KELLEY BLUE BOOK'S KBB.COM TO LAUNCH ALL-NEW ONLINE VEHICLE CLASSIFIEDS:
THE TRUSTED MARKETPLACESM
Kbb.com New- and Used-Car Inventory Listings Program
Provides Confidence to Consumers, Efficiencies to Dealers
IRVINE, Calif., MAY 29, 2009 – On July 17, 2009, Kelley Blue Book will launch The Trusted MarketplaceSM, a new online car shopping experience on its top-rated Web site www.kbb.com. Through a unique technology platform, The Trusted Marketplace’s search engine will present vehicles that match consumers’ desired characteristics. With The Trusted Marketplace’s revolutionary pay-for-performance business model, dealers will realize efficient sales at a fraction of the cost incurred with traditional, subscription-based classified listing models.
The Trusted Marketplace will provide consumers an unparalleled experience in finding their next new or used car. The Trusted Marketplace’s search function will reveal the ‘Best Match’ – a list of cars that most closely reflect a shopper’s search criteria and applied intelligence gained from millions of customer queries and transactions. Additionally, Kelley Blue Book will integrate its best-in-class online vehicle research with dealers’ inventory listings, making kbb.com a one-stop-resource for new- and used-car research and purchases. This integration will allow consumers to confidently find specific vehicles of interest and help dealers to efficiently sell those selected vehicles to serious, in-market shoppers. The execution of the new program rewards local dealers’ high-quality, competitively-priced listings rather than dealers who pay premium prices for placement. As The Trusted Resource® for vehicle values and information, the company will also integrate Kelley Blue Book® Suggested Retail Values into used-car classified listings to assist dealers in selling their vehicles.
Current and new Kelley Blue Book Dealer Showcase customers can take advantage of an early-bird program offering special advantages and savings at the launch of the new classifieds program, including a feature-rich Dealer Storefront page within The Trusted Marketplace on kbb.com, providing consumers with detailed information about the dealership, as well as new lead opportunities, special messaging and merchandising opportunities.
With more than 12 million visits to kbb.com each month, Kelley Blue Book is in a unique position to engage a large majority of these highly qualified, in-market vehicle buyers in The Trusted Marketplace.
“The Trusted Marketplace will allow dealers to directly engage with serious buyers, and drive both new- and used- car shoppers to submit leads, to a dealer’s storefront page and their inventory,” said Paul Johnson, president and CEO, Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. “Kbb.com is the first place millions of Americans visit each month to begin their vehicle research process, making it the ideal place to continue their shopping process all on one Web site.”
During the fourth quarter of 2009, The Trusted Marketplace program will make a revolutionary move to a pay-for-performance model, allowing dealers to better manage their vehicle marketing costs. Paying only for leads dealers receive from kbb.com ensures that dealer costs are limited to the value of each high-quality, consumer-interest lead. Dealers can still sign up before September 30 to become a Kelley Blue Book Showcase Dealer and participate in The Trusted Marketplace program for a nominal fee.
“The scale of kbb.com’s pay-for-performance model is a game-changer in the online classifieds business,” said Johnson. “We expect that this program will be successful in not only matching consumers with cars that they want to buy, but also in helping the industry sell more vehicles at lower per-vehicle advertising costs. That’s a win-win situation we strive for every day – helping consumers and the industry to achieve their respective goals with confidence.”
Kelley Blue Book is working closely with technology provider Vast Inc., a vertical search platform providing an unrivaled experience in vehicle research and shopping to shoppers within The Trusted Marketplace on kbb.com.
Dealers wishing to obtain additional information on The Trusted Marketplace or become a Showcase Dealer can call 1-866-561-3559.
About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company’s top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book® Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. – 2008 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, car reviews and news, used car blue book values, auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.
KELLEY BLUE BOOK ANNOUNCES NEW VALUE: CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED
Kbb.com to Educate Consumers on Value, Benefit of Certified Pre-Owned Programs
IRVINE, Calif., November 17, 2009 – Kelley Blue Book, www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new- and used-vehicle values, today announces the addition of a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Value to its top rated Web site for consumer automotive shopping information. The value will appear on kbb.com beginning in December 2009 to educate consumers on the benefits and value of Certified Pre-Owned vehicle programs.
Kelley Blue Book determines a vehicle’s CPO value by adding an appropriate CPO premium to the Blue Book® Suggested Retail Value. The CPO premium is determined by processing recent CPO vehicle transactions through a statistical model and analyzing discrete CPO program costs to determine an appropriate premium. The company is adding this value to its stable of well-known and trusted values as a means to further educate consumers on the value of a certified program and the premium cost associated with a certified vehicle.
“Publishing the Kelley Blue Book® CPO Values will help promote manufacturer based certified programs as well as the value and peace of mind it affords consumers,” said Paul Johnson, president and chief executive officer, Kelley Blue Book. “Kbb.com will also have comparisons of various OEM programs which will help educate the consumer and showcase the benefits of each OEM program.”
All Kelley Blue Book values are updated on a weekly basis using multivariate statistical models, including the newest, the Kelley Blue Book Certified Pre-Owned Value
Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Value Definition
Kelley Blue Book Certified Pre-Owned Value is a suggested retail price that is representative of dealers’ asking prices for a used car covered by the automaker’s CPO program, and the starting point for negotiation between a consumer and a dealer. Certified Pre-Owned cars are screened and reconditioned according to the automaker’s CPO program specifications, and typically include warranty coverage that extends beyond any remaining factory warranty. Kelley Blue Book Certified Pre-Owned Value takes into account the dealers' profit, costs for advertising, sales commissions and other costs of doing business, plus any value associated with the CPO program. The final sale price may vary according to the vehicle's actual condition, popularity, type of warranty offered and local market conditions.
“Dealers have welcomed this new value as a way to help educate the consumer about the benefits and value of buying a CPO car,” Johnson continued. “By making this information available it potentially makes the sale of a CPO car easier because a third-party independent source like Kelley Blue Book can verify the program details and the vehicle’s value for a consumer even before visiting a dealership .”
In early December, the Kelley Blue Book Certified Pre-Owned Value will be found along side of our existing used car values within the Used-Car pricing path on kbb.com, and will have its own Blue Book Certified Pre-Owned Value “hub” page.
Kelley Blue Book plans to integrate its CPO Value into many of its industry products and services sometime in 2010.
About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company’s top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book® Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. – 2008 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, car reviews and news, used car blue book values, auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.
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