Reaching the Underserved Female Majority
AskPatty.com's president urges marketers to rethink their strategies for reaching the powerful female auto consumer market, and offers tips to gain their trust and, in turn, their business.
The advent of the internet has enabled women to find the resources and information they need to take charge of their own finances and buying decisions, and give voice to their needs and preferences.
With this rising tide of the economic power of women, car dealerships and automotive retailers need to devote time, resources and budget to gain a larger share of this huge market.
By 2010, women are expected to control $1 trillion, or 60 percent of the country's wealth, according to research conducted by BusinessWeek and Gallup.
Women purchase more than 50 percent of all new cars, and in some brands up to 62 percent. They purchase 48 percent of all used cars and 40 percent of all new trucks.
The solo woman's market -- defined as never-married women, ages 25 to 44 -- will approach $200 billion in consumer purchases by 2006, according to Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com.
By targeting your online marketing efforts to women and recognizing and responding to the way that women buy, you can influence her decision to purchase. Women are 28 percent more likely to buy from a retailer that she knows is trained to address her specific needs (source: "How to Get Rich Selling Cars and Trucks to Women" authors Maddox/Smye).
Here are the basic steps and tools you will need in order to market effectively to women, gain their trust and, in turn, their business.
If 51 percent of car buyers are women and 85 percent of all vehicle purchases are influenced by women, what percent of your marketing and advertising budget are you willing to devote to attract, sell, retain and increase loyalty with this majority of the American auto buying market?
Jody DeVere is president of Ask Patty.com, Inc. Read full bio.