Remember the days when the only woman in your shop was the one half-naked on the calendar? Well, it’s time to forget them.

The female portion of your customer base is not a "niche." In fact, women are regular – if not primary – customers of automotive service providers. Consider these statistics, courtesy of the Women’s Board of the Car Care Council at the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA):

– More than half of the nation’s population is female.

– Close to 85% of American women are responsible for the maintenance of their vehicles, and women make up 65% of the customer base for automotive repair and service centers.

– 73% of women express interest in learning about automotive maintenance and repair. And, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the overall percentage of female drivers is on the rise, while the percentage of male drivers is declining.

In spite of these trends, 80% of women customers are not satisfied with the service and repairs they receive, and 89% feel they are treated differently because of their gender, according to the Car Care Council. For the independent tire dealer, it’s difficult to ignore the tremendous business opportunity these customers present.

Considering these statistics, your dealership is doomed if you disregard or offend such a vital part of your customer base. This is not alarmist thinking; women represent a powerful consumer force in the automotive industry, and their influence will only get stronger.

Rule 1: Keep it Clean

For starters, it’s probably a good idea to take down any racy calendars and posters and hold back on the dirty jokes. But, keeping it clean also means keeping the showroom clean – literally. Studies have shown that women prefer clean, bright areas.

If your showroom is dimly lit, your walls and floor are covered with grease and grime, your counters are sticky and dirty, your employees look disheveled and the bathroom is filthy, there’s a good chance any woman who walks into your dealership will walk out and never return.

Jeff Carter, president of Summy Tire & Auto Service Inc. in Quincy, Ill., has made a conscious effort since January to make his dealership more female-friendly. Fully 65% of Carter’s customers are women. "Our showroom is bright and clean. A lot of times, women are wearing pantsuits and dresses, so the place has to be clean all the time," he says.

For Carter, catering to women is all about making them feel at home. In the comfortable, well-lit waiting room of Summy Tire, customers can read magazines written for both genders. They can watch TV. The kids can sit at little tables and occupy themselves with coloring books or games provided by the tire dealership.

"Female customers have become more than 50% of our tire dealers’ customers," says Dave Snyder, vice president of small tire marketing and sales for Tire Centers Inc., facilitator of the T3 affinity program. "Serving female customers is a big part of the training we provide to dealers," he says. Part of the T3 program involves redesigning dealers’ showrooms to make them more comfortable for women.

Rule 2: Build Relationships,

Trust

No matter how clean and comfortable your dealership, your efforts are null and void if you fail to develop trust with your women customers. According to data collected by AAIA, trust is the most important factor to the female service customer.

"Trust is based on relationships," says Bill Perdew, COO and vice president of strategic planning for Bridgestone/Firestone Retail and Commercial Operations. Building solid relationships with women customers means not only treating them with respect but also assuring them of your integrity. Slowing down and listening to the customer goes a long way toward building a good relationship, Perdew says.

And, make them feel at ease. As you may have heard, some women would rather get a root canal than get their car serviced. "Women enter repair shops with mistrust because they were conditioned to feel that way after getting the wool pulled over their eyes," says Courtney Caldwell, editor-in-chief of American Woman Road & Travel magazine (www.roadandtravel.com).

To gain trust, start by making sure your staff is well trained and knowledgeable enough to answer questions. Research shows that women typically ask more questions and are more information-oriented than men. With that in mind, it may be wise for your technicians to spend a few extra minutes with female customers, answering all of their questions sincerely. As noted earlier, women want to learn about vehicle maintenance and repair. Explaining the process and why it’s necessary should help build trust.

Having control over a situation and knowing exactly what is happening is also important to women, experts say. Perdew suggests letting women customers hold onto their car keys. And, Caldwell suggests automotive service shop owners let women see their car being serviced. "Let them watch the work through a window or from some other area where they won’t be in the way of the technician," she says.

"Women are much more relationship-oriented than men," Caldwell says. "Men like convenience. Women like to get to know who is working on their vehicle."

"You’ve got to put everything in lay terms," adds Carter. Still, he warns dealers not to be condescending. "Take them and show them what needs to be done," Carter recommends. "Talk about a tire’s features. But don’t underestimate them. They are not idiots."

Rule 3: Consider

Hiring Women

Another way to make women feel comfortable in your dealership is to hire female technicians and counter staff. Your women customers may be more comfortable dealing with other women, and the fact that you hire both genders will boost your dealership’s female-friendly image.

Perdew encourages his dealers to hire female technicians and counter help. "We understand that women feel more comfortable when they see other women in the environment," he says. "The challenge, though, is getting that part of the population to consider us as an employer. We have to promote in our recruiting efforts that we support a diverse work environment and hire regardless of gender." His division recruits workers from female job fairs on a regular basis, according to Perdew.

And, "if your dealership is generally seen as a female-friendly environment, women customers will consider you a potential employer," he adds.

Rule 4: Know What

Women Want

The best way to cater to a particular customer is to get to know his or her needs and concerns intimately so you can emphasize them. While growing evidence suggests that safety is becoming more important to both genders, with women, it has become a primary automotive concern. Smart tire dealers are adapting their selling strategies to appeal to these safety concerns.

Carter of Summy Tire says his women customers "want to know the tires are safe." As a result, he focuses his selling strategy on a tire’s benefits, such as the ability to disperse water for hydroplaning resistance.

Another hot-button issue for women today is independence. "Because more women are staying single longer and not remarrying after divorce, over the last few years, the DIY market has gone up 27% to 34%," notes Caldwell. As a result, women are seeking out opportunities to learn how to do traditionally male-oriented tasks.

This trend has increased the popularity of car care clinics for women. These educational sessions tap into women’s needs for both education and safety, so holding a car care clinic can be a great way for tire dealers to attract and retain their women customers. "The female customer wants information and guidance," says Snyder. Snyder’s T3 program also helps dealers develop car care clinics for women.

Car care clinics ®€“ which teach the basics of vehicle systems and tire maintenance ®€“ can attract new customers, increase business from your existing client base and promote your dealership as one that cares about and appreciates its female clientele. And, these classes are easy to set up and execute.

Caldwell recommends touching on women’s "emotional strings" in your efforts to promote car care clinics. "Emphasize (in promotional materials) that it’s important to know how to change a tire because breaking down can be a life-threatening situation," says Caldwell. "Give them a reason – such as personal safety and protecting their families – to attend the clinic."

Bridgestone/Firestone enlists spokespeople that help plan car care clinics across the country in Firestone Tire and Service Centers, according to Perdew. "These sessions focus on the importance of tire care and maintenance, and they build relationships," he says. "If dealers want to cater to the female market, they must focus on relationships."

Besides knowing what women value, it’s just as important to be aware of what repels them. One of the biggest turn-offs for many women, for example, is when a salesperson addresses the man she’s with instead of her, even if she’s doing all of the talking and is the one paying for the purchase.

That’s the biggest complaint Perdew hears from women. "Even if it is a man you’re talking to across the counter, chances are there is a woman that is the primary decision maker somewhere behind him," he tells dealers. As more women have influence in the buying decision, it’s wise to treat every customer as the primary decision maker.

It all comes down to respect. Caldwell’s final advice to tire dealers is actually quite simple: "Treat your women customers as if they were your own mothers or sisters or wives."