Overview
increase organic traffic by
Boost Trust and Transparency: Improve buyer trust by 25%, measured through user reviews and surveys.
KPIs & Goals
35%
25%
20%
Grow Market Share by
Reduce Purchase Decision Time: Shorten decision-making time by 20% through a streamlined reverse auction process.
Improve buyer trust by
Recognising the challenges that buyers faced in the existing car buying process, I worked closely with Drive.com.au’s leadership team to develop a customer-centric strategy. With extensive market research and an understanding of buyer pain points, my goal was to disrupt the status quo and position Drive.com.au as a leader in the automotive marketplace by focusing on two core areas: content strategy and product innovation.
As the Head of Product, UX, and Content at Drive.com.au, I led Project Ignite, a transformative initiative designed to disrupt the traditional new car buying process. Known for its lack of transparency and buyer empowerment, the car buying experience required a strategic overhaul. In response, we crafted a robust content and product strategy that leveraged innovative tools, engaging content, and a reverse auction B2C model to empower customers and streamline the purchasing process. This case study outlines how our content and product strategy reshaped the market, transforming Drive.com.au into a customer-centric platform.
Background
My Role
Attract Buyers via Editorial Content: Drive a 35% increase in organic traffic from new car editorials and guides.
Grow Market Share: Expand platform transactions by 20% to capture a larger share of the online automotive market.
Reduce
decision time by
20%
Problem Definition
Methodology
and Process
Project Ignite combined Lean UX, Agile methodologies, and Design Thinking to create a user-centric experience. The process began by identifying challenges faced by buyers and dealerships and developing actionable solutions. Cross-functional teams—including product managers, UX designers, developers, and business stakeholders—collaborated throughout to integrate diverse perspectives into the design.
Hypothesis Formation
Design & Prototyping
Test & Iterate
Learn and Validate
The Challenge
Manual processes for managing inventory and engaging with potential buyers limit access to a broader customer base beyond local regions, resulting in time-intensive interactions that often yield no guaranteed conversions.
Problem Definition
The traditional dealership model posed significant challenges for both buyers and dealerships. Buyers often faced a lack of transparency, complicated negotiations, and difficulty comparing offers. Dealerships, on the other hand, were burdened by inefficient manual processes for managing inventory and engaging with customers, leading to slower sales cycles and lost opportunities. The car-buying process had become cumbersome, with no streamlined way to connect dealerships with ready-to-buy customers efficiently.
Buyers
Lack of pricing transparency and difficulty in comparing offers lead to cumbersome and often adversarial negotiation processes, along with a reluctance to share personal details before buyers feel confident about a deal.
Hypothesis Formation
Solution Overview
The hypothesis was that a Reverse Auction B2C model, with anonymous dealership competition, would streamline buying, empower buyers, and reduce negotiation complexity. Automating the B2B platform would improve efficiency, boost buyer satisfaction, and increase dealership participation.
Reverse Auction B2C Model:
Empowering buyers by allowing dealerships to bid for their business in a transparent and competitive manner, while keeping personal details hidden until a deal was accepted.
Subscription-Based B2B Dealer Platform:
Automating the process for dealers by allowing them to upload inventory and participate in the auction process seamlessly.
Content Strategy:
Driving traffic through car reviews, guides, and interactive tools that help buyers make well-informed decisions while exploring the platform.
Car Reviews & Guides:
We developed thorough reviews and guides, providing unbiased insights on car models and features to help buyers make informed choices.
Financing calculators:
Helped users evaluate loan options and monthly payments based on their personal finances.
User-Generated Content:
We promoted customer reviews and testimonials to build credibility and give potential buyers authentic insights into vehicles and dealerships.
Model comparison tools:
Allowed users to easily compare features and pricing of different vehicles, assisting in their decision-making process.
Content strategy elements
Educating & Engaging Buyers
The Content Strategy played a key role in guiding buyers through their journey, from researching cars to finalizing their purchase. With privacy and security in mind, the content strategy focused on providing value without overwhelming the buyer.
Content Strategy
Buyer Privacy:
Buyers’ personal details were hidden from dealerships until they accepted a lead, ensuring they felt secure when submitting car preferences.
Dealership Anonymity:
Buyers couldn’t see dealership details until they accepted an offer, ensuring a fair and unbiased competition based solely on offers.
Competitive Bidding:
Dealerships received anonymised requests and submitted bids in real-time, letting buyers compare offers without negotiation.
Customer Support:
Buyers could contact the Drive.com.au support team anytime for help with auction queries, dealership bids, or navigating the platform.
B2C Product strategy elements
Empowering Buyers through Innovation
The Reverse Auction B2C Model (Product Strategy) allowed dealerships to compete for buyer leads while maintaining buyer-dealership anonymity. The Reverse Auction B2C Model was designed with buyer and dealership privacy in mind, ensuring trust and competitive bidding.
B2C Product Strategy
Inventory Management:
Dealers could upload and manage their new car inventory, setting prices and promotions to streamline auction participation.
One-Click Financing:
The platform allows dealerships to integrate financing, letting buyers apply for offers directly and simplifying approval.
Automated Matching:
The system automatically matched dealer inventory with buyer preferences, ensuring offers were visible without manual engagement on leads.
Dealer Analytics:
The platform provided insights into buyer preferences and bid performance to help dealers refine inventory strategies and improve bids.
B2B Product strategy elements
The Innovative B2B Platform for Dealers
The B2B platform was a subscription-based system designed to simplify dealership participation in the auction process. By allowing dealerships to upload their new car inventory and set their terms (pricing, promotions), they could automatically participate in auctions without manual intervention.
B2B Product Strategy
Technology Stack
The foundation
The Salesforce Lightning Platform is the backbone of the platform’s lead management system. Integrations are set up with various internal systems (e.g., CRM, CMS) and external platforms (e.g., Facebook Marketplace, AutoGate) to automate lead flow.
Salesforce Lightning:
The primary CRM platform used to manage buyer and dealership interactions, consolidating data to provide a unified view of customer activity across platforms.
Lead Management:
Salesforce automates lead capture, assignment, and nurturing, ensuring buyer requests are matched with dealerships and enabling efficient lead management.
Xero Integration:
A two-way integration with Xero is set up to manage financial transactions such as viewing payments, generating invoices, and recognizing revenue for subscription services.
Empowering Car Buyers: A Transparent Marketplace
The digital transformation I led through Project Ignite revolutionized the car-buying process by introducing a privacy-focused Reverse Auction B2C Model, along with a robust Content Strategy and seamless Salesforce integration. This comprehensive approach empowered buyers with transparency while maintaining dealership anonymity, resulting in greater trust, engagement, and competition. The strategy not only optimised the buying journey but also positioned the platform as a potential market disruptor in the automotive industry.
This strategic initiative not only addressed the immediate challenges of traditional car buying but also set the stage for long-term success by enhancing buyer-dealer interactions, improving customer support, and fostering a more transparent and competitive marketplace. The results, including increased buyer satisfaction and dealer participation, have laid the foundation for ongoing innovation and growth.
increase in engagement
Increased Traffic: Content strategy drove 40% more organic traffic from car reviews and guides, significantly increasing buyers in the reverse auction.
Performance Summary & Results
30%
40%
30%
Reduction in
decision time
Improved Transparency and Trust: Increase buyer trust by 40% through clear bids, controlled info release, and responsive support.
increase in
buyer trust
Streamlined Purchase Process: Reduce decision-making time by 20% with the Reverse Auction Model and automated lead management.
20%
Increase in Market Share
Market Disruption Potential: Integration of privacy, education, and a reverse auction model showed potential, driving a 20% market share increase.
Conclusion
