Get Real: Women Car Buyers Make up 50% of the Market
Originally published at www.aiada.org
December 14, 2004
A customer’s a customer, and they all need to be understood. Here’s how to work best with women buyers.
Liza DiMelfi spends five days a week staring at the Porsche Cabriolet parked ten feet in front of her desk.
As a Sales Consultant for Legend Autorama, a Long Island dealership that specializes in Porsche, Audi,
Nissan and Volkswagen, the 34-year old’s goal is to sell 20-25 cars per month. While many would assume
that men make up the majority of the dealership’s customers, she offers another statistic. "Eighty percent of
car-buying decisions are made, or strongly influenced, by women."
"Watch," she advises, as a couple just shy of middle age approaches her desk after test-driving an Audi TT, a
car that both describe as his "midlife crisis vehicle." "The car’s for him. She’s not going to drive it."
Sure enough, less than a minute later, the customer asks his wife what he should do. And DiMelfi grins.
"Women have a lot of buying power. We understand that."
So why then is the purchasing experience so dreaded by female customers? "Misperceptions," says Susan
Weber, LMSW, a social worker in private practice on Long Island. "Women are thought to be more interested
in color than function-and are perceived to be emotional about the experience of getting a new car. Also,
women are often hesitant to negotiate forcefully. We try to be cooperative-not an asset when putting together a
deal on a vehicle."
"In real life, my little brothers are the sweetest guys," says Jane White. "But when they walk into a car
dealership, watch out! I’ve been lucky enough to tag along and pick up their technique. It’s the combination of
information and attitude that works. You have to know the car, know what it’s worth, and know what you can
afford-before you get there. The dealer’s job is to sell as many cars as possible, not decide what’s best for
me. There’s nothing I hate more than being steered toward a minivan when I’m ready to write a check for a
sexy little sports car."
"I literally practice disdain before I go," says another female buyer. "I don’t want to be seen as an easy sell. I
study everything possible. Nine times out of ten, I’ve already made my decision before I arrive. A test drive and
a pleasant experience will cement the deal-and you can’t imagine how many times I have to walk away.
Salesmen will ask my husband what he’s looking for, or ask him to take the wheel for a test drive. When I’m
the one doing the talking, that’s offensive."
It’s likely offensive to manufacturers as well, with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns aimed directly at
women. Research shows that North American women spend more than $300 billion each year on vehicle
purchases and maintenance.
According to Edmunds.com, women make up more than 50% of the car buying market in the US, and any
bias in the process will often force the female buyer to take her economic power elsewhere.
"Men in this industry need to treat women like they have the education and money to make decisions about
purchasing a vehicle," says DiMelfi. At the same time, "women need to be up front, telling the salesperson ‘it’s
me and only me’ making the decision. There will be no other influence."
So what’s different about selling to women? Plenty. "Women are more information-oriented and need more
time to decide if they’ll buy," adds DiMelfi. "They’ll want to get opinions from people they trust before making a
decision."
Women buyers aren’t without options, however. "I tell my customers to educate themselves," says Patrick, a
new car salesperson near New York City. "Many times they come in and tell me what options are available on
the vehicle. With the internet they’re very smart."
The internet is an excellent resource for women taking the traditional route. In addition to manufacturer and
dealer websites where they can access information on demand, buyers can choose from information-based
sites such as Edmunds.com or Cartalk.com to educate themselves on nearly every aspect of the purchase,
financing and ownership process. For more direct information from other consumers, they can read
thousands of vehicle reviews on sites like epinions.com, which offer everyday people the opportunity to review
products from cold remedies to luxury vehicles.
Armed with all that information and a crash course on negotiating, some women still recoil from the
purchasing process. For them, online buying services like CarsDirect.com or Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) can
remove nearly all human contact from the process-until the vehicle is picked up at the dealership.
"I was sick of watching the dealers kowtow to my husband," explains one CarsDirect.com customer. "By going
online I saved money and aggravation. "But," she admits, "when I picked up my car at the dealership, the
sales rep assigned to help me really won me over. He was courteous, wanted to see me happy, and shook
my hand before he even greeted my husband. I felt like a valued consumer, and I’ll give him the first
opportunity to keep my business when I trade my car in this spring."
