Track data from women shoppers to increase bottom line
Is your dealership cultivating the right data from your women customers? If not, what if doing so could add incremental sales of up to $6 million per year?
Knowing Doesn’t Translate to Know-How
Today, over 80% of all car purchases are influenced by women. Over 50% of car buyers are women, and that percentage increases to 53% for millennial women. Slightly less than half (48%) of women purchase cars by themselves. One in three women now out earn their husbands.
Yet, 99% of new car dealers asked do not track shopping and buying habits of this large market share. Knowing that two-thirds of women are not confident buying a car does not translate into dealers putting marketing and sales strategies in place to ensure that women prospects are turned into repeat buyers.
Statistics that Affect the Bottom Line
In addition to a lack of confidence, are you aware that 60% of women who walk out of a showroom never return? How much more revenue could your dealership realize if you took steps to retain more women as customers rather than letting them go to the next dealership on their list?
Crucial – Collecting the Right Information
The auto industry is experiencing industry growth not seen since the 1920s. Competition is stronger than ever, and buyers are starting their shopping process long before they arrive in the showroom. It is crucial for dealerships to implement tracking and analysis solutions that provide the information needed to thrive and grow.
What kind of information do you need to collect? The most important step is to start tracking how many women guests (ups) vist your store each day and how many of them convert to buyers. Track how many sales you make each month to women and the number of guests(ups) based on referrals by women. If you do nothing else; these are the 4 most important critieria to begin to measure (click HERE to download PDF)
Further, to assist your GSM, Sales Mangers and BDC, also track this information:
- distance traveled to the dealership,
- was she accompanied by a male or female,
- key attributes she is seeking in a new vehicle,
- Information about when and how to follow-up and whether she has been asked to complete a dealership review, and
- vehicle information, including what she is driving now, and which cars she takes on a test drive.
All of this information can be gathered in a very short time, and is crucial in later analysis.
Equally important in sales analysis is a quick, confidential review by a prospect that includes whether she would recommend her sales person to family or friends. If the answer is no, the prospect then indicates her reasons in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a sales advisor. If you don’t make an effort to collect honest reviews, you could be losing sales instead of implementing positive changes in your sales efforts.
Having this scaleable and repeatable tracking mechanism allows a dealer principal and the exective team to clearly understand the benefits and business opportunity that women are bringing to their dealership. This information can be used to improve best practices to ensure repeatable results.
Tailoring the Message
When you understand your women shoppers, you can tailor your advertising to better fit your demographic. A “one size fits all” approach may work when sales are high, but creating a customized advertising strategy can work throughout ups and downs in the economy. A proactive attitude can improve sales now and provide a new model for your dealership.
Increase the Bottom Line
When you take the time to understand your demographic, and take the time to implement strategies to strengthen your relationship with customers, the impact is measurable. Converting 10% of your female leads or walk-ins can result in an increase of $6 million incremental sales each year. If you are the dealership that makes a proactive effort to ensure that women feel better served by the auto industry, you will reap the rewards as customers return to buy and also provide glowing reviews for future customers. Measuring this increase is the first step.
