How the 'world’s worst website' sold over £85 million of new cars in a single year

You may have heard of Lings Cars. A car leasing company that has become famous for its terrible-looking website.

Despite lacking aesthetically pleasing visuals, the Lings Cars website has been incredibly successful.

Lingcars.com stands out as a beacon of quirkiness and humour in a world of bland and generic car rental companies.

The mastermind behind the website's unique branding and marketing tactics is Ling Valentine, a Chinese-born entrepreneur who moved to the UK in the 1990s.

According to Ling, in one year^* they sold over £85 million in new car sales online! What’s more impressive is that they did this with a workforce of fewer than 10 people.

So is the aesthetics of the website the reason for her success? No... it's not.

Ling's deep understanding of her customers' needs and desires sets Lings Cars apart.

She knows that people don't just want to rent a car; they want to feel special and valued, they want to rent from someone they can trust, and they don’t want to feel like they’re being ripped off.

This customer-centric approach has helped Lings Cars stand out in a crowded market and attract a loyal following of customers who appreciate her unique approach to business.

In this edition of the Wallop'd Weekly newsletter, I uncover Ling's three key tactics to build a highly successful and profitable online business. Including:

1. Strategies for standing out and being unique

2. Building trust through transparency and social proof

3. Increasing business efficiency through integrated online systems

So let's explore the secrets behind Ling Valentine's success: settle in and learn more!

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How Ling Valentine's Quirky Personality has Built an online Car Rental Empire that stands out from the crowd

Few entrepreneurs are as bold and unapologetic as Ling Valentine regarding marketing and branding.

From her flamboyant outfits and quirky catchphrases to her unconventional business tactics and bold humour, Ling has created a personal brand synonymous with her car rental company, Lingscars.com.

Her bold and unconventional personal brand isn't just a reflection of her personality - it's also a key element of Lings Cars’ marketing strategy.

Rather than most rental car websites' typical dreary and corporate design, they stand out by infusing Ling’s personal brand into the website with humour, authenticity and eccentricity.

Her quirky catchphrases, such as "I'm not normal, I'm LING!" have become part of the company's core and are frequently quoted by customers and fans. She’s even created branded merchandise featuring her catchphrases.

By using these items as giveaways or selling them on her website, Ling has created a sense of community and turned her customers into walking billboards for the company.

Lingscars.com is not only visually distinctive but also highly engaging, with interactive features that are unexpected and delightful, including an online Scalextric-style game called Sca-Ling-Tric and a Car Quiz where you can win a car.

Ling's broken English, unconventional grammar and colourful language may not be everyone's cup of tea. Still, by speaking directly to her customers in her unique style, Ling has created a personal connection with them that is nearly impossible for competitors to match.

Unconventional and humorous marketing tactics

Ling also stands out with her quirky and offbeat promotional campaigns, including unusual giveaways, such as a Russian tank, a statue of Margaret Thatcher, and even a holiday to North Korea.

Rather than relying on traditional advertising methods, they’ve used more unusual tactics, such as placing a nuclear missile truck next to the A1 with Lingcars.com written on it. She almost got arrested for it, according to an interview she did with Vice magazine back in 2017.

These tactics may seem silly, but they helped Lings generate buzz and attention on social media while standing out in a crowded marketplace.

Takeaways for standing out

Now you’d have to be brave to take the same approach as Ling. I wouldn’t recommend you design a website with a paisley background for instance.

Ling approaches marketing with full gusto and confidence, and it could easily backfire if she didn’t.

But if you're selling something typically considered dull, like car rentals, and you want to get ahead, then you should make your website different from your competitors in a way full of personality.

You could create your own personal brand to make your businesses stand out, but if this isn’t for you, then infuse humour and authenticity into your messaging and content. Doing so will create a strong and memorable brand that resonates with customers and keeps them returning for more.

Humour is a strong marketing tactic

Research shows that emotion influences a customer’s motivation to buy. Humour creates a positive feeling (an emotion) towards a brand, and they are more likely to purchase from them because of it.

Another example of a similar business is Poo-Pourri, which sells a bathroom spray designed to eliminate odours from stinky poos!

Poo-Pourri gained popularity with amusing videos featuring a prim and proper British woman humorously discussing the product's benefits.

Since launch, they’ve gained over 100,000 5-star reviews and become a No.1 best seller on Amazon for travel essentials, just another case study for why humour and personality work.

Trust me; I'm Ling! The Importance of building trust in building credibility

How Ling builds trust through ultra transparency

Ling's commitment to transparency and trust has been a cornerstone of her business success, helping her to establish credibility and foster a loyal customer base.

She ensures customers know exactly what they're paying for, with no hidden costs or surprises.

Customers can easily find a live list of newly ordered cars and the unique selling points and benefits of leasing a car with them.

Plus, they get a behind-the-scenes look at Ling and her team, with amusing videos and personal information that make the website feel genuine and personable.

There are a lot of pictures of Ling on the website, which isn’t just ego-driven! Seeing real people behind important info and call to action adds a layer of trustworthiness to a message - even if it is a bit garish and slightly wacky!

On her website, Ling comments:

"The current w.w.web is STILL not very human-friendly. I usually get very angry with other web efforts as they are pretty poor in usability terms, and generally patronising and condescending" "People like 'real,' so I give them real."

Building Trust with Social Proof

Ling is an expert at leveraging social proof to create meaningful connections with her customers.

With over 1,500 glowing testimonials from satisfied customers on her website, she is clearly committed to ensuring her customers leave with a smile. Her reviews are genuine and relatable, further bolstering the trust she has earned.

Ling's website also stands out for her unique way of engaging with customers – by responding to every testimonial with a humorous remark.

Not only is this entertaining, but it also encourages people to stick around and explore the website further.

To make the experience even more personal, Ling provides filters to sort through testimonials by the type of car hired or even by customers named Bob.

This thoughtful touch adds a special human element to her website, making it an even better place to get a glowing review.

Additionally, Ling makes sure to be available to her customers by providing a live chat option on her website.

This lets customers ask questions and get help quickly, improving customer satisfaction and trust.

Takeaways for building trust

It takes time to build trust with your customers. But you can use your website and utilise these 4 simple tactics to make it happen much faster.

So if you’re looking to create a website that builds trust with your customers, then take a cue from Ling and follow these steps to get started:

1. Be transparent: Be open and honest with your customers about your business practices and what they can expect when working with you. This includes everything from pricing and payment policies to your company's values and mission.

2. Use social proof: Incorporate customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials into your website to show potential customers that others have had positive experiences with your business. This can help build trust and credibility with new customers.

3. Be responsive: Make sure you are responsive to customer inquiries and concerns. This can include responding to emails, messages, and comments on social media in a timely and helpful manner.

4. Offer guarantees: Offer a satisfaction guarantee or return policy to reassure customers that they can trust your products or services. This can help reduce the perceived risk of purchasing and increase customer confidence in your brand.

Bonus tip! If you need help with your guarantees, I recommend watching Alex Harmozi’s training video on creating sales-generating guarantees for your business offering. Or check out his book $100m Offers. I read it last year, and it’s a game-changer. And BTW I have no affiliation with Alex Harmozi, I just think he talks a lot of sense.

Ling Valentine's Secret Weapon: How Integrated Online Systems Boosted Her Business

Ling Valentine's success is not just about her creative branding and trust-building strategies but also her focus on integrating online systems to increase efficiency.

She is seen as a pioneer and has won multiple website awards, including the everywoman Iris Award for the best use of IT and Communications.

Ling's custom-built, automated online booking system streamlines the car rental process and enables customers to easily make reservations, check availability, and receive confirmation quickly and securely.

Automating her business operations also allows her small team to handle a large volume of bookings with minimal manual effort, saving time and increasing overall efficiency.

This means they can offer exceptional customer service, including answering online inquiries in less than 10 minutes.

The comprehensive online systems give her more time to focus on providing the best customer service possible, spend more time on promotional campaigns, and seek out deals that she can pass along to her customers.

With these systems in place, she can offer her customers exclusive offers, discounts and promotions that can help them save more and get more out of their purchases.

She can also use automation to keep in touch with her customers regularly and remind them of upcoming events and sales.

And because Lingcars.com operates exclusively online, they can keep overheads low, resulting in lower prices for customers.

Ling's innovative approach to the car industry has increased efficiency, profitability, and growth for Lings Cars.

As Ling says on her website;

"The key to this business is efficiency. This means that I give a very good personal service, I have very few overheads to add to the cost of the cars, plus I have a fully computerised system that I built myself, that I am developing all the time."

Takeaways for being more efficient

As a website owner, the key takeaway from Lingscars' success with integrated online systems is the importance of embracing automation and streamlining processes.

You can save time and increase efficiency by automating everyday tasks and investing in custom-built systems. This, in turn, allows you to provide a better customer experience, reach more potential customers and ultimately increase profitability and growth.

Ling has spent a lot of time and effort developing her systems in-house, but you don’t necessarily have to spend big to automate your processes and increase efficiency, many off-the-shelf solutions could fit your needs including:

Online project management tools like Asana, Notion, and Monday could help your team collaborate, set deadlines, and track progress in one place.

Online scheduling software like Calendly or Acuity Scheduling can make it much easier for your customers to schedule appointments online and avoid double bookings and scheduling conflicts.

Digital signature software, such as DocuSign, allows you to send and receive signed documents electronically, saving time and reducing the need for paper.

Apps like IFTTT and Zapier can help you save time and increase efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and connecting different apps and services.

For instance, if you run an e-commerce business and a customer places an order via another website, Zapier can automatically create a new order in your e-commerce platform and email the customer their order details and shipping information.

Hundreds of AI tools are being released daily that you can also use to help run your business, including Ai-powered chatbots like ChatFuel which can act as a customer service department for your website.

As Ling herself says, the key to success is efficiency, and by investing in integrated online systems, businesses can achieve just that.

So, whether building a custom booking system or automating your email marketing campaigns, don't be afraid to embrace technology and innovation to help take your business to the next level.

Lessons Learned: Applying Lings Cars Success Strategies to Your Own Business

Even though it has its faults… and let’s be honest, there are quite a few (it wouldn’t win any Awwwards nominations), Lings Cars has become a shining example of success in online business.

The company's unique approach to marketing, building trust, and increasing efficiency has helped it stand out from the competition and become one of the UK's most successful car rental businesses.

Looking back on their success, several key takeaways can be learned and applied to any online business:

1. Unconventional marketing tactics can effectively build a brand and attract customers.

2. Building trust through transparency, social proof, and exceptional customer service can help convert potential customers into loyal buyers.

3. Integrating online systems and automation can greatly improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase profitability.

4. Adaptability and responsiveness to customer needs can set a business apart from the competition.

5. Staying focused on the customer and delivering exceptional value should always be a top priority.

Following these lessons from Lings Cars success, online businesses can create a strong brand, build customer trust, and increase efficiency to achieve huge growth and profitability.