Now, in 2011, Kelley Blue Book stands as the leading automotive valuation company of the world. That's 85 years in business and 18 years on the web world , and now, like the Orange County neighbors that surround Kelley Blue Book HQ, the brand is ready for a facelift.
People come to Kelley Blue Book for various reasons: to get a appropriate value on the car that they want to sell, or to see the real price the car they want to buy. Once a user gets their value, they ride off into the virtual sunset. Kelley always looks for the deeper interaction than that, and it's looking to revamp the website for this purpose.
It has seen in the past, that one product in a segment becomes so famous that it becomes a brand-name ambassador for the entire segment. Say "pass me a Kleenex" and you will receive a tissue paper in response, regardless of what the side of the box it's plucked from reads. If you require a Band-Aid, someone definitely will find you an adhesive dressing. Thermos? Same deal.
Similarly Kelley Blue Book is one such special brand name.In 1926, Les Kelley published his first edition of this Blue Book that was primarily a packet of pages filled with his valuations for used cars, the Blue Book stretched out to include new cars in 1966. As our world became gradually more digital, Kelley Blue Book extended its trace to the Internet the fastest growing communication medium in 1993, and the Kelley Blue Book then began to enter the lexicon of the car buying consumer in a new innovative way.
In the past there were two main doors. One read "New" and the other "Used." The new Kelley Blue Book offers a more generic approach to finding the information that one looking for, and the singular entry point begins by asking that "How Can Kelley Blue Book Help You?" In simple English, it asks four questions and from there one can filter down the path that makes the most sense for the purpose.
The complete website can be looked as an information funnel. Moving through the old funnel certainly wasn't a hard practice. This glistening new funnel, however, is packed with a wealth of information that's presented in a timely manner as one move from the wide ("What am I looking for?") to the narrow ("What's this car worth?"). As one progress towards their requirement they will be presented with a multitude of tools. Specs, photos, consumer and staff vehicle reviews, for example, are offered up before one reach to pricing details. Here, Kelley Blue Book is looking to arm both buyers and sellers with a greater extent of knowledge. This information was there before, but now it's more visible without intruding the computer screen. one can select how much or how little is shown.
The Kelley Blue Book is a website offering its services for exactly free but advertisements are there. Beyond the specs, reviews and advertising, however, lies the meat and potatoes of the Kelley Blue Book website. The value of a vehicle, new or used, is that meat, and Kelley Blue Book’s 5 Year Total Cost of Ownership Tool is the juicy au gratin potato sitting just alongside.
Kelley Blue Book has added up the visual flavor of each item in such a way that they allows consumers to quickly grab a deeper level of information than numerical figures. A tool called Reality Check displays the fair price of a vehicle. This figure is based on average transaction prices that other in-market shoppers are paying, and allows consumers to see what others are paying for the same vehicle. reality also compares a given vehicle to others in its segment.
The tools are supportive to people who are on the hunt for a new vehicle. Kelley Blue Book knows that the flip side of buying new is disposing of old vehicles, and the same valuation process applies, but in this brand-new wrapper. Since this is the refreshed Kelley Blue Book, however, the tools and information have been kicked up a few levels to make the process smooth and attractive.
Source:Goindocal.com
