Show The Photos Your Target Audience EXPECT To See

I’ve recently been on the hunt for a new family car. Before walking into a showroom, I want to know if the car is going to be the right fit. 

The first point of call is the car websites so I can learn as much as possible before engaging with a pushy salesperson.

I’ve had several new cars over the years and I’ve never liked the initial experience when walking in. I always (regardless of car brand) feel like pond scum. That’s another story, but needless to say, I only want to engage a sales team member when I’m actually ready to chat numbers.

We have 3 kids and my wife currently drives a Ford S-Max. She loves it because of the space it provides in the boot, the option to fold up an extra 2 seats (to make 7), and the ability to throw the kids’ bikes along with a buggy in the boot.

The S-Max is the ideal Mum wagon.

Sadly it needs a fair bit of work so we’ve been weighing up whether to chop it in for a shiny new car (a Mum bus that looks less like a Mum bus, as I’ll be driving it too).

The Family Car Yabba Dabba Doo Wish List

So here’s the requirements list for this new car (I have excluded bells and whistles).

• 7 seats
• Big boot space for bikes and buggies
• 3 seats across the back row that can fit child seats or ISOFIX bases

The last one is one of the most important. We have 3 kids under 8. They need either high-back boosters or rear-facing car seats. Trying to squeeze these 3 things into most cars is impossible (the S-Max does this by the way).

Narrowing Down To 2

After spending loads of time on every car manufacturer’s website, exploring their ranges, we narrowed our search down to the Kia Sorento and the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The Kia is a good-looking car and has lots of bells and whistles, however despite it being a 7-seater family car, we struggled to find any images on the website of the rear interior.

They’re marketing a car with 7 seats, which screams family car, and yet provide no images of the seats or the rear area of the car.

There’s a 360-degree view of the outside of the car, but not of the inside.

This always baffles me. The interior is the most important part of the car. It’s where the driver and passengers sit. The outside is for everyone else to enjoy, YOU, the USER get to sit inside. So why wouldn’t I want to have a good snoop around?

Hello Hyundai

Now, this brings me to Hyundai. They provide a much better view of the interior. Below is a bird’s eye view of the layout, something we were very keen to explore.

This sadly doesn’t show the boot space but gives a much clearer idea of the space inside the car.

In Comes Their Digital Virtual Showroom

On the website, Hyundai has the option to look at a virtual showroom, with the ability to walk around and take a look inside their cars. Above is a view from this that shows the interior from the view of someone sitting in the back seats. You can rotate the view around to get a good feel for the car.

Exiting the car, you can navigate around the exterior and take a good look at the boot space too.

Unfortunately, the 40/20/40 seats are not going to be large enough for a full car seat, which is a dealbreaker for us. It would mean that for us to go out as a family, we’d need to utilise the 6th seat to get everyone in comfortably, and that means sacrificing boot space.

No Waste Of My Time Or The Salespersons

Now because I’ve been able to tour the car myself, I’ve saved the need to go and look at it in a showroom and also saved the salesperson’s time, having to show me around the car and answer all the usual questions. I’ve also saved myself from feeling belittled when going in.

What’s To Swipe & Deploy?

This one is straightforward. Don’t be afraid to put more imagery on your website. Understand your audience and what they’re looking for, so you can make sure there’s imagery available on your site to demonstrate that.

Kia did put some images in their brochure and captured my email address. But there still wasn’t enough to get a good understanding of whether the car would meet our needs. As much as I know they want you to come and see them, I would still be hesitant about wasting my time, their time, and being hit with the hard sell.

So regardless of products or services, imagery and video are hugely important in a user’s buying journey. The Hyundai experience was great as it let me snoop around in my own time. Providing anything that can allow a customer to dissect your product in detail is a great move, especially when many of your competitors might not be doing the same.

However, every buyer is different and has different needs. The challenge here is trying to deliver everything that the users expect to see, without overwhelming them.

That’s a wrap for Swipe & Deploy #5. Join me next week when I’ll share another insight or piece of inspiration from around the web. 

Just In Case You Were Wondering

Due to the car manufacturers not being able to deliver cars until midway through next year, my wife is getting her wish. We’re choosing to spend near to the car’s value to have it repaired.

Which made her very happy.

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