MyDriveTime Student Survey - April 2014

Student Survey

An insight to the technology preferences and buying decisions of driving students

Author: Daniel Hill

Published on: 15.04.2014

Version: 1

MyDriveTime Student Survey

Version 1 / April 2014

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Contents

Foreword ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

About the survey ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

At what stage of the learning process are you currently? ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5

If you were searching for a driving instructor today, which of the following methods would be the most likely way you would find one? ................. 6

When choosing a driving instructor, which attribute do you consider most important?................................................................................................................ 7

Which type of device do you use most to access the Internet? ............................................................................................................................................................. 8

Which mobile operating system does your favoured device run on? .................................................................................................................................................. 9

Which communication methods do/did you use to contact your driving instructor? ................................................................................................................... 10

If an instructor provided you with online access to your information, would you be more likely to choose them to teach you? .................................. 11

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

About MyDriveTime .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Copyright notice .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15



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Foreword by Daniel Hill

All too often, those tasked with delivering a software solution fail because they focus on what can

be built, rather than what should be. This is often because those designing the software don’t

take the time to understand the needs of the end user and assume they know best. My 18 years

of experience in business analysis and software design suggests that they often don’t…

Technology undoubtedly has the power to transform peoples’ work and lives – to create, protect and improve things – but it

must be handled with care. We’re building MyDriveTime to help forward-thinking people in the driver tuition industry, including

instructors, students, schools, suppliers and associations, make the most of that power. Part of the responsibility we have in

doing this, lies in listening to, and learning from those that will ultimately benefit from it – the end user.

This survey was created to help us understand the world of driving students, focussing on their technology preferences, tuition

buying habits and future expectations. The responses gathered from 42 participants form part of our research into the most

effective ways to help students and instructors during the tuition process, which will shape the solutions we develop.

It is with sincere thanks to the ADIs who have supported our research by asking their students to take part, that we present these

results. Where relevant, we also provide some possible interpretations on the data, and welcome you to provide your own

thoughts by email to [email protected] or via our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/mydrivetime.

Thank you.



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About the survey

We launched this survey on the 6th March 2014 and received 42 responses, the last of which was received on the 3rd April 2014. It

consists of 10 questions, two of which are to gather qualitative responses (i.e. free form opinions) which have been provided

confidentially and will not be shared.

Whilst an important survey for MyDriveTime, it must not be considered scientific. Its primary purpose is to help us to shape the

solutions we develop in the future and, to that end, the questions and available answers are designed accordingly. We will

exclude some results from this survey where publication might result in MyDriveTime losing competitive advantage, but are

happy to discuss this with you on an individual basis if you email me at [email protected] or call 01252 757 314.

If you do decide to use these results in your own reports or website, we will not charge you, but would be grateful if you could

attribute the source to MyDriveTime with a link to www.mydrivetime.co.uk

Please note that this report is issued to you strictly for your information only. How you choose to interpret the results is entirely

your responsibility.

You may view the full survey by visiting www.mydrivetime.co.uk/studentsurvey.html



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Q At what stage of the learning process are you currently?

Notes

This question is designed to profile the

students, to establish at what point of

their journey they are currently.

Given that participants were sourced

through instructors, we are satisfied that

they are highly likely to have completed

their tuition within the last 3 years,

making their input valid for our

purposes.

PASSED

LEARNING

PLANNED



6

Q SEARCH ENGINE

RECOMMENDATIONS

LOCAL ADS

FACEBOOK

VOUCHER SITE

OTHER

If you were searching for a driving instructor today, which of the following

methods would be the most likely way you would find one?

Notes

This question helped us to confirm our

belief that the majority of students

prefer to source their instructor through

recommendations, with 88% likely to

use this method. 10% opted for search

engines and only 2% relying on local

advertising.

It must be stressed that this question

asks for the most likely method, not the

only method.



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Q When choosing a driving instructor, which attribute do you consider most important?

Notes

A follow-on to the previous question.

We see that price is a factor for 12% of

the students surveyed, but reputation is

by far the most important attribute at

81%.

Interestingly, no student considered an

ADI’s qualifications as most important.

The one ‘other’ answer submitted cited

‘patience and understanding’ as being

most important.

Two students (5%) considered the

tuition vehicle as the most important

factor; one male, one female.

PRICE

REPUTATION

OTHER

QUALIFICATIONS

CAR



8

Q Which type of device do you use most to access the Internet?

Notes

Understanding how students access

online services is of paramount

important to us when considering how

best to serve them. With calls, texts,

emails and internet access all being

available through a phone these days,

this is as we expected.

This question establishes that 98% of

our respondents access the internet. Of

these, 71% will use their mobile

smartphone most of all, 17% use a

laptop, 7% use a desktop computer and

5% use a tablet device.

DESKTOP

LAPTOP

TABLET

PHONE

NO ACCESS



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Q Which mobile operating system does your favoured device run on?

Notes

We wanted to understand the split of

students using devices that ran on the

iOS (Apple) operating system, and

those that used Android devices.

The results indicate that there is little to

divide Android (38%) and Apple (55%)

users, with 5% using Windows phone

and one user not owning a device.

Over the next 3 years, we predict that

Android and Apple will swap places,

with a greater market share being

earned by Microsoft’s Windows

offering.

APPLE

ANDROID

BLACKBERRY

WINDOWS PHONE

OTHER

NO DEVICE



10

Q Which communication methods do/did you use to contact your driving instructor?

Notes

This question helps us to understand

how students typically contact their

instructor.

The overwhelming majority of students

and instructors used SMS text messages

to communicate (93%) with 55% also

using phone calls and only 14% using

emails. 7% used Facebook as a

communication method.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

CALLSTEXT

EMAILFACEBOOK

OTHER



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Q If an instructor provided you with online access to your information,

would you be more likely to choose them to teach you?

Notes

A simple yes/no question to help us

establish whether or not an instructor

furnished with superior data-related

services would have an advantage over

instructors that do not.

55% of students claimed that they’d be

more likely to opt for an instructor that

could provide these services.

YES

NO



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Conclusion

We’re working hard to develop a range of user interfaces that will make it simple for MyDriveTime users, of all types, to make the

most from the data we store. When catering for the needs of the students of MyDriveTime subscribing instructors, this survey

helps us ensure we provide the right kind of tools that help the student and make the instructor a more appealing option.

The results we’ve gained have been a combination of confirming our expectations and throwing up some interesting insights.

Other than the responses provided to the one question we’re not sharing, the most important result is that of the final question;

that 55% of students are more likely to opt for an instructor that utilises technology and provides their students with access to

various online functions. Given that most students consider recommendation a vital factor, we might conclude that an instructor

that provides these functions is more likely to be recommended than an instructor that doesn’t. Or, it may be the deciding factor

between two recommended instructors if one offers such features and the other doesn’t.

What is clear, is that many students use their smartphones for virtually everything they do. Providing a link to your students

through their smartphone therefore seems sensible, for both instructor and student. Can an instructor afford not to, if others are

providing this service?

Finally, we’ll consider the roles of advertising pillars. Given that 88% of students rely on recommendations, that leaves only 12%

of students sourcing instructors through other means. For instructors without a long history of students and a reputation that

wins them new business, targeting this 12% is vital.



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The majority of these prospects head to the likes of Google to find a local instructor. A compelling website, strong Search Engine

Optimisation (SEO) and a targeted Adwords campaign are highly likely to help instructors attract a share of these potential

customers. However, the quality of websites, in my opinion, is typically very poor across the industry with the vast majority of

websites not being mobile optimised. This is not surprising, given the expectations of most instructors when it comes to the cost

of developing cutting-edge websites. Suffice to say you get what you pay for, and most websites reflect this.

Mobile optimisation is fundamental. If 7/10 potential customers utilise search engines via their Smartphone, we would highly

recommend creating a web presence that works well on these smaller screens. It will make all the difference. Our upcoming

integrated web presence will help those that are looking for an alternative to a conventional website.

There is also a belief that Facebook may hold the key to unlocking vast amounts of potential business. Our findings suggest that

is unlikely, although given the relatively low cost of Facebook Ads advertising, I’m not prepared to rule this out. However, this will

become more expensive as more instructors cotton onto its potential which will ultimately rule it out for many. I believe students

use Facebook for connecting with their friends, not searching for instructors. They may ‘Like’ your page while learning, but will

remove this when they no longer care about the messages you send. It should be used to promote deals and last minute

availability, rather than simply posting pictures of people passing their test, to make the most of Facebook’s power.

We hope you have found this report interesting, and would be delighted to discuss your own interpretation of the results.



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About MyDriveTime

In 2008, Daniel Hill’s partner, Joanne, qualified as an Approved Driving Instructor. Faced with paper diaries, Excel-based

accounting records and a lack of professional-grade software services available, he set about using his 18 years of business

analysis & software design experience to create a brand new solution for the driver training market.

MyDriveTime is for any self-employed driving instructor, whether independent or franchised. It consolidates the key admin

functions into a single, easy-to-use system that can be securely accessed globally, and out on the road when no internet

connection is available. It’s the next generation of software solution, designed exclusively for the driver training industry and

crafted by a collection of experienced software

development professionals. For those looking to reduce

hassle, save time, win more business, increase profits,

protect their data and use it more effectively, MyDriveTime

is perfect choice.

And that’s just the beginning.

To find out more about us, our vision, what MyDriveTime

does and how to sign up in preparation for our launch in

May 2014, please visit www.mydrivetime.co.uk.



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Copyright notice

Copyright in this document remains vested in May Stanley Limited, developers and owners of MyDriveTime.

Copies may be freely circulated without prior permission, however no publication of any content may be published

independently of this document without written consent, which may be sought by email to [email protected], or

accreditation to MyDriveTime alongside a link to our website at www.mydrivetime.co.uk.

© May Stanley Ltd: 2014

MyDriveTime Student Survey - April 2014

Documents

driving instructor

daniel hill

contents foreword

following methods

likely way

online access

software dont

favoured device