Allmakes 4×4 – Over 30 years of trading
For over 30 years, Allmakes 4×4 has been supplying high quality Land Rover parts and accessories strictly to the trade customers such as parts businesses, workshops, government organisations, charities and NGO’s across the world.
Originally known as simply “Allmakes”, a name relating to the vision of the company’s founding director, Peter Hands, the company now known as Allmakes 4×4 has grown into one of the most recognised suppliers for Land Rover parts in existence.
The company was started in 1977 and originally focused on supplying parts for Land Rovers, trucks and buses. Allmakes gained significant growth and was eventually awarded the Queens Award for Export in 1991. The Late 90’s saw Allmakes change its name to Allmakes 4×4 as by this time they were firmly established as a key Land Rover parts supplier. The company became the first and only company to hold an ISO9001:2000 accreditation specifically for “Storage, supply and delivery of genuine, original and replacement spare parts and accessories for vehicles manufactured by Land Rover”
Fast forward to 2007 and the rumblings of a new brand were being heard in the Land Rover market. Allmakes 4×4 released Terrafirma, a performance range of expedition grade equipment designed to suit the style, performance and budget requirements of the Land Rover market. The Serious 4×4 Accessories brand. Terrafirma has since become a success story of its own, and recently featured on the front cover of Land Rover Owner International magazine as a catalogue.
In 2008, following a change of management system and at considerable investment , Allmakes 4×4 became the first company to offer full online ordering via the Allmakes 4×4 Trade Portal. Online sales now account for 40% of the total Allmakes 4×4 turnover. In 2009 a PC desktop version of the Trade Portal called Allmakes Shadow was launched to effectively make Allmakes 4×4 open and ready for business the moment people switched their computers on.
Strategy
Terrafirma was the brain child of Eddie Priscott (Sales Director of Allmakes 4×4) and was originally introduced as a suspension upgrade through Frogs Island 4×4, a sub-division of Allmakes 4×4.
Originally designed to provide excellent quality and be more affordable than some of the other premium brands, Terrafirma proved to be an alternative that many Frogs Island customers were interested in.
It was a different, well designed product that gave a sense of uniqueness to the owners of the vehicles on which Terrafirma products were being fitted to.
This great opportunity was quickly seized by management and soon it was decided that this product should be enhanced, and that the range should be expanded, and that this was a brand that needed to go beyond the doors of Frogs Island 4×4 and into the worldwide Land Rover aftermarket.
However, there are a couple of challenges the team behind Terrafirma was facing. Firstly, the Land Rover parts and accessories aftermarket was already highly saturated. Terrafirma brand faced very tough competition in the market. For example, the aftermarket was already full of very niche brands that specialised in one thing or another. There were already a bundle of different suspension packages available as were there a variety of upgrade equipment brands, expedition brands and performance brands.
Secondly, because Allmakes 4×4 is growing, running the campaign with a fat budget wasn’t realistic, so the team needed to focus on cost effective ways of promoting the brand.
Thirdly, the team also had very limited access to internal or external marketing resources. For example, hiring professional marketing agency to execute the campain wouldn’t be an option. And it is not until recently that Allmakes 4×4 had started to form their marketing force.
Brand positioning in the market
The team figured out that in order to show the brand’s uniqueness, Terrafirma needed to be positioned as “Quality, Performance and Value” 4×4 accessories which are targeting Land Rover enthusiasts and their exceptional demands. This will translate the brand as “The products must be affordable, in high quality finish and tough enough to serve the purpose of expedition and adventure. Not only that, the brand must be expandable which allows plenty of choices for consumers and fully accommodate their growing needs”.
Marketing Mix
With limitations and brand positioning in mind, the development team then opted for constructing a dedicated website where online promotion can be carried out to fulfil the tasks. Alongside this strategy, there are also a mixture of marketing techniques applied including conventional marketing, advertising and online marketing.
Objectives of the campaign
- To introduce the brand of Terrafirma, raise brand awareness to consumers in the Land Rover aftermarket.
- To build up a network of Terrafirma authorized distributor network worldwide and get more distributors to sign up.
- Terrafirma brand and the range of products will need to meet the exceptional demands of Land Rover users and enthusiasts.
- Terrafirma will need to offer plenty of choice, clear product identification and application,
ensuring the correct product can be selected from the extensive and increasing range of accessories. - And as a new brand introduced to Land Rover aftermarket, Terrafirma will need to attract healthy sales growth, good profit margins and market share.
The target audience
We have established that there are two major groups of target audiences Terrafirma brand is facing:
consumers/end users and trade customers.
Consumers/End Users
Since Terrafirma don’t sell directly to the public, we have decided that Terrafirma brand image and philosophy will still need to be advertised directly to them. This is not only because the consumers/end users account for the retail sales of our trade customers who buy from Allmakes 4×4, but our trade customers are in need of that support to help them promote themselves. Therefore we have brought Terrafirma’s branding in line with Allmake 4×4’s corporate image strategy, and then helped or provided guidance for our customers to follow.
Trade customers/distributors
In the UK market where accounts for the majority of Land Rover vehicle sales, Terrafirma is targeting mail order parts specialists (including eBay parts specialists), workshops, workshops who sell parts over the counter or by mail orders, sub-wholesalers who wholesale to other distributors and sell to the retail. Outside UK where Land Rover marque is less popular than in the UK, Terrafirma is targeting large wholesalers and parts distributors.
Media, channels or techniques used
Terrafirma website (Online Promotion)
The main marketing channel Allmakes 4×4 rely upon to promote the Terrafirma brand is our innovative, self-developed and dedicated Terrafirma 4×4 website. The website introduces the full range of Terrafirma products, stores up-to-date product information and has a built-in database of Terrafirma distributors.
The highlight of the website’s functions is that visitors no matter who they are – trade or retail customers – are able to add their interested items to online “wish lists”. For retail customers, they can choose to send their completed wish lists to their nearest Terrafirma distributor who will subsequently contact them with price and delivery information. Allmakes trade customers can also build wish lists, however they have the option to login to the site, at which point the wish lists become priced and they have the option to convert their wish lists to basket items and place the order directly with Allmakes 4×4 via our Trade Portal.
This feature provides great convenience for visitors to locate their product and distributor quickly but also allows trade customers to follow the sale lead and place orders if they are running out of stock. On the back of this, Allmakes 4×4 is able to monitor the process, analyse the data, evaluate brand performance and improve the platform.
Terrafirma website has also been used to introduce new products to the range such as underbody protection and also associated brands such as Green Cotton filters and LightForce lighting equipment, thus keeping customers up to date about our latest news and developments. The Terrafirma website is also an ideal tool to offer support to our authorised distributors worldwide. It allows them log in to the site and download full marketing materials about the brand, thus help them promote the brand in their homeland market.
Desktop software application – Shadow
We have also been marketing full Terrafirma range through our self-developed desktop software “Shadow”. Customers can run the handy program from their end without visiting the actual website and then be able to check stock availability and place orders.
84-page full color Terrafirma catalogue
In the summer of 2009 it was decided that the aftermarket could make use of a guide that not only explained the Terrafirma products in detail, but that also explained the way in which Terrafirma products could be used by the consumer to achieve the desired results. The first ever Terrafirma catalogue was prepared along with an online “page-flicker” version.
The catalogue was distributed with the February edition of LRO magazine at the beginning of 2010. This 84 page full colour brochure serves as a useful companion for any 4×4 enthusiast, offering full details of Terrafirma products and our associated brands plus offering very useful advice on choosing the correct components and setup.
This represents a major step forward in the Terrafirma campaign and we knew it would be popular, but we were still surprised by exactly how popular it proved. Bauer Media (operators of LRO) recorded an additional 10% circulation in January as a direct result of the Terrafirma catalogue being on the front of it.
Allmakes have had to do a subsequent run of 20,000 copies, just to keep up with demand.
Email marketing and newsletter
We have been using email campaigns to send news, promotions and special offers to Allmakes 4×4 Trade Portal customers monthly in a bid to generate sales and brand awareness of Terrafirma and associated brands. Unlike conventional email campaigns where information weighs more than interactive action, we have employed clever coding in our emails to actually encourage purchasing. For example, for customers who have Trade Portal accounts with us, the hyperlinks in the email will log them on automatically after being clicked and bring them direct to the product page on Trade Portal, enabling them to check product information, check pricing that is specific to the customer, check availability and place orders directly with Allmakes 4×4. Click through rates and other email statistics have also been recorded to monitor email performance. As a result, this has lead to increased sales in specific Terrafirma products.
In addition to email campaigns, we have been distributing digital newsletters to customers in order to broadcast to a wider audience in the trade. The monthly full color newsletter contains full details of news, new products and services launches, promotions and application guides which the customers are encouraged to print and use as handy reference guides.
Press releases
Terrafirma news articles and range expansion notices have been frequently sent to editors of 4×4 related magazines around the world. As a result, these articles have featured in a number of magazines in multiple territories and languages
Advertising in magazines
Another media we have chosen to promote Terrafirma brand is through selected main circulating publications that are dedicated to the Land Rover marque, e.g. LRO(Land Rover Owner International) and Land Rover Monthly.
Participation in expedition programs
Our sales director Eddie Prescott has been actively involved in worldwide expedition programmes, contests, green-laning and off-road adventures for many years. His lifestyle and background helps keep the brand up to date with new 4×4 technologies, innovations and current affairs.
Trade shows
The Terrafirma brand has also appeared in 4×4 shows such as the British Indoor 4×4 show, LRO Billing Show, French auto show and AutoMechanika. By having presence at these shows, we manage to raise brand awareness with both Trade and Retail customers, as well as attract new suppliers.
Social media network
As Terrafirma is created to be popular with Land Rover enthusiasts, we have also been trying to reach them through a more relaxed way by using social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook. We are pleased to see 4×4 enthusiasts following Terrafirma on Twitter finding out about our latest developments and news.
Online Forums
We have been actively involved in 4×4 and Land Rover forums, creating enough buzz about Terrafirma brand. Involving public opinions about Terrafirma brand enables us to access the first-hand market information, analyse competition and improve the Terrafirma product range.
Terrafirma 90 vehicle
We have modified a 2008 Land Rover Defender 90 using it as a showcase for the Terrafirma range of accessories and upgrades for Land Rover vehicles. It is a test and development vehicle for new or improved products. It is also available to demonstrate Terrafirma products for technical, sales and show purposes.
Timescales of the campaign
The timescale of Terrafirma campaign is from Jun 2007 to May 2010. Below is the breakdown lists of major events and activities.
Jun- 07
Results
- Terrafirma website visits (clicks)
- Sales leads (wish lists) generated from Terrafirma website
A total 476 wish lists have been generated through Terrafirma4x4.com within the timescale of the campaign by our customers. Below is the breakdown list according to countries.
- Sales (in GBP)
Terrafirma has pulled in a total of £1,664,075.00 sales for Allmakes 4×4. And we managed to achieve sales for 250 different product lines in the range within the timescale of the campaign. Terrafirma branded shock absorbers, for instance, have outsold our standard shock absorbers 2:1. Below is the breakdown by months.
- Profit Margin
We have achieved on average a 10-20 per cent higher profit margin on Terrafirma range of equipments by comparison to the other products we sell in the company.
- Distributor network
Terrafirma has successfully built up a network of over 70 authorised distributors worldwide. Terrafirma also offered great support for local distributor to promote the brand. For example, we worked with one wholesaler in Spain to advertise in Spanish 4×4 magazine. We also either worked with or sponsored various distributors in attending trade shows.
Client testimonial
“Of the many projects that I have been personally involved with during my time with Allmakes 4×4, taking Terrafirma to market has been one of the most rewarding. As a business that has only really ever been reactionary, attempting to generate demand for not just a new product, but a whole new brand, was entirely new territory for us.
Projects at Allmakes 4×4 have always taken time to generate speed and Terrafirma is no exception. Time, budget and resource have to be managed carefully when you’re stretched, and it is very rare that anyone has been employed by the company to focus on one single project. I think with Terrafirma, we were also unsure of what exactly was required in terms of resource, we had never done anything like it before.
So it was left to those with either product knowledge or with marketing credentials or sometimes even just with time to commit, to collaborate with one another and start building interest in the brand. I was one of those lucky people and am personally responsible for the very first Terrafirma leaflet, The Terrafirma Website, The Allmakes 4×4 trade portal, Allmakes Shadow, The Allmakes 4×4 brand guidelines, various online promotions and marketing, and am also involved with the various shows that we are now attending.
Looking at Terrafirma as a brand is something I am very proud of. People like the name and they really like the products, but what’s more we have instilled a sense of quality about the brand which aligns it well with other established brands. Terrafirma has not only provided us with a route to selling specialist accessories, it has meant we can command a better profit per line and Terrafirma has boosted the company’s sales of brands that are associated with it.
Terrafirma is now a well-known name within the market. There are other major brands such as Britpart, Old Man Emu, TJM, Koni and Bilstein, and these have been in the market for over a decade. Terrafirma sits between TJM and Old Man Emu on quality and between Britpart and Koni on price. Terrafirma has also had had a huge effect on the number of new trade accounts that we have opened, with the reason of “Terrafirma” much of the time being sighted as the main reason. Terrafirma has boosted the recognition of Allmakes 4×4 as a company. These products are significantly more interesting than anything else we have sold before and many of our customers build dedicated areas of their shops to fill with Terrafirma product. Enhancing our exposure at a retail level.
I look forward to helping take Terrafirma to greater heights over the next couple of years. We have many new products and services planned which shall each deliver a greater market share and greater opportunity for profit.” Mike Hands, communications manager
