Car Dealerships Start Paying Attention to the Female Consumer

 

When we bought our hybrid almost 2 summers ago, I knew what I was looking for but none of the car dealership employees really paid attention to me.  As a woman, I was constantly overlooked in favor of conversations with my husband or viewed as the one to make the kids stop stress testing the buttons inside the vehicle.  No one ever looked me in the eye and talk to me about the options that were part of the tech package or safety features. Instead they pointed me in the direction of the paint finishes and fabric samples.

Certain auto dealerships are being lauded for earning the respect of women. Forbes.com recently reported that WomenCertified “identified a list of dealerships that performed well with female respondents,” citing data from customer satisfaction surveys that included whether they would recommend the dealership to others. What Women Want at the Car Dealerships: R-E-S-P-E-C-T, says WomenCertified is a fascinating article that shows that some dealerships get it while others clearly don’t.

Just because certain dealerships understand the influence of women, doesn’t mean this is something that carries through to all levels of the company or industry as a whole.  The auto industry is learning about the influence of women as main stakeholders in the decision making process.

As I walked Detroit's North American International Auto Show in 2011 as a guest of Ford during press days, few people from the other car companies came up to talk to me.  A couple months later traveled to the New York Auto Show to meet with Volvo, Mazda, and Ford but had the same experience when  on my own wandering the floor.

Having been on press trips with Nissan and Mercedes, worked with Acura, and as a member of the Toyota Women Influencer Network, I’ve amassed quite a lot of knowledge about cars but I’m still willing to learn more.  So don't ignore me just because I'm a woman.  Chances are, I know more than some of the guys who are out there shopping for cars.

This post was inspired by Jim Henry, an auto industry analyst I met while at Mercedes, who authored What Women Want at the Car Dealerships: R-E-S-P-E-C-T, says WomenCertified.

I was selected for participation in the TWIN community through a program with Clever Girls Collective. I was not compensated for writing this post, nor did I receive payment in exchange for participating. All opinions are my own and do not reflect the views of Toyota.