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mobile
How are online trends affecting the used truck market? In the first of a new series, we consider the rise in popularity of apps and mobile websites
Words: James Clark
CMhas been reviewing used truck websites regularly for the past seven years – and in that time we’ve seen plenty of changes. Websites have become bigger, smarter and easier to use.
But technology always moves on and these days it’s not enough for used truck dealers to have just a few web pages. To keep up with the pack, they need to know how to appeal to search engines as well as prospective buyers; they need to have a grasp of social media networks; and they need to understand technological developments such as QR codes.
If none of these mean much to you, don’t worry. We’ll be looking at all of them over the coming months, starting with one of the biggest trends of all: the growth of mobile.
Why mobile matters
What is mobile? Basically, it’s using a mobile device – a smartphone or a tablet computer such as an Apple iPad – to access the internet. And yes, it’s big. Since 2008, there have been more internet-enabled mobile phones than personal computers.
According to web analytics company StatCounter, 12% of website visits in the UK are made from a mobile device, a igure that is rising every month.
It’s not as if road transport is behind the curve either. With a highly mobile and technically minded workforce, it is unsurprising that our industry is leading the way; almost 25% of visits to commercialmotor. com’s own Used Trucks site in the past month were made on a mobile device. And more than a third of those were using an iPad.
A savvy used truck dealer needs to take this into account. At the most basic level, that means having a website that loads quickly on a slower connection such as 3G (see ‘jargon-buster’ box), and avoids technologies, such as Flash, that don’t work on many mobile devices.
Size is important
After that, the dealer has a choice. They can opt for a mobile-optimised website, which displays differently on mobile devices to take into account the smaller screen size. For the user, that means no more continual zooming in and out or scrolling back and forth.
A prominent dealer website that does this is Britcom International – or again you could look at usedtrucks.commercial motor.com.
Another option is to go down the same route as many of the manufacturers and develop an app. While an app offers a great experience for the user, it can be an expensive step to take, and a confusing one.
Apps developed for Apple’s iOS devices won’t work on Android devices and viceversa, so which one do you choose? MAN TopUsed opted for iOS with its app, but Volvo Trucks went the whole hog and recently launched its Truck Finder on both main platforms (see box). Although doing that gives you a bigger potential audience, it requires more time and money.
So that’s apps versus mobile-optimised websites. But there is a third way: develop a mobile web app. In effect, this is a website designed speciically for mobile use, which means it looks and works like an app. A good example of this is the Hendy Group mobile site at www.hendy.co.uk – but remember to look at it on a mobile device or you’ll see the regular ‘desktop’ site.
A mobile web app can be easier to develop and maintain than a so-called ‘native’ app, but it does have drawbacks; it won’t work at all without an internet connection, for example.
So there’s no one-size-its-all approach: if you are a dealer (or indeed a manufacturer or operator) looking to go mobile, you need to ask yourself: what suits the needs of my customers – and the size of my pocket? ■
APPY DAYS FOR VOLVO
Search for stock from around the world In July Volvo Trucks became the latest manufacturer to launch an app with its Truck Finder for Apple and Android devices.
This free app lets you search for stock from around the world; a number of UK dealers are represented, including Crossroads Truck & Bus and Thomas Hardie Commercials.
The first step is to download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, depending on your make of smartphone or tablet device. Then, launch the app and specify some search criteria: country, make, number of axles and so on.
Once you hit the ‘search’ button, the app will display all vehicles meeting your criteria. These can then be sorted by price, age or mileage. As with any used trucks website worth its salt, click on a thumbnail image to view a full spec and a selection of photos.
Being a mobile app, it is then easy to contact the seller; click on the ‘dealer’ tab to view a virtual business card from which you can phone or email the dealer directly.
You can also add them to your phone’s contacts or view their location on Google Maps.
Although the app will remember your recent searches, there is no way to ‘bookmark’ particular vehicles or share them with a colleague.
Nevertheless, this app makes it easy to search for a used truck when out and about – just don’t use it while you’re behind the wheel.
JARGON-BUSTER
Bamboozled by buzzwords? Terrified by terminology? Let our jargon-buster help you out • 3G: A type of connection used by mobile devices to connect to the internet. Depending on the signal strength, it can be rather slow.
• Android: An operating system used to run many makes of smartphone. It is owned by Google and has about 60% of the UK market.
• iOS: Apple’s operating system used to run iPhones and iPads.
• Google Play: an online store where you can download apps for Android devices. Apple’s equivalent is called the App Store.
• Mobile app: A piece of software (or application) designed to run on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers. Some apps are free; others must be paid for.
• Mobile-optimised: A mobile-optimised website is one that is designed to work and display well when viewed on a mobile device such as a smartphone.