The company targets revenue of up to Bt10 million next year.
“ldquo;I had a bad experience when I bought my car three years ago because I had to visit more than 10 showrooms, which took more than a month before I found the best deal,” Siriporn, 37, said in an interview with The Nation. “This challenged me to find a new business model to serve [people wanting] to buy a new car.
“I met with my partner Damien Kerneis, a Frenchman who has experience with cars, and I learned about a business model from France, which offers deals on a website from a number of car dealers.”
Two years after starting to learn how to do this business, Siriporn and Kerneis established Weddee Group with registered capital of Bt1 million. The company negotiated with 20 car dealerships on showing their new models and offering deals to people who visit the website, which was set up early this year.
The 20 dealerships sell eight brands: Chevrolet, Honda, BMW, Ford, Nissan, Subaru, MG and Suzuki. The company is also negotiating with Toyota dealers on joining the website, and that deal may be finalised by the end of this year, she said.
Nine months after the launch of the website, it receives 30,000 visitors a month, and seals 400 deals a month for its 20 car-dealer partners.
Customers who visit the website can find information about the car models they are interested in and can compare the promotional campaigns of all the dealers. Once they message the webmaster, the customer’s information is sent to the dealer, which offers the best deal to the customer. After that, the dealer contacts the customer directly.
Up to 5 per cent of the people who have visited the website have been able to close a deal on a new car, and the number of deals has been rising every month.
So far, the company has been offering dealerships a special package allowing them to advertise 20 car models for Bt4,000 per month. At year-end, it will begin charging fees that should bring its income next year to Bt 10 million.
Siriporn said the company hopes to have 100 dealers on board by the end of next year.
She said the number of visitors to the website was rising by 10 per cent a month on average, with about 70 per cent accessing it with their smartphones.
Up to 93 per cent of Thais who plan to buy a new car search for information online before visiting a dealership. This change in consumer behaviour towards using the Internet and social media is an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to create new business models, Siriporn said. It is a low-cost way to reach a large number of potential customers nationwide.