11:34 am, July 29, 2024
Car dealers should embrace social media and use inclusive language if they are to increase their female customer base.
That is according to automotive journalist and Auto Trader’s editorial director, Erin Baker, who is our latest guest on the Car Dealer Podcast.
During her appearance, Baker, who also produces motoring content for the likes of Vogue, gave her top tips for how retailers can harness a female customer base.
She encouraged dealers to engage with women on the motoring issues that matter to them and to ‘experiment’ with social media usage.
Baker, who is also a co-founder of the She’s Electric roadshow, also encouraged dealers to get away from their showrooms and put cars in front of women in settings they feel more comfortable in.
She told hosts James Baggott and Jon Reay: ‘It’s the same for OEMs and for retailers. The ones that grab hold of this huge gender divide, the ones that grab hold of the whole “women thing” and say, “I’m going to gun for you guys” – a bit like Genesis did when they came to market in Europe – the early bird catches the worm.
‘They will get a big share of market just because women are so unused to this. They will gravitate towards anyone who shows them any sort of respect and engages with them.
‘My top tips are, number one: content. I would say this because I’m a journalist, but you’ve got to get hold of your social channels.
‘You’ve got to get hold of whatever you do, whether it’s a newsletter that goes out to your customer base, whether it’s just a Facebook page you have, whatever it might be, and really experiment with more inclusive language.
‘Again this is a slight cliche but it’s backed up by the data, women really respond to language that is more emotive, language that says “Come and try this electric car, we’re here for you, it’s fun. You can ask us if you can charge it in the rain and not get an electric shock. We’re not going to laugh at you. It’s a perfectly valid question. You can talk to us just about paint colours if you want because hat’s a great reason to buy a car”.
‘You’ve got to go out somewhere they are. That’s content, but also physically, you’ve got to go out somewhere they are.
‘I saw when I was in Twickenham the other day, a local dealer had an I-PACE outside a David Lloyd Gym, and the women were pouring out, looking at it and really loving it and wanting to find out more. I think what Volvo is doing by having its partnership at Eden Sessions is fantastic because that is right smack bang in front of families having a great time. It’s in a really ecologically sound setting and marries up really nicely with EVs in a lifestyle atmosphere.
‘It’s thinking about your experiential marketing, it’s thinking about your social channels and we’re not talking big budgets. We’re just talking about how social channels are a great way to experiment. If a post doesn’t work, doesn’t get any traction, shake it up, change it.’
The Car Dealer Podcast, sponsored by JATO, sees an industry guest join our hosts to discuss the motor trade’s biggest headlines of every week.
A full list of the stories discussed on this week’s episode can be found here.
You can listen to all episodes of the Car Dealer Podcast on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
