By Kerry Mueller, President ONE-EIGHTY CORP.

Countless times mail has been incorrectly addressed to me as Mr. Kerry Mueller. Every time I’ve thought, “How dumb is that? Why don’t they bother to get it right?”

Now more than ever, paying attention to gender pays off.

Over 80% of all consumer purchases are made or influenced by women. However, according to the Women Certified program most women say businesses do not meet their needs or deliver the customer experience they seek.

The Auto Industry is no exception and probably one of the worst offenders due to its strong gender bias towards male sales consultants.

With women making up over 50% of the post-secondary school graduates in North America, women will continue to rise in their education levels and earning power. This is an especially important trend in Canada where, according to Maclean’s Magazine, Canadians are arguably the most educated people on earth with 47% of working-age Canadians having a post-secondary credential, meaning College or University.

So what key things can you do to help appeal to your female buyers?

1) Record her gender and marital status correctly in your CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) so everyone is prepared to greet her properly both verbally and in written communications.

2) Hire and nurture female sales consultants to allow women buyers the choice to deal with a female or male consultant.

3) Adopt a full disclosure sales process that does not rush her. According to Women Certified, female buyers are typically more detail oriented. They like to get all the facts, consult friends and family and to think things through. Putting on pressure won’t make the sale happen faster; it may just kill it.

4) Create promotional opportunities for accessories, sales events, car clinics etc. to appeal especially to women.Use your CRM to segment out your female prospects and customers so you market these events just to them with personalized invitations.

Doing the above 4 things will make you stand out. Not only will you attract and retain more female buyers but they will no doubt happily endorse your services to their friends and family too.

Free“word of mouth” advertising! How great a boost to your bottom line would that be?

Sources:
Winning the Toughest Customer – The Essential Guide to Selling to Women – by Delia Passi pg. XXII
Wall Street Journal – Women more likely to Graduate College than Men at 22 Jan 29th 2010
Maclean’s – Tale of the Tape – July 24th 2009