Green car share company Flexicar has relied heavily on Google AdWords as its most effective form of advertising since its was founded in 2005, helping it increase business by 400 percent.
Flexicar was founded by Monique Conheady from Victoria. The daughter of a business owner, she had been interested in setting up her own business in the green area since she was young. While travelling through the US on a holiday, she had an idea: a business that would allow its members to share energy efficient cars, thereby giving them the freedom of driving their own cars without the costs and hassles of owning one. The seeds of Flexicar had been planted.
The business was officially founded in 2005 in Conheady’s hometown of Melbourne. Membership allows 24-hour, inner city car access when required, without all the costs, hassles and carbon footprints associated with car ownership. People join and make bookings online and easily gain entry to cars parked in designated areas.
Flexicar has never used traditional advertising methods like television or radio. Soon after the company’s inception, sales and marketing manager Debbie Joyce insisted on utilising Google AdWords. She says: “AdWords produces far more results for Flexicar than any other form of advertising. On top of that, these results can be easily tracked.”
For more than two years, Google AdWords has supported Flexicar’s burgeoning online promotional strategies and marketing mixes, that are targeted to the specific needs of their customer profiles. “Flexicar started out with a small budget and a few general keywords. We have since created a more targeted AdWords campaign and have increased our budget significantly as we’ve seen that it works,” says Joyce.”
So what advice would she give other businesses considering using Google AdWords? “It’s definitely something worth including in your company’s marketing plans,” she says. “You actually see results.” She loves the fact the she is able to log into her AdWords account at any time to see the results that the AdWords program tracks.
Increasing membership is a critical aspect of Flexicar’s success and crucial to the growth of the company. AdWords has had a fantastic impact on the business, with the service now also available in Sydney. Joyce says around a quarter of Flexicar’s customers would have found them through Google.
“We’re still learning, but as our business grows, so does our relationship with Google Adwords.” In the last 12 months, Flexicar’s business has grown by 400 percent. Flexicar continues to speed down a long road of success and AdWords is along for the ride.
What they needed:
*To drive traffic to their website
*To increase Flexicar membership
*To reach an identified target audience
*To establish and grow their presence in Australia
What they did:
*Began with Google AdWords in 2005
*Created one campaign with multiple keywords and ads
*Ran reports in order to optimise campaign and refine keyword list
*Increased AdWords budget to capture more of their audience
What they accomplished:
*New and returning customers
*Increased revenue: Increased business by 400 percent using Google AdWords as their primary source of advertising
*New business focus: Currently looking to expand their unique business to other Australian and international markets
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