The Decision Maker: Build Real Relationships with Female Consumers

Let’s talk about the importance of building real relationships with your female consumers. 

Building trust with your female consumer base is essential when it comes to referrals and their desire to purchase a vehicle. 

You have a zero-balance trust account for every customer. It's up to you on whether or not you make deposits in her trust account…or go into overdraft. 

According to the Nobel Prize-winning scientist Daniel Kahneman, each day we experience approximately 20,000 moments. A moment is defined as a few seconds in which our brain records an experience. The quality of our days is determined by how our brains recognize and categorize our moments—either as positive, negative, or just neutral.

Rarely do we remember neutral moments. Once her brain has registered that she's had a negative experience, it will take 12 positive experiences to make up for that one. It’s why building a trust account with your female consumer is essential to creating loyalty and a lifetime referral source. 

One of the best ways to establish trust is to form real relationships. I use the word ‘real’ intentionally, as women can sense when someone isn't sincere and will walk away. This is where the way the female brain is structured is very important knowledge.  The adage “men are from Mars and women are from Venus” is a very accurate statement. A woman's brain is built differently. If you wonder why we need to talk and be heard consistently, it's because we use both our right and left the side of our brains to communicate. 

This can be used to your advantage. If you can create a real relationship with your female consumers, she’ll be the first one to tell everyone about the experience you provide her. On the flip side, if she’s not satisfied or feels like you’re insincere in your approach, she will also spread that message like wildfire.  

Unlike men, our emotions run high, but there is a reason for this. Our limbic system is approximately double the size of a man’s. The limbic system is the emotion and memory hub of our brain. We have to feel good about a situation to move forward with just about anything. The popular Simon Sinek states that we make decisions based off of emotions. He’s right –, especially in the female consumer. 

Get to know your female consumers through actively listening, showing compassion and empathy, and genuinely taking an interest in what they need or want – even if it’s outside purchasing a car. Taking the time to get to know her first before diving right into the required needs assessment will break down the walls she has put up, and start to put deposits into the trust account. It will also help you uncover what she wants or needs at that moment, making you a powerful force. You’ll be delivering an experience that is tailored to her. 

The big take away here is this: get to know her as a woman, then as a consumer. Establish a real relationship, speak to her limbic brain and earn her trust. If you can do that, you have a customer (and her referrals) for life.

Katie Mares CTDP, MCATD, CPSA, CSP is available to train your organization and brings her expertise to the automotive industry. She is a dynamic speaker at Women in Automotive and Digital Dealer Conferences. Among her offerings:

- Program Development
- Brand Standards
- Leadership Development
- Coaching Sessions
- Retail Workshops
- In-Dealership Implementation
- Ongoing Support