Testing Your 'Women IQ'
Gerry Myers
The importance of the women's market to the automotive industry has been well-documented, and manufacturers have paid much lip service to this influential, growing group. For instance, women spend more than $13 billion annually on new vehicles. It is time for manufacturers and dealers to do more than talk about female customers. It is time to take stock of what you and your staff know about women and what you don't.
To help you better assess this, answer each of the following questions with Men or Women.
- 1. Who are more loyal customers?
- 2. Who talk more about their feelings and buying experiences?
- 3. Who see money as status?
- 4. Who are more confrontational?
- 5. Who are more sensitive to their treatment?
- 6. Who are better listeners?
- 7. Who need more private time or their own space?
- 8. Who tell more stories and jokes?
- 9. Who are more apologetic?
- 10. Who seek approval from others more frequently?
- 11. Who try to win by intimidation?
- 12. Who worry more?
- 13. Who purchase half of all vehicles and influence more than 80% of purchases?
The answer to questions 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 and 13 is women.
Scoring: Each question is worth 7.5 points. You get 2.5 points just for having the foresight to take the quiz.
If you or a significant number of your staff scored:
- 85 or above: You already recognize that there are significant differences between men and women that impact your selling process and profitability. Learn more about how your can turn these differences into advantages to you.
- Between 70 and 84: You need to listen more attentively to what women are saying and learn more about what works with women and what doesn't.
- 69 or below: You need to read books on gender differences, listen more to what women are saying, ask women you know well to explain the things you missed and hire a gender expert to provide useful information that will make you and your sales and service personnel more comfortable with female customers, thus increasing your bottom line.
Additionally, are you sure your sales and service departments aren't ignoring women when they enter the dealership alone, or during the sales process if she is with a man? Are you sure they aren't calling her honey or some other term of endearment? Are you sure that they aren't talking down to or patronizing her? Are you sure?
Now let's change directions slightly and focus on your dealership's marketing strategies. What are you doing to market more successfully to women? If you are grappling with what to do, you aren't alone. Many companies debate whether they should target women in an obvious manner or just treat them with the "same respect and good service" they provide men. The truth of the matter is, most men don't find they car buying experience particularly pleasant either, but the main differences are women:
- Share more information with each other;
- Take their treatment more personally;
- Value their treatment above price (as long as value is provided for the money);
- Want to do business with someone they trust, someone with whom they have built a relationship.
Guessing wrong on marketing to women can be a costly mistake. While women don't want to be segmented out and catered to in an overt manner, they do perceive things differently and do have different wants and needs than men. Being able to walk this tightrope successfully takes skill, information and innovation.
To discover how in-tune your organization is to the women's market, answer Yes or No to each of the following questions:
- Does your dealership make marketing to women a priority?
- Do you have specific programs in place?
- Does your dealership have access to up-to-date information on women in order to stay ahead of the competition, as well as the trends?
- Does your dealership provide training on the women's market to your sales and service staff in order for them to better serve female customers?
- Has your dealership hired consultants in other areas, but no one who specializes in marketing and selling to women?
- Is recruiting and retaining qualified women a priority?
- Are women well-represented in your sales force? In other areas within the dealership?
- Does your dealership place ads that appeal to women in media they read, watch or listen to?
- Does your dealership support women's issues and organizations?
- Does top management support efforts to market and sell more effectively to women?
If you answered no to more than two questions, you might want to rethink some of your policies, procedures and priorities. While all the questions are important, the last one really holds the key to success. Without management support, the staff will never be able to fully capitalize on the enormous potential women afford them financially. After all, if you know there are differences and you aren't doing anything about it, it won't be long before your competition seizes the opportunity and wins this lucrative market segment.
Gerry Myers, president of the Myers Group, provides consulting, keynote speeches and training on marketing and selling more effectively to women. She is the author of Targeting the New Professional Woman. gmyers@dealeronline.com
