinion portals), consumers unrequestedly and authentically give statements about their experiences made with brands and products and, moreover, give advice to prospects who increasingly loose their confidence in traditional advertising and also feel poorly advised by the specialized trade.
The trend and opinion research institute ethority located in Hamburg specializes in the copious survey and evaluation of opinions and issues on web 2.0. In order to do this, the globally leading gridpatrol© technology is utilized and, subsequently, the data is qualitatively evaluated by a multilingual team of analysts.
Thus, profound results can be generated and, by being aware of them, companies can attain a decisive competitive advantage.
Parameters of the automobile survey
In the course of the automobile survey, 23.298 online community comments were documented from March to May 2007. These comments originated from the ten most relevant online communities and a quantity of 1.262 comments was included in the survey to be taken as a sample. Additionally, postings in several weblogs were evaluated.
The issues in weblogs were mainly concerned with alternative modes of drive (21%), fuel consumption (20%) and dealers (16%). In online communities, the most discussed topics were garages (25%), dealers (24%) and fuel consumption (19%).
Predominant contents of individual issues
Within the individual subject areas, the following aspects were of great importance:
• Garage: Exchange of experiences made with manufacturer-specific garages (including the indication of address)
• Dealer: Exchange of experiences concerning the service and competence of individual dealers
• Alternative modes of drive: Discussion about advantages and disadvantages of hybrid engines and about the question, in how far the automobile industry, petroleum industry and politics are concerned with this development
• Fuel consumption: Reports based on experience refer to fuel consumption as well as good advice for fuel saving, discussion of alternative fuels and, furthermore, questions and reports on the density of the petrol station network and the different opportunities of refitting a vehicle
• Safety: Discussion about the signification, value and reliability of electronic assistance systems
Identified trend topics
The following issues show an increased density of mentionings and discussions
• Alternative modes of drive:
• Significant increase in the interest in alternative modes of drive in consumer generated online media
• Concerns with regard to the coverage ability of the petrol station network for alternative fuels
• Spirited discussions about hybrid engines
Within the next years, the awareness of this trend can be a decisive advantage for companies in competition on the German market.
• Purchasing a car abroad the EU:
• Frequently asked question of whether buying a car abroad the EU would be more favourably priced
• Consideration of advantages and disadvantages
• Significant increase in the readiness of purchasing a car abroad
Advantages concerning sales for companies planning to pursue a consistent and transparent pricing policy on the European level.
