Comment

Comment by Brian Bennington on April 4, 2014 at 10:00pm

Anne, how nice to read your personal response to me.  Please forgive me for not quite picking-up on your past posts being actual "Women Wednesdays" as I'm not the "sharpest pencil in the box."  Thinking about it, you should consider utilizing some of that adventuresome creativity in you and design a really unique graphic to precede all of your WW posts.  You could even work your company ID into it.  If you're taking your valuable time publishing, what I think could become, a dynamite and inspiring regular feature that can help a predominately male sales force handle women more to their liking, you should "milk it for all it's worth."  It might be a bit of an overstatement to say you're doing "God's work," but it's about as close as "Educating sales people about women customers" can get.

Please forgive me about the "niche" comparison.  That part of the population has been the source of nearly all of the real enjoyment and meaningfulness in my life and I would never demean them.  My only defense is that, in actuality, only a portion of women will pick-up on what you're doing.  I'd bet very few, in comparison to the entire female population, have any idea your organization exists, and there's a segment that will never be in a situation where they'll purchase the vehicles they drive.  In my case, my wives (I've had three, but the last one has been with me for over 30 years) would just tell me what they liked and I did the rest,  And, after I "croak," we have two sons who will take over vehicle purchasing for her.

Your expertise and dedication will definitely not be understood by all, as by it's very nature, it attracts a more educated and sophisticated set, or "niche."  (Yes, I know. That was a pretty weak defense, but it's the only one I have.)  You keep writing and I'll keep reading!       

Comment by Anne Fleming on April 4, 2014 at 6:15pm

Brian -- actually, we have had several WW (Women Wednesdays), several of which you have commented on in the past month or so. Thank you again, for this comment. As for niche? We would like to think women are not that, since they are about half the population.:) Buying population, that is.

Thanks for reading and sharing, Brian.  

Comment by Brian Bennington on April 3, 2014 at 7:01pm

Congratulations on your 1st "Women Wednesdays!" blog, at least this is the first one I've seen posted.  I perused all of your "clicks" and read your home page, including your business's mission statement.  While I'm not up on women driver/buyer websites, I'd think your Women-Drivers,com has got to be one of the first.  It's really quite a niche, especially if you can reach your target audience.  I did find it interesting that nearly every one of your "15 Best Practices to Put in Place with Women" is just as applicable with men.  Which proves, I guess, that good business methods do cross the gender boundary.

I understand you want "all roads on your blog" to lead to solutions best solved by your particular company.  After all, both DE and ADM are a great venues for self-promotion.  But, I hope you do begin to move to explaining solutions to those special mysteries of satisfying the woman customer.  You know, the kind of stuff you'd never hear from your "full macho" sales manager during a weekly sales meeting.  I guarantee those kind of answers would be a lot more interesting, and capture a larger audience, than all of the stats on your "2014 Women's Car Buying Report."  Come on, Anne.  Everyone knows that if you torture them enough, statistics will say anything, and at best, stats only recognize problems, they don't solve them.

You've got a great forum here, and if your innovative and daring enough, you can really advance your company's and your own reputation.  I'd suggest moving away from the "unisex" problems and concentrate of the methods that work primarily, if not exclusively, with women.  I know there's a difference between men and women.  You do, too.  I also know that, to be successful, you often present yourself and your product to them differently.  Why don't you consider getting a little "edgy" and talk about it.  Of note, when I first started selling over 40 years ago, I read in "Cosmopolitan" that women over 30 (most of my customers) preferred a particular cologne.  Desperate for any advantage, I switched to that cologne and the "yeses" it helped me get made me a "believer,"  And, to this day, it is still my cologne of choice!

Comment by Anne Fleming on April 3, 2014 at 3:19pm

Thanks, Chris. Its important to get a nudge every now and then. With so much happening at the dealership, there has to be a "Review Champion(s)", otherwise it can and does have a dramatic and negative impact.

Comment by Chris Saraceno on April 3, 2014 at 1:22pm

Thank you for Sharing