EUROPE’S LARGEST COMMERCIAL VEHICLE WHEEL DISTRIBUTOR EXPANDS AS MARKETING STRATEGY IS IMPLEMENTED
Motor Wheel Services (MWS) implemented a new marketing strategy with support from the NAA Business Excellence project and the company has since benefited from a number of new business opportunities
PROJECT
MWS marketing strategy and implementation
BACKGROUND
MWS is a well-established company that specialises in the area of commercial vehicle wheels. Its core business is the supply of replacement steel wheels for trucks. However it is also aiming to supply more steel wheels into original manufacturers, for both trucks and trailers. MWS can even manufacture wheels if they are no longer available. Finally, MWS markets the Xlite brand in Europe, which is a lightweight forged aluminium truck wheel.
PROJECT AIM
The main aim of the project was to implement a marketing strategy and to provide mentoring, advice and guidance for the production of websites for MWS Group, MWS commercial wheels, and the company’s lightweight forged aluminium wheels brand, Xlite. However the project also included the requirement to develop new websites for MWS – both for the commercial wheels division, and for the MWS Group.
NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT
MWS is a well-established company, but as it had developed it had also outgrown its websites. MWS’s Xlite site wasn’t sufficiently international, and the MWS websites didn’t convey clearly or professionally what the company offered.
APPROACH
The contract to review and implement the marketing for MWS was won by Automotive Comms, part of Promote, and funding support was provided by the Northwest Automotive Alliance (NAA) Business Excellence (BE) programme. The first stage of the project was a marketing review in order to ensure that a full understanding was gained about MWS and its plans for the future. From this review, a strategy was produced which involved the production of new websites for the company. One website was produced for the MWS Group, which incorporated the commercial vehicle wheel division, together with another division of the company that repairs and refurbishes wire wheels for classic cars. A second website was produced purely for the commercial vehicle side of the business. A third website was produced for MWS’s Xlite brand, with the aim of this site being a base for sites produced by Xlite distributors throughout Europe and beyond. All of the sites benefited from professional design, copy writing and photography.
OUTCOMES
MWS now has three professional websites; one for the MWS Group, one for the commercial vehicle wheels division of MWS, and one for Xlite, the lightweight forged aluminium truck wheel brand. As the websites were finished, MWS was invited to tender for a large contract with tyre-fitting company ATS Euromaster. Much of the design and imagery from the new websites was used in the presentation to ATS Euromaster, helping to enhance the professional image of MWS. MWS was successful in winning the tender. All the websites can now be updated by MWS, allowing them to be easily kept up to date with latest information. The Xlite site has provided a base for international distributors to develop their own websites, giving the Xlite brand the genuine international coverage that was desired, which is expected to lead to a significant increase in sales.
John Ellis says:
“MWS was always seen as offering excellent service to its customers, but the new marketing strategy and websites mean that such benefits are now communicated much more professionally and effectively. We also now have a platform to build the Xlite brand globally. The support from the NAA BE programme has been a significant help in order to allow us to implement this marketing project.”
