Jody DeVere: How Can We Help in 2021?

Jody DeVere

Happy New Year!  We’ve had a nice holiday break, and while we were enjoying our hot cocoa and gingerbread houses, we were also working on making forecasts and business plans for 2021.

It goes without saying that 2020 was something of a wild ride for everyone, and in the new year, we plan to continue with policies of compassion, care, and concern for all of our customers, our readers, and for each other.

We are all extremely grateful to have enjoyed a successful year in 2020 – a real feat, considering how chaotic the year was – and we are resolved to continue to address the needs of our clients and business partnerships in more creative ways moving forward.

This brings us to the crux of our topic today: after the wild ride of 2020, we want to hear from you.

As we continue to prepare and provide educational content to our readers through articles like this one, we want to make sure we’re producing content which is relevant and useful to you.

So, AutoInc. readers, we want to hear from you!

• What do you want to learn more about as it pertains to women in the auto industry in 2021?
• Are you planning to hire more women?
• Have you noticed your customers’ demographics changing, and you’re wondering how to keep up?
• Are your social media or other marketing efforts dwindling in effectiveness?

Let us know what you need help with, and we will try to produce some content to address your needs.

Here are just a few of the areas in which we excel:

Sales & Marketing to Women

At the core of everything that we do is the idea that we help people communicate more effectively with women.  As the majority decision make for anything automotive, if your business is having trouble reaching women, we can help.  Women often dislike having to visit any kind of automotive business, because it’s one of the last areas of commerce which is still very much male-dominated.  While the industry has improved over the years, women are still being called “Honey” by men, and still hear things like, “If you don’t understand, maybe you should bring in your boyfriend or husband.”  It’s unfortunate to say, but there is still too much of this happening in the auto industry, and so it’s as important as ever to set yourself apart in your marketing and sales approach.

Hiring Women

As we’ve said, the industry has changed over the last two decades, and great strides have been made in serving women customers (though there is always more to do).  However, even as customer care has improved, the presence of women employees has remained stagnant at around 25%. Just one in four employees in the auto industry are female, and for women in leadership roles such as managers, owners, CEOs, and executives, the proportion drops to below 10%. This is something we hope to change.

Small Business Management

AskPatty is a small business, and we work with many, many small businesses across North America.  While we believe that any auto business from a two-person shop to a large dealer group can benefit from our expertise, there’s no denying that small businesses are deep in our blood.  2020 was particularly tumultuous for small businesses, with mandatory lockdowns affecting customer flow, not to mention the risks of being deemed “essential” and remaining open during the worst of the COVID-19 surges.  We helped our small businesses cope with the changing environment by coaching them through some better practices, including no-contact vehicle service, text alerts, and enhanced communication with an eye toward maximizing convenience and minimizing risk.

Social Media Management

When it comes to marketing, if you’re not talking about social media, you may as well hang it up.  As social media experts, we want to help every automotive business build a strong and active social media following.  From major contests to ongoing content, keeping your social media consistent, targeted, and flowing is an important part of any successful marketing plan.

New Technology to Enhance Your Customers’ Experience

We love technology! We try to keep our finger on the pulse of the latest in gadgets and tools for the auto industry, and you should, too. There are a wealth of new technological tools available for automotive businesses, from automated chat bots for your website to physical in-vehicle items which can alert you if your customers are due for service or in an accident.  Vehicles are getting more high-tech every year, and we believe that automotive businesses should follow suit.

Diversity and Inclusion

We talk a lot about women in the automotive industry, but diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand with that. Just as branding yourself as an automotive business where women can feel safe, respected, and included is important and effective, it’s also effective to communicate in your advertising that you value the many different people who make our nations great.  This can be as simple as utilizing people of color in your advertising, or as bold as taking part in Pride month celebrations in June by flying a rainbow flag at your location.  These small steps can speak volumes to people who typically feel overlooked at best or derided at worst at an automotive business.

Go ahead and leave a comment below, or email us at info@askpatty.com to let us know what you’d like to hear more about in the New Year!  We look forward to writing for you and working every day and every year to innovate and improve for the auto industry.

Wishing you a thriving and successful 2021!

Jody DeVere, CEO of AskPatty.com, is an authority on marketing to women, as well as an automotive journalist, car-care expert and safety spokesperson for the industry. You can reach her at jdevere@askpatty.com.