Tag Archives: marketing to women

women

A FEMALE FRIENDLY motor industry resolution

Is August too early for a New Year resolution to make 2012 a FEMALE FRIENDLY year in the UK motor industry?

I look at lots of motor industry websites, read lots of marketing blurb, see lots of job ads and industry news but it is still VERY rare to find a female focus despite the importance of the increasingly independent female pound.

So I’d like to suggest that the UK motor industry makes a start to a more female friendly agenda by making 2012 a FEMALE FRIENDLY year in the motor industry. There’s just about enough time to plan a campaign, given the willingness and a resource to do the job.

We all know the motor industry should be a more female friendly one already and there is a compelling business case to make it so; to boost sales by marketing to women-as-women (not men) intended to increase their loyalty and referrals through female-oriented communications and independent information about their best choices…

To do this would require an industry commitment from all key players to the following tactical activities and more…

  • To iron out the 80:20 male:female workforce imbalance by recruiting more female staff, starting at the top of organisations
  • To provide female friendly workplaces for women employees
  • To market cars more creatively to women, using segmented female feedback as a tool
  • To market independent advice (and why total independence matters to do with quality…) about garage standards to women
  • To train male employees about the importance of the female purse and how they can gain her trust and business when it comes to shopping for new cars, garage services, motor insurance and car finance
  • To understand what busy women look for when shopping online
  • To remember that women are different when it comes to customer service levels and amenities.

Question   Isn’t this what the motor industry should be doing in any case? So why isn’t it?

Answer 1    Because some businesses think equality means providing women with services and standards designed by men for men.

Answer 2    Possibly because many men like the industry as it is.

Answer 3    Because many men at the top of organisations can’t see how to recruit women without  falling foul of equality legislation… coupled with the fact that new female recruits are less likely to have the motor industry experience that men do (thus perpetuating the imbalance of course…)

Answer 4     Or they haven’t spotted that female staff don’t fancy a job in what they perceive to be a male dominated motor industry… coupled with the fact they need to advertise outside the industry to reach women of course

Answer 5    Or that the few female stalwarts who have made it to the top of organisations have got there by thinking more ‘male’ than ‘female’ en route which other women may be less willing to, given more female friendly industry choices

Come on RMI, SMMT, SMTA and IMI. The business case for being FEMALE FRIENDLY in the UK motor industry is clear and whilst nothing short of a total cultural makeover is needed to do the job properly this has to start from somewhere and should surely start sooner rather than later…

And given a resource FOXY will happily play a key part in any FEMALE FRIENDLY business agenda in 2012.

What about a coordinated approach guys to all round mutual gain?

FOXY

garage services

What makes a good garage website for women?

We still come across garages that don’t have their own garage services website.

Independents with a template page perhaps, hosted by a big directory name or simply a free classified listing.

Or several listings, for that matter, including expired links… leaving the searcher in limbo and unimpressed.

And the reason these listings often don’t work, is because they rarely do a good garage justice, when motorists are shopping online to compare car servicing and MOT choices.

Surprisingly, it’s only FOXY Choice‘s website that gives women the inside information they need about garage services, promoting the measurably best garages by virtue of quality credentials such as ATA, BSI Kitemark and OFT fully approved code logos. We do this because some businesses have invested in these superior quality schemes and deserve recognition for this commitment. And we also like the businesses that employ women, offer exemplary customer services and provide top notch facilities and amenities.

As FOXY sees it, these are all quality features that can help women make informed decisions about the garage services they buy and so that businesses that have gone that extra quality mile can stand out in a highly competitive crowd.

So the garages, fastfits and dealers who think they don’t need their own garage services website are leaving themselves open to foxy (as in shrewd, canny and astute) competitors bagging internet glory ahead of them. And in today’s tough business climate if you want to have a future, the internet is surely where it is, so you have to be in it to win it.

And not just any website will do…

Garages in a male dominated industry need a female friendly website to reassure wary women who worry about being overcharged and/or patronised. Especially now that more and more women are shopping online for garage services like car servicing, mechanical and bodywork accident repairs. Women are looking to compare service levels and whilst price is a vital consideration, they are also out to avoid the well publicised industry cowboys.

Which is why women are more likely than men to think twice about using a garage that isn’t visible online. And for that matter, given a choice, she is also likely to think twice about a business with a website that’s evidently been designed by and for men and where she might feel unwelcome.

So what makes a good garage website for women?

As always any business needs to see itself from its customers’ point of view. And bearing in mind that 50% of customers are female and they are often shopping for family cars as well as their own, it simply doesn’t make business sense to ignore our needs or to imagine that women are looking for the same service levels as men. They aren’t.

And the first question (after seeing that you offer what she’s looking for…) she’s looking to see answered is whether a business understands what she wants. In other words…

  • Is this business talking to me (or is it the sort of male dominated place I’ll feel ill at ease in)?
  • Why should I trust it?
  • How much will it cost?
  • Does it offer car collection/courtesy car services/child seats (and how do I check for availability and any terms and conditions)
  • How else is it a female friendly garage…

Typically, a woman will take a matter of moments to make her mind up, after taking a visual snapshot of the website homepage. Much as we make judgements in minutes about new people we meet face to face, we also make a quick decision whether the garage in question will take the sort of care we expect them to when looking after our car (and our personal safety).

So a female friendly website homepage should include photos of real life women (staff and/or customers), reassure us with evidence of quality credentials and superior customer service, give us a price guideline and not major too heavily on off-putting jargon or talk about torque…

And when making it easy for customers to get a quote by email, foxy ladies really do expect a reply the same day. Not like the garage that told us recently in an automated reply – we will get back to you within six days because this email is hosted elsewhere…

In summary, if women see a website that is making an effort to communicate with them, using colour and video and catering for children too, they’ll be more likely to favour one that is evidently female friendly over one that thinks men and women should all be treated the same.

Vive la difference as always.

But the business cost of getting things wrong for women is a steep one, especially when others around you are getting it right. Whereas a happy female is more likely to visit a garage more often, to be loyal and spread the word among her family and friends.

FOXY

buying a new car

Testing Tesco Times

On behalf of women drivers I welcome Tesco’s entry into the car sales market because they cannot afford to get this wrong  and they know what we want. This gives them a distinct edge over many dealerships.

But if Tesco does get it wrong they will pay the price. Let’s not forget, this is the much complained about motor industry where used car quality can be a hit and miss affair and customer service is all too often an oxymoron.

To perform to Tesco standards, we can expect a tight contract to cover industry ethics as well as customer service, sales performance and commission levels. They want to sell Tesco car insurance and finance products too. So all cars must be HPI checked (easy) and inspected (RAC, sounds trustworthy) and costed competitively. All this needs to be 100% watertight because their stock of used cars includes fleet cars, ex rentals and Motability car returns which may or may not have been well cared for during their pre MOT years.

Fortunately they are leaving a big gap in the market by not offering a part exchange service; providing those that fill it don’t do what webuyanycar.com did by quoting a price online and then dropping this significantly when they came to collect the car.

And it’s relevant that Tesco’s cars are in Birmingham which means that you can’t always ‘see before you buy.’

The good news is that this is surely the time for car dealers to up their game with women in mind; it’s us that influence c80% of all car buying decisions and local dealers have the advantage here of being local and knowing cars.

My point is that because Tesco is a female friendly brand, I’d expect more dealership groups to think long and hard about their ‘marketing to women’ strategy.

Wake up guys. Selling cars isn’t the only way to sell cars…

Sell her female friendly garage services for starters, know what she wants, spoil her, prove she can trust you and she’ll look to you for advice when she’s next car shopping.

Why is this so hard for so many male dominated and car-sales-oriented franchised dealerships to understand?

FOXY

Women wanting independent advice and support services when buying a new car can join FOXY Lady Drivers Club.

marketing to women

A handbag with this Madam?

a handbag made from car inner tubes and dealership signs
a clever marketing ploy to women

An innovative tyre retailer is selling handbags recycled from inner tubes.

Is shopping for car tyres a female friendly experience? Not in my experience. Essential car safety items of course but surely much of a muchness regardless of the detail… and not as enjoyable as shopping for fashion or beauty essentials items.

A creative tyre retailer in the US is trying to change female perceptions here by courting the female purse with a range of tyres, wheels and other services and accessories alongside a range of stylish female friendly (and distinctly more appealing) credit card holders, wallets, travel bags and unisex briefcases. All made from recycled inner tubes from spent farm tyres in Ohio, Virginia and Georgia.

You can imagine the conversation… “Please fit the tyres I need and now that’s out of the way <yawn> I’d like to try on your handbags…” 😉

The female friendly tyre retailer is called Waukegan Tire in Illinois and they’re selling them at prices ranging from $24 to close to $400. A company called Passchal produce them.

The bit I like is using handbags to market to women AND be seen for their “green” initiatives as a source of competitive advantage. Very clever.

FOXY

Members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club get advice about tyre maintenance, information about their choice of car tyres and special foxy offers. But no handbags yet ;-(.

marketing to women

The sign of a female friendly business

I am not at all surprised to read that men and women have different relationships with big brands. Whether we like it or not, genders display stereotypical differences from birth so perhaps we should just accept this and not try to be PC in our business dealings.

After all, were we not taught segmentation as a very elementary marketing technique?

I mention this because, according to The Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA), women are attracted by gender stereotypical brands such as cosmetics, fashion and household products.

As if this would be a surprise to anyone (other than so many men reading Good Housekeeping perhaps…)?

Apparently the most attractive brands to women are Braun, which achieved 24% more female than male votes in the Superbrands poll, Fisher-Price with 23% more votes and Bobbi Brown with 22% more.

Other female-oriented brands that show a high gender bias in the survey’s results are Good Housekeeping magazine (19% more female voters than male voters), pushchair manufacturer Silver Cross (18% more), crayon maker Crayola (17% more) and tissue brand Kleenex (16% more). Providers of luxury experiences, such as spa Champneys, resort chain Sandals and luxury products such as Royal Doulton, Swarovski and Whittard of Chelsea also demonstrate a clear female bias.

Marketing Week comments “Despite this, brands still have to work out how they can appeal to women and there is no single strategy for marketing to them.”

I’d suggest that’s because we are a more complex gender to market to because we go through more life cycle step changes than most. For example we are more likely to be shopping for children/older relatives or with their needs in mind, whatever our age.

And increasingly we are wealthier, more independent and more assertive when it comes to our shopping behaviour.

I’d be interested to know the research about motoring, for example. Certainly the UK motor industry is well overdue a female friendly business makeover although it’s a tough market to crack. Many businesses can’t even sign our straightforward FOXY Promise because they are being paid on a commission basis (so they can’t in all honesty promise they won’t sell customers services we don’t need…)

“I’d also add that imho women are the fussier shoppers so we can be harder to please! Businesses that are seen as female friendly are therefore going the extra mile for all shoppers, not just women. So to see a female friendly sign on the door is a good thing for men too.

FOXY

Search for the good and female friendly UK garages near you.

Find out about a motoring association for women and enjoy female friendly services for a change.