One Size Fits All No Longer Applies
According to the NADA, new vehicle revenue in 2016 was $995 billion, and sales to women accounted for $445 billion of that revenue at new car dealerships. With women buying 4.5 of every 10 cars, how can you increase your sales to women by 7% to 10%?

Ten years ago, the ad spend was all in traditional venues like newspaper, radio, and TV. Today, that bucket seems small in comparison to the amount allocated to digital/online. Just like dealerships no longer spend in the “one-size-fits-all” traditional category, there remain opportunities for new marketing segmentation strategies.

What’s the bottom line? Women are making extraordinary differences in terms of gross margin dollars and sales achieved at new car dealers. The advertising expenses per dealership average $587,787, according to the NADA. With half of your buyers being women, step back and ask yourself who your advertising speaks to.

Technology and Lifestyle Trends Change
Women research on their home computers, tablets, or mobile devices for 75 days before buying a car. So the opportunity to advertise couldn’t be riper. Allocate some of your dealer advertising where the trends are. Not venturing where the market is can leave you in the shadow of other dealership that are savvy for competitive exposure.

What’s Your Aha to Connect with Buyers?
What’s your dealer’s DNA message and aha that women will remember? Is it really through ads and campaigns like:

• Get the Best Price Here at Our Dealership
• We Match Any Competitor’s Price
• Drive Here for the Best Results

For the most part, these gender-neutral, bland catch-all statements don’t share what your compelling aha is.

How Can Your Message Connect to Your OEMs?
From website sidebar or banner ads to mobile apps, there are new opportunities to utilize a similar theme or thread. From Facebook to Pandora, you can now zero in on the exact female audience and age group. Dedicate dollars to advance your market space by running monthly campaigns to reach a captive audience with sponsoring ads on mobile apps to women and family-oriented interests.

Dedicate New Messages: Time to Progress
Understanding that women buyers are looking for a connection will help you and your creative team.

1. In addition to your current ads and promotions, include statistics about your reputation and reviews. Women use dealer reviews 50% more than men, and reviews influence women three times more than price, according to ReviewTracker.
2. Include images of women and car shopping at your dealership throughout your print and online marketing campaigns and website.
3. Market and host educational auto-related events and seminars.
4. Develop relationships with female buyers before they walk through the door through social media and informative articles to highlight your dealership’s aha and value.
5. Communicate long-term service and maintenance care with a WiFi-enabled waiting lounge equipped with refreshments and desk stations for computer work. If your dealership provides loaner cars, be sure to include this concierge service in your advertising.

Paying attention to consumer and demographic trends is valuable for growing your dealership.