The 2019 Women’s Car Buyer Report from JoinWomenDriver.com and SurveySpark shows the growing influence women are having on car buying. Over the years, women have become a more powerful and influential segment of the car buying community. Research shows that women influence 70 to 80 percent of all consumer purchasing. Specifically, regarding car ownership, women were responsible for 45 percent of new car purchases in 2018. As a growing number of women are walking into dealerships by themselves, and buying cars, it is now crucial for dealers to create messaging and a customer experience that appeals to this rising group of buyers. The 2019 Women’s Car Buying Report by JoinWomenDrivers.org, reveals findings from a survey report of over 5,000 women on 30 data points related to their customer experiences.
Below are pivotal takeaways from the survey that can help dealers develop a customer experience and marketing messaging that appeals to this growing group of customers.
More Women are Going to Dealerships Alone, But Many are Still Accompanied by Someone
While a growing number of women are attending dealerships by themselves, more than half are still going to dealerships accompanied by another person. For Chevrolet, Ford, Jeep, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota, between approximately 42 percent and 47 percent of women who attended dealerships associated with these brands purchased vehicles while alone. So, many women are choosing to bring someone along with them, and in most cases, they are men. While this was the case in most dealerships, Toyota and Chevrolet had the highest rates of women accompanied by men (85.3 percent and 81.2 percent respectively). Sales Representatives are the Key to Final Purchases
Across all dealerships, most women chose to purchase a vehicle because of the sales advisor. Sales advisors that were successful were those who had a high understanding of their job and decided to guide female buyers to their final choice instead of pressuring them to buy. Also, the sales consultant’s greeting and listening skills also played a part in the female buyer’s overall satisfaction with the dealership experience. The second most influential component to buying was a mix between dealer reputation and best price. Women Experienced a Mix of Emotions Related to the Brand They Purchased From
Everyone experiences a range of emotions when purchasing a vehicle. Understanding what these feelings are can help dealerships provide support to make customers feel more comfortable. So, the 2019 Women’s Car Buying Report also took a look at the range of emotions female buyers had concerning the brand the bought from. For example, at Chevrolet, female buyers were more likely to feel confident, while some felt more apprehensive at places like Toyota, Subaru, and Honda. At Ford, Jeep, and Honda, female buyers were more likely to feel relaxed. There was a mix of seven emotions that women associated with each dealership brand. Those mentioned in this entry are only the top emotions listed for each brand. Women Will Travel Outside of Their “Home Turf” to Purchase a Vehicle
Women are not tied to their home towns when it comes to purchasing a car. Sixty percent of women reported that they bought their vehicle outside of their “home turf.” Across the seven dealerships, women drove an average of 21 miles to the location where they chose to make their final purchase. So, if your dealership is located near a major city hub, be sure to market within 20 to 30 miles of your area. As the data shows, on average, women are comfortable with driving further distances for what they want. Women Want to Use the Service Center, But Follow-Up Communications are Lagging
According to the data from this report, women want to use the dealer’s service center as they are willing to bring their car back in for service. However, many commented on the fact that they did not receive follow-up communication after a service visit. While all dealerships were implicated in this, the highest offenders were Jeep (28.5 percent) and Nissan (32.1 percent). It is crucial to engage customers in correspondence before and after all interactions, especially regarding service and maintenance as these can be additional streams of income for dealerships. Final Thoughts
Again, women are a growing audience for dealerships. More of them are purchasing cars on their own, and visiting dealerships by themselves. As a result, dealers need to ensure they are crafting messaging and customer experience elements that are directly related to this group. From online ads to social media messaging, the marketing approach should target this group in some way. The 2019 Women’s Car Buyer report had a wide range of helpful insights that can help you do this, so be sure to read it for additional information regarding the growing female consumer base.
