Married or Not, She’s Single-Minded

By Andrea Learned

Andrea Learned is a women's market expert, author, blogger and speaker, who is the President of Learned On Women and the co-author of "Don't Think Pink."  www.learnedonwomen.com 

Car dealerships aren’t the only retailers that just can’t seem to get used to the idea that women are buying their products independent of men – but that business is one that may have the worst reputation for making that mistake. This could be greatly harming an industry where more than 50% of purchases are made directly by women, and up to 80% of all purchases are in some way influenced by them.

Of course, women may be walking into dealerships with men (be they husbands, partners, fathers or friends), so that makes it tricky for a salesperson to decipher (just ask AskPatty’s Jody Devere about her recent purchase), but here’s the thing: why not consider women independent car buyers as the rule of thumb, rather than an oddity? The figures seem to be saying that if a salesperson sees a male/female couple walking in, it is more risky to direct all the eye contact and body language toward the man.

Since she is there in the first place, we know that the odds are good that even if she’s standing next to a man, she is either making the purchase or heavily influencing the final decision.

Women have economic power and know how to use it wisely, and – whether they are married, partnered or not – they are buying with single-minds.

According to pollsters Celinda Lake and Kellyanne Conway, unmarried women as a group have a significant influence on the culture – for the first time in history. Fully one-third of American women are single (that’s 22 million) – a number that includes the never married (12 million), divorced (2 million) and widowed (8 million).

Think about it. Women aren’t necessarily single just once in their lives. Rather, they may easily weave in and out of solo-hood – and spend much more of life without a partner. So, they develop the habit of doing all the research (women particularly love to car shop online!) and due diligence on their own to come up with the best solution for themselves and their very specific lives.

Here’s an example: Let’s say a woman doesn’t fall in love and get married until she is 42. As a matter of course, she has lived a very independent decision-making life for many years. She walks into a showroom with her new husband to buy a car, but doesn’t get eye contact and senses the subtle cold shoulder from the salesperson (who could be male or female). The dealership has not only very, very likely lost a potential sale this time, it has also likely generated negative word-of-mouth that will reverberate among this woman’s friends and acquaintances for years and years. Yikes!

Single-minded buying is the norm in today’s world, so be very wary of assumptions, and start training salespeople to allow for it. If you honor and respect the economic independence and buying process of women, you will end up making a sale, as well as a longtime fan who will delight in (you’d be one of the few showrooms to get that reaction, guaranteed) and talk about their very positive experience with you.

Want more? click here to read: A New Perspective to the Woman Buyer 

New : Hummer or Stinker?