A lead follow-up platform said to improve dealership’s average response to 10 minutes has won the prestigious Test Drive award from automotive data marketing consultancy, Sophus3.

TrackBack, which provides a real-time lead tracking and reporting platform to 20 major car brands, powered the top three performers in the Test Drive Award, announced at the Sophus3 Value Creation through the Digital Journey Conference in London.

Sophus3 submitted 10 test drive requests from multiple locations to every major brand’s website over a three-month period in order to measure lead responses. The speed of response by the nearest dealer was then recorded and measured.

The 2016 overall winner was Vauxhall, which has been using the TrackBack platform in the UK since 2011. The average follow-up achieved by dealers was just 10 minutes.

Second-placed Alfa Romeo and third-placed Fiat also use the TrackBack.

Marcus Hodgkinson, chairman at Sophus3, said: “2015 saw a marked improvement in the quality and timeliness of lead follow-ups by auto brands and dealers across Europe.

“The volume brands made the largest performance strides after falling behind premium brands in past years. This is a clear indication that auto brands are making greater investments in lead management and lead tracking processes.”

Karen Standen, head of digital marketing at Vauxhall, said: “In today’s digital age, it is vital that online customer enquiries are responded to quickly and professionally by our dealer network.

“TrackBack has given Vauxhall the ability to measure and monitor this process, and has undoubtedly contributed to our success in winning this award.”

TrackBack’s managing director, Gareth Thomas, added: “We’re delighted to see how brands such as Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo and Fiat are using the Trackback platform to its full advantage.

“Through TrackBack, our clients are seeing huge improvements in the speed and quality of lead follow-up, with more and more senior marketing and CRM personnel starting to view the service as indispensable.”

TrackBack was established in 2006. Originally known as Calls2Account, it initially provided inbound call tracking services to franchised dealers and vehicle manufacturers.

TrackBack was launched in 2008 and has evolved to include the tracking of both calls and emails from dealers in response to leads provided by their manufacturer.

Today TrackBack operates in over 30 countries and claims to have tracked over four million leads to date.