Why Moms Matter To Automakers:  An Interview with AskPatty.com's Jody DeVere

By Patti Minglin

For the past several months, you can’t turn on the TV, glance at the Internet or flip through the pages of a newspaper without seeing a story or two about the trouble of the Big Three: Chrysler, Ford and GM. The auto industry is struggling to gain new ground with cash-strapped consumers and is looking for ways to once again become a relevant part of our daily lives. During this unique and interesting economic time, M2W® E-ssentials editor Patti Minglin talked with Jody DeVere, president and CEO of AskPatty.com, Inc., a website and blog for women to get advice on car purchases, maintenance and other automotive related topics, on why and how automakers should be targeting today’s moms.

Minglin: During these very tough economic times, why should auto dealers be paying attention to the mom consumer?
DeVere: According to J. D. Power and Associates, women make 51 percent of all auto purchases and 85 percent of all car buying is influenced by women in the household. Mothers manage 80 percent of household spending and influence 85% of all car buying decisions. As the person in charge of 80% of all household spending -- that's a $1.6 trillion market -- she's someone auto dealerships better know intimately.

Minglin: What do auto dealerships need to know about the mom consumer before she even walks into the dealership?
DeVere: Long gone are the days when the only decision women were expected to make about a new car was which color to choose. Women are now the fastest growing segment of new car buyers and, thanks to AskPatty.com and many other online resources, are more confident, educated and better prepared to make a buying decision than ever before.

Auto dealers have already noticed the effect that the Internet has had on their interaction with women car shoppers. They've done their research and usually have information printed out from the Internet so they are more confident in negotiating a good deal. With all the information fully disclosed, women feel empowered to make an educated car buying decision. The Internet has certainly been an equal opportunities provider in the world of car sales.

Auto dealers need to treat women with respect as the majority car buyer and create an environment that makes women feel safe, comfortable and welcome. Having a child play area and a changing station in the restrooms at a dealership signal to a mother, “We are thinking about your needs, you and your kids are welcome here”.

Minglin: How has social media and networking changed the way brands communicate with mom?
DeVere: It’s all about building relationships. Traditional marketing and advertising tactics come second to strategies developing a community buzz or experience around a product or brand. Measuring success also takes on a different form. In particular, it involves monitoring what is being said about a brand or product in the ‘Momesphere’, on Mommy blogs, Social Networks like MySpace and Twitter.

Minglin: What car companies are getting it right with mom? Who is producing the best product.
DeVere: A huge opportunity exists for the car industry to speak to the needs of mothers by speaking to their concern with the environment, safety, convenience and overall driving experience. My opinion, GM, Toyota, Ford and Honda are the four leading auto makers who are producing vehicles that get high scores from me on all four marks, I am a Mom and Grandmother, too.

There are other auto makers that build specific models Mom’s love. However, marketing to “Mom” is a very large and diverse demographic with many sub-verticals, various incomes, needs based on the area they live in, single Mom’s, working Mom’s, number of children and ages and for certain they aren’t all driving Minivans! Auto Makers and dealerships need to be sensitive to these facts and not lump all Mom’s or women into one demographic and try to market or sell to every women with the same message. Know what kind of Mom or woman you are trying to reach and be savvy enough to do your homework and market specifically to her.

Minglin: Who is creating the best messaging and doing the best job of getting into the conversations of mom?
DeVere: General Motors sponsored the BlogHer conference the past three years and brought vehicles to test drive that created a great experience for the Mommy Bloggers who attended. They have a very good out-reach program to Mommy bloggers to attend the major auto shows each year and ride and drive events around the country to learn more about their new launches vehicle line ups and create personal relationships. GM is very active on blogs , many social networks like Facebook, Twitter and have a great social media team working on many out-reach programs to women. GM brands; Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn and Saab are the most active of auto makers on women’s initiatives, I applaud them taking these large strides to better serve women car buyers.

However, women in general are still under-represented in training, marketing and advertising, many auto maker ads still target men in their advertising with rugged outdoor and sports related motifs and definitely auto dealers target mostly men with 99% of their ad budgets. The car business is still very male-dominated in how they go to market and sell cars and mostly miss the mark with women car buyers. Women report to me daily they are not happy with the car buying experience, often offended by car advertising campaigns.

Great products, branding, promotions, and ads are even all for not, if Mom’s have a bad car buying experience at the dealer showroom. There is still much work to do by auto makers and auto dealers to improve their scores with Mom’s.

Minglin: What new and exciting things do you have going on with AskPatty.com?
DeVere: AskPatty.com has partnered with driverTV.com to launch a new video car shopping experience designed specifically for smart, savvy women car buyers. Women who want a faster, easier, more powerful way to research and get a quote for a new car or truck without getting bogged down in car lingo will love this new video car shopping experience. driverTV is the leading producer and distributor of professionally produced, high-definition, automobile-related video content for consumers. NBC Universal acquired a 35% stake in driverTV earlier this year.

The AskPatty.com video car shopping experience for women includes narrated 360-degree video car and truck reviews, CarBlabber reviews written for women by women and an easy way to get a quote from an AskPatty.com Certified Female Friendly car dealer. The enjoyable narrated video reviews on Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Lexus, Pontiac, Mazda, Mercedes, Saab, Saturn, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo makes and models, to name a few, along with a special section on eco-friendly green car choices provide detailed car-buying information. This fast, simple and time-saving way to shop for new cars and trucks empowers women to make better car buying decisions.

AskPatty.com is featured in a winter driving safety article on page 32 of the January 2009 issue of Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine.