Marketing to Older Women is a Good Bet

swadminFebruary 14, 2005

EDITOR’S NOTE: Marcia Kull presented the keynote speech at PowersportsBusinessXchange, discussing ways to market to an emerging motorcycle market: middle-aged women.
Kull knows what she’s talking about. She has 20 years experience working with powersports, marine and auto manufacturers. Most recently, she was a top executive for Genmar, the international boat builder. Today, she’s president and CEO of SheGoes, a consulting firm that shows manufacturers and dealers how to attract and convert tentative women prospects into confident, loyal customers.
While at Genmar Kull conceived and implemented the innovative grassroots marketing program called, “Women Making Waves.” It was rolled out to 1,600 Genmar dealers and helped women learn hands-on boat handling skills.
She told participating powersports dealers
why and how this type of program could be successful in our industry. She can be reached at mkull@mn.rr.com.
Here is a summary of the remarks she made, edited for brevity and clarity. In this first of two parts, Kull identifies the market. Next time, she’ll I’ll further identify the market and discuss ways to capture this market.

We are going to start off with some quick math. 65,000 women bought motorcycles in 2003, representing about 10.5% of total sales. If you create incremental sales of 30,000 in 2005, you have a 45% increase in women riders over 2003. And if those 30,000 new women customers purchase a motorcycle, gear and services averaging $14,000, their purchases create incremental gross revenues of $42 million.
Forty-five percent growth is aggressive, but I think it can be done, with a gender-strategic plan.
We’ll answer three questions: Is the opportunity really that big? Are women really that different from men? What can I do to capture a share of that market?
Obviously, there are significant differences between men and women. Each gender comes equipped with its own set of attitudes, priorities, preferences and strengths. From communications to risk tolerance, these differences have significant implications across the entire marketing and sales spectrum for powersports.
You need to appreciate and capitalize on these differences to reach a 45% growth. I guarantee it will change your way of doing business for all your customers — for the better.
To get a sense of the market potential for women in powersports, look to the adventure travel industry. Adventure travel appeals to people who want to “experience” a vacation by participating in physical activities like bicycling, kayaking and backpacking in an outdoor setting. These folks have the same mindset as your customers who choose to jump on a bike and go for a long ride on a weekend.
The travel industry has found that nearly 64 million women took an adventure travel trip in the past five years. Women book 65% of the seats on adventure travel trips and are the fastest growing segment of one of the fastest growing industries. The typical adventure traveler is now a 47-year-old woman.
I started studying this market about five years ago as an adventure traveler. I was fascinated by the sheer number of other women on these trips who are committed to finding adventure and have ample funds to pay for it. These women spend between $1,200 and $3,000 a week on a trip. These are the customers you want.
Here’s an interesting corollary: The Women’s Sport’s Wire reports that the average age of women motorcycle owners is 47.7 years, the exact same age as the average adventure traveler. And, if only .05% of these 65 million adventurous women bought motorcycles, you’ll hit your 45% incremental increase in 2005.

PURCHASING POWER
Over the past 20 years, US women’s income has climbed 63%. Women’s income will continue to rise as women now earn 57% of colleges degrees. In 1999, 25% of women out-earned their husbands. By 2002, that percentage grew to 30%.
Women are also the shoppers. At least 80% of all consumer purchases are made by women. And we aren’t talking laundry soap: Ford Motor Company reports that females account for 40% of the buyers in the light-truck segment, which includes SUVs and off-road pickup trucks. And women buy 68% of all new cars sold in the United States, and 20% of new cars costing over $30,000.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS
You already know these future customers: They are sisters, wives, mothers, partners and friends of your current customers. She already has one foot in your door by virtue of her relationship with him. Ford Motor Company found she will influence 95% of the purchase decisions of others, including virtual veto power over his desire to purchase. To improve the close rate for your male customers, you need to engage her.

GROWING MARKET
And women are buying more and more powersports products. JD Power and Associates data shows female new motorcycle buyers increased yearly from 7.8% in 1998 to 10.6% in 2002. Data from the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) reveals that the percentage of female ATV owners increased from 10.3% in 1990, to 13.6% in 2003. These gains have come largely without a targeted effort by OEMs, either in product design or strategic gender marketing.
Left to itself, the percentage of women riders will continue to inch up. But, in order truly to capture your share of the $42 million, you need to create a gender-strategic marketing and sales program at your dealership.

WOMEN AS CONSUMERS
We already know a lot about women who own motorcycles and ATVs from the MIC data. And this data confirms that women customers positively affect at least four other dealership revenue streams: financing, parts, service and soft goods.
Studies from both the auto and powersports industries reveal that women are more likely than men to use dealer financing when they buy.
And women show a definite preference for OEM parts. In other words, they are less likely to go home and search the Internet for a better deal on an aftermarket part.
Women are less likely to do their own repair work or take their bikes to an outside shop. Their repair and maintenance needs are most often handled by the selling dealer — keeping your service department busy and billing.
On the clothing and accessories side, women purchase more expensive helmets and goggles, consistent with a higher priority on safety. One study shows women outspend men by more than $125 per year on helmets and apparel.
Women also are profitable customers because of a higher loyalty factor. Loyalty stems from two different attributes:
First, a woman typically will put more research into the first purchase decision she makes. In many cases she will pre-qualify not only the product, but also the seller. Women typically take two weeks longer than men to reach a decision regarding a new vehicle purchase.
Other industries, particularly those selling financial products and services, noted a difference of even four to six weeks. But, the delay has an important side benefit: she will later amortize that time investment by staying loyal. Unless you have given her a good reason to take her business elsewhere, her second purchase decision will not include the same background check. She’ll come right back to you.
Second, women weigh relationships more heavily than men. A man comes into your dealership to buy a motorcycle. A woman comes into your dealership to buy a motorcycle from a person. A good relationship with your staff will enhance her loyalty.
And if you think the simplest answer is to just have a female salesperson, you’re wrong. Women show no preference for women salespeople for durable goods such as cars or motorcycles.
Women also are your most profitable customers because they share life experiences, including opinions about products.
Women tell us that 70% of their new product trials and 54% of purchase decisions are influenced by their friends. The life insurance industry has discovered that women customers provide an average 28 referrals, compared with 15 from men.
And this is why I believe local role models are so important for women. The most effective marketing techniques for women do not include glamorizing the sport with celebrities; they include showing an “everywoman” having fun in her community with her friends.
While men like to stand out in a crowd, women like to belong to a group. When a woman sees a neighbor, friend or co-worker on a bike, she can visualize herself as part of the riding sorority. And as these local role models roll down the street, the word of mouth campaign rolls with them.