Motorway Retail

Creating a platform to help dealers exclusively sell their cars

In early 2024, Motorway went live with a new buy your next car proposition. This product in its initial form was called Instant Match - Allowing Motorway to deliver prospective sales leads for the cars dealers have purchased on the website. Instant Match was designed to speed up the process of selling cars to private buyers and aims to combine the marketplace’s millions of users from Motorway and the recently acquired Total Car Check sites.

These visitors will be able to log what cars they are looking to buy with Motorway, and dealers will be fed those leads the moment they collect the car they’ve bought. This feature on Total Car Check quickly grew into its own product on the Motorway site. After a few iteration from our principle designer, I picked this project up to examine some experimental changes.

To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views & facts of the company.

Overview

I was brought onboard this project at Motorway to explore and test new opportunities aimed at improving the quality of our leads, while simultaneously optimizing the overall user experience. The primary goal was to increase both the quantity and the value of leads, ensuring that our platform attracted more serious buyers.

Client

Motorway

Timescale

Jul 24 - Sep 24

Role

Product Designer, Workshop facilitation, Stakeholder management, Rapid prototyping, User research, Visual design,

The challenge 1

Increasing search result relevance

One key initiative was introducing a required postcode entry at the start of the user journey. This step helped us gather accurate location information early on, allowing us to show users vehicles that were more relevant to their area. We knew this could add a bit of friction to an otherwise smooth experience, but the benefit was that users would see closer, more affordable cars instead of just general recommendations from Motorway. After launch, we were pleased to see no significant drop in vehicle views, which was reassuring and aligned with existing user behaviors, so this adjustment felt natural for users.

Challenge 2

Capturing high intent

Another area I focused on was testing the idea of allowing direct dealer contact earlier in the sales process. Initially, we let users inquire about any vehicle, but this approach led to a lot of low-quality leads from buyers who often weren’t serious. To address this, we created a process that encouraged higher-intent buyers by requiring them to call to show interest. While the results didn’t fully meet our expectations, we weren’t completely surprised since this change significantly limited users’ ability to make contact. It was a calculated risk we were prepared to take in order to capture data and get a realistic view of potential results.

Challenge 3

Selling vehicles earlier

To improve user experience and increase leads, we saw an opportunity to expand the browsable inventory by showing Motorway vehicles earlier in the process. This approach would help dealers sell faster and offer buyers more options. However, we knew some buyers might find this new vehicle stage unclear. Our goal was to make it easy for users to understand the benefit of browsing these early-stage vehicles without fixed prices, so they’d feel more in control of their search. Our final concept used clear, simple visuals and messaging to communicate this value.

Challenge 4

SEO landing pages

The final project I worked on focused on using SEO to increase site traffic, ultimately driving more inquiries and leads. This involved analyzing SEO strategies to understand what was working well on similar platforms. From this research, we identified key patterns we could leverage: first, areas where we could differentiate to stand out in search results; and second, proven tactics we could replicate to achieve similar success. By balancing these approaches, we aimed to boost visibility and attract a larger audience actively looking for our services.

Demo jobs

This feature was introduced late in the development cycle to address a growing discrepancy between our in-app tutorials and on-site training. Despite our efforts to create an intuitive user experience, new drivers often struggled to navigate the app during their initial use. This disconnect negatively impacted both the driver's experience and their interactions with stakeholders.

To mitigate this issue, I designed a Demo Job feature. This feature replicated our standard inspection process but used a demo car with placeholder details. By providing a guided walkthrough of the app's functionalities, we aimed to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, enhancing the onboarding experience for new drivers.