Women’s Wednesday #24: 2015 Top Shopping Brands Rated by Women | ZMOT Dealer Shopping Report

Posted: February 25, 2015 by Anne Fleming, Car Buying Advocate

Top 2015 Car Brands as Rated by Women
Women rely on car dealer reviews 50% more than men. They also prefer to read reviews from other women. That is why our business focuses on reviews exclusively from this powerful buying sector. Likewise, we are the only company in the reputation space that captures reviews on the shopping, i.e. the browsing experience.

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Our 2015 US Women’s Car Dealership Report, compiled from 3,450 women’s car dealer ratings and reviews, showcases the top “shopping” car brands as rated by women; the overall WSI score for all brands was 4.37. Each brand’s WSI®, or Women Satisfaction Index, is derived by taking the aggregate of all the dealer’s scores from that brand’s reviews on the site ranging from a 5.0 (highest) to 1.0 (lowest).

Did You Know?

The average woman visits two dealers, or, 30% more stores than men when car buying. Dealers that have a high WSI “shopping” score convert on average 15% more browsers to buyers. Simply put, women perceive these stores as more comfortable places to do business and go there first. That is ROI.

ZMOT Shopping Report: How to Get Yours
Get customized WSI® data and actionable research to improve the customer experience helps shape advertising and increase sales to women at your dealership. These trends and predictive patterns help take the guesswork out of marketing to women with the rich, WSI Dealer research provided from your very own reviewers. Would it surprise you to learn that over 90% of women that write a review will voluntarily complete a 25-question survey about their shopping experience with you… with ABSOLUTELY NO INCENTIVE AT ALL?

Shopping Scores of the Top 15 Brands:
The overall WSI score for all brands was 4.37. Keep in mind these reviews are from a controlled environment. Meaning our company works with about 400 dealers, not 17,000. These dealers use our platform to understand women’s unmet and unrecognized needs. By evaluating the data, dealers measure women’s satisfaction in key areas to create and maintain high scores. The difference these high scores make significantly impact perception, reputation, walk in’s and conversions.

Here is the list by brand.

1. Volkswagen scored 4.75
2. Ford, scored 4.74
3. Chevrolet, scored 4.66
4. Jeep, scored 4.63
5. Buick, scored4.61
6. Hyundai, scored 4.59
7. Audi, scored 4.54
8. Honda, scored 4.53
9. Toyota, scored 4.52
10. Nissan, scored 4.49
11. Subaru, scored 4.46
12. Chrysler, scored 4.40
13. Dodge, scored 4.31
14. Lexus, scored 4.28
15. Mazda, scored 4.26

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Connect with More Women Drivers:

Communicate tangible value-adds in your advertising.

If your store provides overnight loaner cars, include this in your messaging. It’s the #1 concierge item requested by women.

A confident, pleased buyer who writes a great review of her experience can influence countless other women to follow her lead.

Ask, track, and always respond to reviews.

Reviews are 3 times more influential than advertising when women buy a car.

Women want to read others’ experiences to help verify what dealerships to visit. Showcase these valuable testimonials on your home page or their own navigation section to build trust and credibility – don’t hide them in ‘About Us.’

One Size Does Not Fit All.

Step back and ask, who does your advertising really speak to?

Women are looking for connections with car dealerships.

Enhance your advertising by investing part of your ad dollars into what’s in it for her. Include dealer reviews and ‘Dealer of the Year’ awards. Remember to also sell your dealership, not only cars.

Never miss a simple action to upsell your store.

Offer a 3-minute tour, share about extended service center hours, mention that you offer overnight loaner cars, and give a free car wash coupon. Always look to surprise and delight.

Develop relationships with online guests.

Provide informative, helpful content in your BDC email response as well as link to reviews highlighting authentic consumer experiences.

76% of women rated their dealership’s website 3 out of 5 stars.

As the first point of engagement for customers, be sure your website represents your brand well, conveys trust, is welcoming, and contains educational content that adds value.

The #1 digital resource women use when buying a car is the dealership’s website.

Include images of women throughout your digital assets and online marketing campaigns.

It takes more than having a female spokesperson to market to women.

The #1 reason women choose to buy is TRUST which requires implementing new behaviors, attitudes, processes, and messaging.

Make your dealerships a welcome destination for all customers.

Always greet your customer through active listening, use empathy and understanding, and taking an interest in what they need or want – even if it’s outside the car purchase.

Include informative, engaging content on your website.

It helps build trust and ensures guests get value from your brand.

Behavior Economics demands tracking when your customers fall off.

Dealers with outdated behaviors and attitudes are losing traction with women in this competitive industry.

Measure and track the number of women leads and buyers each month.

You can’t grow what you don’t know.

Create the right conditions for the sale on the first visit.

Ask questions, listen, and get to know the customer. Never interrupt and don’t assume. Consider there won’t be a second visit.

Dealers need to shift the paradigm to effectively engage, market and optimize sales to women.

What is your Trust Dashboard with this market?

53% of millennial car buyers are women. Almost 4 in 10 women are the breadwinners in their family.

How is your current and future customer demographic represented in your front line team?

Crack the code by turning reviews into real-time data to make yours the go-to store.

Our platform collects unprecedented pre- and post-purchase analytics about what your #1 buyers want and prefer from participating dealers.

Transform your messaging and make the showroom more customer-centric.

92% of reviewers choose to opt into a 25-question survey summarizing their visit. This unbiased data is available in predictive analytics WSI (R) Dealer Data reports chronicling what these buyers want and experience.

Game-Changing Predictive Analytics.

What women want at the dealership has predominantly been an absent dialog; those statistics and conversations have generally been national. Dealers now have access to their own proprietary data through our platform. This provides leaders at each business the ability to have honest insights allowing for predictive awareness of behaviors, preferences, and experiences.