Women on the agenda as industry seeks to improve service

It is a significant – if not widely known – fact, that within the UK marketplace women account for 45 per cent of all drivers and influence 80 per cent of car purchases. It is even more surprising then that this powerful group of consumers regard themselves as being alienated from motor retailers and frequently complain of poor standards of customer service.

These widely publicised sentiments from female buyers range across a variety of issues, but the simple overriding message to dealers and manufacturers is that the needs of this core target market need to be placed higher up the agenda. In response to this, EurotaxGlass’s the UK’s leading supplier of automotive intelligence, comments that the industry is making significant headway in addressing these issues. Many manufacturers and dealer networks have recognised these historic shortcomings and are investing significant sums in dealer training and female focused market initiatives.

General Motors is a high profile example of a manufacturer investing millions in both developing and marketing its products more effectively to women, with a particular UK emphasis on training its dealer networks to better understand the demands of female consumers.

“We believe that our Female Buyer Initiative (FBI) is an industry leading scheme that will ultimately serve to address the full spectrum of issues that currently effect female consumers,” says Collette Dunkley who chairs the FBI steering committee at General Motors. “Change cannot happen overnight, but with most of the potential growth in the market predicted to be in sales to women over the next 15 years, it’s absolutely fundamental that the industry gives women the attention they deserve. It’s important to understand that women respond to different types of communication and they have quite different purchasing behaviour to men.”

Alan Cole, Head of EurotaxGlass’s Market Intelligence Unit says: “General Motors is obviously a leading light in this area but we also have evidence to suggest that other manufacturers and dealer networks are working hard to improve their relationships with female consumers. We are confident that today’s initiatives bode well for the future and that time will put a very different complexion on this complex issue.”