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Importance of Female Car Buyers
Today's New-Car Dealers recognize the importance of female car buyers. When a couple walk into a New-Car Dealership showroom, one should not assume that the male is the main breadwinner and that he alone will be making the purchasing decisions about a new vehicle this does not reflect the cultural reality of today?s retail vehicle sales environment.
Women exercise tremendous economic power and influence in the buying decision. Although some women still admit to feeling intimidated or uneasy when they walk into a showroom alone, New-Car Dealers have come a long way in making them feel more comfortable with the vehicle buying process.
Women yield a lot of clout in the automotive market place. In North America, women alone spend over 300 billion annually on vehicle sales, maintenance and repairs. They purchase more than 50 % of all new vehicles and they influence more than 80 % of all new vehicle purchases. Female buyers (97%) indicated (in a recent survey) that they would be the principal driver of their new vehicle.
With so much female purchasing power at stake, most New-Car Dealers recognize the need for our sales consultants to understand women consumers better. New-Car Dealers who ignore this crucial reality do themselves and their customers an injustice. The good news is that most New-Car Dealers today understand this reality.
It would be naïve to suggest that patronizing attitudes and intimidating remarks are completely a thing of the past. Women, as with any purchaser, want to be taken seriously and treated with respect. New-Car Dealerships, do recognize that female customers are clearly in the driver?s seat when it comes to purchasing a vehicle. They spend more time researching their purchase then their male counterparts, are empowered with more information than ever before and can be savvy negotiators.
Research shows that women buy with ?their head and their heart?, they are looking for a pleasurable purchasing experience. Most women can see right through a standard sales pitch. As with any sales presentation, one must change their style and tailor their sales pitch to their audience. However, we walk a fine line and must avoid the cliché of ?colouring everything pink?; we must have a polished approach and avoid being ?cutesy?. One must aim for clarity - there is a difference between being simple and being clear. Women do care about whom they purchase from, more so, then their male counterparts.
Stereotyping does live on and one must be careful not to see women as one homogenous target group. One recent study even suggests women being very dissimilar when grouped just by age. It was found that the most useful segmentation was by similar lifestyles, which, cut across generations.
Studies have shown that 70% of women Internet users who plan to purchase a vehicle within the next year will research their purchase online. The time that women spend researching online, and talking to friends about their purchase, assists them in making a more informed decision.
The influence of female vehicle buyers is even being felt at the manufacturer and design level. Female engineers have influenced many innovative design changes in vehicles in recent years. At the 2004 Geneva International Auto Show, a major manufacturer unveiled the world?s first vehicle designed only by women. These women demanded everything in a vehicle that men wanted in terms of performance and styling, plus a lot more then male vehicle buyers had ever thought of asking for. This project revealed that if you meet women?s expectations, you exceed those for men.
Targeting female buyers has become a priority for vehicle manufacturers? ad agencies. Ten years ago, typical ads focused on vehicle features that were targeted mostly towards men. Since then vehicle manufacturers have made a genuine effort to reach out to women buyers on many creative levels.
New Car Dealers have come a long way in recognizing the importance of women in the market place ? both as a demographic force to be reckoned with, and as individuals who deserve to be treated with respect, courtesy and fairness.
We must ensure that the ?women-friendly? message is consistent and integrated throughout our dealerships from sales to service. If you have not talked to your female customers lately, start listening.
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