CarbonBlack TyreXchange Surveys Consumer Behaviour

CarbonBlack TyreXchange, the Australian independent online marketplace for tyres and auto services, has revealed the results of its latest Independent Tyre Brand Scorecard, which focuses on consumer purchasing behaviour. The survey appears to reveal the rise of social marketing in tyre retailing, which allows word-of-mouth among consumers to impact in a more pronounced way the choices buyers make.

The e-tailer suggests that this trend is a result of greater sophistication and awareness among consumers and tyre retailers that traditional advertising no longer has the same impact on consumers. Socially disseminated information, meaning the presence of consumer reviews on websites especially, in addition to relevant point-of-sale marketing and consumer education are, CarbonBlack suggests, increasingly able to influence the purchase cycle and are having a greater impact on consumer choice. The company states that these findings reinforce the value of both the internet and tyre dealer network importance for consumer tyre purchases.

The Tyre Brand Scorecard is an analysis of consumer relationship metrics on Australia’s leading tyre brands. It describes the consumer tyre buyer and their decision-making process. The analysis is based on transactional activity, consumer profiling and surveys from a sample of 7,000 consumers actively in the market to purchase tyres who utilised CarbonBlack TyreXchange in the period July 2007 – June 2008.

CarbonBlack’s founder and managing director, Ms. Jodi Stanton states that, “The Tyre Brand Scorecard outlines that consumers are highly active in sharing feedback on tyres in an online social community. The most active responses are from those either very happy or very unhappy with their tyre purchases and this mirrors peoples’ loyalty patterns. Increasingly people are prepared to shift brands based on what other consumers are sharing in online communities.”

“An interesting outcome of the report details that while consumers are on the whole are happy with their current tyres, they don’t necessarily choose the same brand when replacing them. Consumers typically have been more aware of tyre brands, but courtesy of internet-based research and independent information are now able to identify specific details about tread patterns and why certain tread patterns are more suitable. For tyre retailers this means that there is more opportunity to integrate internet-based marketing information with appropriate point-of-sale information,” says Stanton.

The latest edition of the Tyre Brand Scorecard shows that: original equipment tyres continue to have a strong influence – variable by brand – on the replacement tyre market; 35 per cent of tyre buyers have no brand preference; 38 per cent of purchasers only select a single brand from a list of 19 when asked – a trend that is increasing with the level of information now available online; traditional advertising no longer has the same impact on consumers considering tyre purchases; the consumer market in general often fails to understand product differentiation, leading to a substantial amount of product substitution; there has been an increasing trend for consumers to rely on word–of-mouth feedback from other consumers to influence their purchasing decisions. Meanwhile Bridgestone had the highest preference among female tyre buyers, while Michelin had the highest preference among luxury owners.

According to Stanton, “The internet is growing in its popularity in educating consumers and subsequently people are seeking better information from tyre manufacturers when it matters most – at point-of-sale. Traditional advertising needs to be combined with marketing that focuses on product differentiation, general tyre education and safety programs with retail environments that improve the sales experience for that particular brand. Tyre manufacturers that now cater for both female and male purchasing habits in the new online space and traditional retail channel are going to benefit the most. The game certainly has changed,” Stanton concluded.

The Scorecard will be released again in 2009’s Q2.