When it comes to cars, it's time to start listening to women in the industry – and its female consumers.
Anyone interested in the motor industry cannot have failed to notice the veritable tidal wave of media attention female car consumers have been receiving of late.
Research and data are inundating my inbox: Women get tougher deals, they feel threatened and insecure at car dealerships – female customers need different sales tactics if industry wants to sell more cars.
Furthermore, to the horror of the masculine market, the big shocker is women influence up to 80 per cent of car purchases. Meanwhile, Jeanette Moskovits, a 38-year old Swedish businesswoman, knows these facts and has a few more insights of her own. In fact she is the co-founder and CEO of a successful new car dealing company, Autoquake.com. In less than two years Autoquake has become the largest seller of cars on eBay, with sales predicted to be worth �10-million this year. Moskovits is on target for this, which should come as little surprise when you grasp her insight into the relationship between consumers and the car industry. Moskovits started up Autoquake in 2004, having noted many people have problems buying and selling cars, especially women.
She explains, they don't know where to start, who to trust and often end up asking male friends for help and advice. Autoquake's ethos is that buying or selling a used car should be very straightforward, it should not be a big project. Our goal is to be fair, and convenience for the customer is a huge factor too. Spending lots of time on your purchase should be an option. I work. I'm busy. For me, and many women a car needs to be functional, good and unique, but not in the same way a house does, so I don't want to spend loads of time on it.
Moskovits believes many women are still quite traditional in the way they view a car. It's a male prop. To a woman, yes it has to look good but mainly it just needs to satisfy their criteria in terms of function and purpose.
Dave Sargent, JD Powers' executive director of European operations agrees: "Men are more likely to think of them as toys or status symbols while women are more practically-minded."
Autoquake is not a women-orientated business, but one which seems already switched on to the views and needs of female consumers, who, after all, drive around 50 per centof the cars in the UK, and influence up to 80 per cent of sale decisions.
Its CEO believes women are under-served by this industry and she has no intention of doing the same. As a result, Autoquake's website and service is designed to be self-serving, fair, hassle-free and easy for the consumer as possible – even David Beckham sold his car earlier this year using Autoquake!
The online car retail industry is huge and for example, eBay's motor category is rapidly expanding. Autoquake's aim is to become the biggest online used car retailer in the UK, and is rapidly nearing this goal.
Gentlemen, take note: This woman has a sound understanding of the car industry and, I suspect, you haven't seen anything yet. Perhaps it really is time to pay more attention to us ladies.
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