The difference in today’s market is that brand loyalty isn’t what it used to be. Women make purchases because they believe you’re selling something they need and perhaps saving them money, but they also know they have many options. A single bad experience with you can result in her making a decision to go down the street and taking her business elsewhere. Your products or services may be similar but the quality of your overall customer service can be why she will prefer to buy from you.


If women have a good experience with your business, they’re more likely to return and spend money again. Positive word-of-mouth is one of the cheapest and most effective means of growing your business and women are the most powerful positive or negative word-of-mouth advertisers. Women are three times as likely as men to tell someone about a personal experience, good or bad.


90% of customers identify word of mouth as the best, most reliable and trustworthy source about

INTRODUCTION
The statistics about the importance of women as a consumer are very familiar to all of us. Women account for 85% of all purchases which includes everything from homes to groceries and control TRILLIONS of dollars of wealth in this country. For those of us in the Automotive Industry, we know how vital the women consumers are to all of us; after all, they represent over 65% of our business. The challenge for all of us is how to make our place of business a comfortable place for women to patronize and purchase our products and services.
It goes without saying that the place where business is conducted must be inviting to both the women and men who come through our doors AND  it must also reflect the marketplace in which we do business. Having said that, many of us do not know how or where to find the women we need to hire.
GET THE WORD OUT
Based on my experience here are some suggestions:
Create awareness that your place of business is hiring women and what career oppo...

Cobalt Group employs over 900 people and 40% of the workforce are women, many who hold high ranking positions of leadership. 135 women employees who contribute to the success of Cobalt in a wide variety of roles attended their first annual Women's Summit & Luncheon and a few guys were there, too, including CEO John Holt who co-founded the Cobalt Group in 1995.  I was so honored to be invited by Julia Pizzi who is the Vice President Human Resources to take part in the event as member of a panel of executive women.
 
John kicked off the event with an inspiring talk on the leadership model that Cobalt works to incorporate into the organization and encouraged the women attendees to reach high and higher. He spoke about his daughters and his determination to raise them all to feel like they can break through all barriers, including gender to reach their goals. He is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with his 14 year old daughter this month, what "higher goal"  is the...

Now is time to go the extra mile and ensure loyalty with your women customers through creating a culture of customer service.
 There is a high correlation between customer service and customer loyalty. A study by the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business found 70% of online customers rated themselves "very likely" to make repeat purchases from companies that respond to and resolve issues.
With these few basic tips you can create and maintain loyal women customers by making them feel like the most important customer you’ve seen all day, no matter what the state of the economy is.
1. Focus on what you are able to do for them, and try to avoid saying there is something you are unable to do for them. If they have a difficult or impossible request, try suggesting the next best thing you can do for them. Admit that it might not be exactly what they were interested in, but that you have a way to help them. You should be able to offer them a viable alter...

Women are responsible for 85 percent of all brand purchases. A new study reveals that Internet use far surpasses TV and print. And women outnumber men in social networking. Your market is women and they are on the Internet.

An IDC study released today, shows that people who have an Internet connection spend almost twice as much time surfing the Web than watching TV, and more than eight times as much reading newspapers or magazines.

In a week people spend:
32.7 hours surfing the Web
16.4 hours watching TV
3.9 hours reading newspapers and magazines

Further, a Rapleaf study of 13.2 million people and how they are using social media revealed that while the trends indicate both sexes are using social media in huge numbers, women far outpace the men.

The number of US women over age 55 using Facebook grew by 175.3% since September 2008, making mature females one of the fastest growing demographic groups on the social network, according to usage statistics released by independen...

For the past several months, you can’t turn on the TV, glance at the Internet or flip through the pages of a newspaper without seeing a story or two about the dismal state of the auto makers and local market dealerships trying to survive or not. The auto industry is struggling to gain ground with cash-strapped consumers and is looking for ways to once again become a relevant part of consumer's daily lives.
Women either buy or influence the purchase of 85 percent of all new cars and trucks sold in the United States today. If women are so influential, why do they often feel ignored or worse, on the showroom floor?
During this unique and interesting economic time, does it make sense to polish your sales skills for the most influential purchaser of cars, Women?
Here are a few tips to help you communicate, gain trust, respect and sell more cars to women:
   1. Ask for and use her name. Her name is not sweetie, honey, lovely lady, baby or any other similar nonsense. Regar...

AskPatty.com's CEO urges dealerships 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 consume...

In fact, if you are proactive, you can thrive, while your competition falls to the wayside.
According to a McGraw-Hill study of 600 firms’ expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession revealed that companies that did not cut their budgets or chose to increase spending experienced significantly higher sales during and after the recession.
In fact, those companies that had maintained or increased their expenditures during the recession enjoyed an average sales growth of 275 percent over the following five years, while those that had decreased their spending had to settle for an average sales increase of only 19 percent.
Clearly, cutting spending on marketing and advertising during an economic downturn can mean both short- and long-term negative effects on sales and profits.
The question is who, how and what to spend those precious marketing and advertising dollars on to attract more buyers?
My suggestion:
Focus at least 50% of your advertising and marketing resources on...

America may not be ready for a woman president, but a woman car salesperson or even a General Manager? Sure, why not! Car dealerships are finally catching up with the rest of the world in recognizing the equal footing afforded to women in today’s society and, most importantly to my dealer clients; the family car buying decision. I am not suggesting that there isn’t still a “macho” ceiling that needs to be torn down; just that it has already shown some cracks.
Sites like Ask Patty have targeted a clearly defined opportunity to understand and sell to women but the true horizon is set on career opportunities for women in the car business. Dealers have realized that they can train male salespeople to be more sensitive to women’s issues and they have solicited “Patty’s” advice and support to help them. More forward thinking dealers have accepted that women salespeople and managers already have a jump on their male counterparts since they are ...

I love being a woman in the automotive industry. Fellow ladies in the industry would agree that nothing brings us greater self satisfaction than “talking the talk” with dealerships. We make a real difference with dealerships’ internal processes and increase their return on investment. Gaining credibility in this male-dominated industry has brought me a great deal of joy and fulfillment. Learning from other women in the industry has been edifying.
I want every woman to see how great it is to be part of this community. This begs the question, Are you actively pursuing women to join your sales, service, and finance teams? What are you doing to hire more women? Are you really an “equal opportunity employer”?
According to Road and Travel Magazine, 39% of women would rather deal with women in the car showroom. Since women make up less than 7% of dealership workforce and 1.6% of service technicians or mechanics, what is your dealership doing to increase th...

Politics, Palin & the Power of the Purse: Women's Marketing Expert Dishes on Economic Crises, Twitter and How to Communicate with Consumers Who Control $5 Trillion

Reprinted from the Bulldog Reporter.

Brian Pittman's profile this week: Yvonne DiVita, President, Windsor Media Enterprises; Author, "Dickless Marketing: Smart Marketing to Women Online;" Blogger, "Lip-Sticking"

Women influence well over two-thirds of all consumer purchases in the U.S.—and perhaps even more when the economy tanks and households tighten their budgets. Simply put, women wield incredible purchasing power, according to Yvonne DiVita, president of Windsor Media Enterprises and author of several books on the topic of marketing to women.

That Clinton and Palin reshaped the presidential races and public discussion this year is yet another indicator of women's rising power and influence. The upshot: This is one macro demographic that marketers and communicators alike can't af...

An estimated 14,000 women gathered at the nonprofit, nonpartisan conference WeEmpower Women's Conference held in the Long Beach Arena in Southern California yesterday along with myself. The event, which began 22 years ago as a government initiative for female small business owners and working professionals, has grown into the largest woman's forum of its kind in the United States.
California First Lady Maria Shriver shaped this year's conference theme, "Be who you are. Feel it. Live it. Pass it on," with the goal of encouraging women to discover their purpose, passion and power. This year's highlights included seminars on starting a small business and financial well-being, and panel discussions on topics such as "Alzheimer's, cancer and aging parents" and "how to be a confident leader."
This year's line-up of speakers and participants was be led by Governor Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver and included former Secretary of State Madeleine Albri...

Social media is growing into a significant part of the marketing, branding and loyalty building strategies for many businesses. Email marketing and web sites are still important - but blogs and other social media tools are becoming critical, especially for car dealers when trying to reach in market women car buyers.
According to a recent study by BlogHer and Compass Partners, more than one-third (35%) of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75 participate in the blogosphere at least once a week. And that number increases if less-frequent visits are factored in. Of those women who are online any amount of time, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to blogs and 28% write or update blogs, according to the study."
Dell has joined with Facebook to launch a community and guide series called 'Social Media for Small Business' intended to provide SMB customers with insight on how they can leverage social media to expand their business. The community has been created as a Facebook Page and in...

There is a saying in sales that a potential customer should be pursued until they "Buy or Die." It embraces the importance of a salesperson's follow up and persistence to sell a potential buyer. These qualities are the foundation of a good and proficient sales team. However, dealerships that abide by this mentality are losing out on crucial residual revenue.
I suggest embracing a "Buy and Die" mentality. Yes, a customer only becomes truly valuable to a company after they've made a purchase. Here is where your revenue stream begins, not ends! In this post, I discuss how the "Buy and Die" theory relates to automobile dealerships, although successful businesses within every industry can benefit from this applying this theory.
 
To embrace the "Buy and Die" mentality is to recognize one's personal responsibility to meet every need of potential customers from the moment a sales dialog has begun. The degree to whic...

Leads are like a drug.  You work one until it either produces a high (a sale) or until it doesn't "do it for you" anymore (they buy elsewhere).  The more leads that come in the greater the chance for a high.  It is a toxic addiction that never is completely fulfilled.  Can you ever really have too many leads? 
Do you reall need more leads?
A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates revealed some interesting information that led me to ask the above question.  The study determined that 80% of vehicles are rejected after a new vehicle shopper visited a dealership.  What was more compelling was that two of the top reasons why the purchase was made elsewhere were directly related to the experience the shopper had with the dealership:  either another dealer has better service or there was a lack of professionalism among personnel at the dealership.
Do dealerships really need more leads?  Or are they just not making the most of the cu...

I took a quick survey of my women close women business associates, who are Mom's and a few Mommy Bloggers I know and got mixes reactions and reviews about the new Brook Shields 2009 VW Routan YouTube Ad aimed at Mom's who may be in the market for a new Mini Van:
View Video by Clicking here.
Mother of Two from Northern California:
"1) I would call it almost abrasive advertising - egad! If it wasn't so poorly written and acted it might have been funny in an edgy way but it is just dumb. It seems to make an awful lot of fun of the American public's intelligence and sense of privacy if you ask me - case in point number two:
2) Reverse vasectomies, fertility treatments - in a car ad! Yuck.
3) It is 4 minutes too long!"
Mother of two from Florida:
"I've seen the TV commercial on the Routan, it was very comical. The extended version on the web site is also comical, but too long. I think VW is attempting to come up with a different route for their commercials...I think ...

Put your money where your mouth is.  Actions speak louder than words.  Well done is better than well said. 
All of the above quotes have one common thread:  what matters most is what you do, not what you say.  Let's apply this principal to marketing to women. 
Car dealerships can develop an effective marketing strategy to attract women.  Clever promotions offering complimentary services, deep discount coupons, and giveaways are great ways to get women to visit your store.  But what happens when she gets there?  Are your actions speaking louder than your advertising?
Women can be attracted to a company’s products and services with an effective advertising campaign or marketing program, only to have the effectiveness undermined when they receive poor treatment or are misunderstood by salespeople.  If a woman’s experience is not positive and she feels that she is not going to be respected, heard, understood, a...

Dealers are always talking about how to sell cars to women, but don’t usually do anything about training their staff on how women think about cars.  It is estimated that 63%  percent of all cars are bought by women, and women influence the purchase of 85 percent of all vehicless.  You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on how to bring women into the dealership, but if they don’t have a great experience while they’re there, you’ve just thrown away a lot of money. Where the rubber really meets the road with women car buyers is what happens when they come in to the dealership showroom to buy a car or for that matter get their cars serviced.
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.
In today's competitive auto industry, dealership owners and employees can no longer afford to ignore the n...