Building Loyalty With Women Customers

Today, more and more women are working outside their homes, managing their own finances and buying their own cars. They've become much more self-sufficient and are generally discriminating consumers. These women are often responsible for maintaining their own vehicles and their families' vehicles, as well. According to the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), women make up approximately 65% of a service centers customer base.

Susan Christophersen, ACDelco manager of product service and training development, said women rate trust as the No. 1 factor when choosing a repair facility.

"Good communication is the key to building trust with female customers. Women want factual information and want to feel confident that we won't be taken advantage of," Christophersen said. "Women want to know what repairs have been done, when to bring the vehicle back for maintenance and that the service center stands behind the work they do. Learning to communicate in a simple, straightforward manner will go a long way toward building trust with these female consumers."

Christophersen advises service providers to use any available graphics, booklets, posters and brochures to describe and explain automotive systems.

A member of the Car Care Councils Women's Board since its inception in 1997, Christophersen also encourages shop owners to offer vehicle care clinics to teach customers the importance of regular maintenance, and some do-it-yourself basics such as checking tire pressure and fluid levels.

"Its another way to build trust and retain customers," Christophersen said. "If you educate them so that when they hear the brakes squeal they bring in their car to replace the brake pads instead of waiting and having to replace the more expensive rotors, they will reward you with their loyalty."

There are other ways service providers can gain the loyalty of women customers, according to Christophersen. "Little things," like providing a clean, well-lit waiting room with a fresh pot of coffee, washing the repaired vehicle before returning it or providing transportation services while the vehicle is in for repairs make a favorable impression.

Christophersen likens a woman's loyalty to her repair shop to that of her hairdresser; if she finds one she trusts and knows will take care of her, she won't go anywhere else.

"She will be loyal to that shop, and she'll tell all her friends about it," Christophersen said. "The oldest and most powerful form of advertising ever invented is word of mouth, and women can be fiercely loyal to brands and services they respect. But it works both ways: If she has a bad experience, she'll share that with all her friends, too. And that is advertising no shop can afford."

Copyright Hearst Business Publishing May 2004
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