|
|
|
| ABOUT | ||
| ||
| ||
| SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS brings you daily updates on trends that influence the global small business market. | ||
|
||
 |
|
Anita Campbell, Editor |
|
||
| Past life: CEO, corporate executive, tech entrepreneur, retailer, general counsel, marketer, HR ... (more) | ||
| email me | |
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
||
|
||
| FREE BUSINESS MAGAZINES | ||
|
||
|
||
| Trade publications FREE to qualified professionals. No hidden offers and no purchase necessary. | ||
|
||
| |
On Wall Street The Deal Computing Canada |
CIO Employee Benefit Oracle Magazine |
|
||
| 100+ additional titles. Click to browse. | ||
|
|
|
|
|
| ARCHIVES & SEARCH | |||
|
|||
|
|||
| |
Previous Small Business Trends articles can be found at the links below: | ||
|
|||
| |
October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 |
||
|
|||
| |
Or, use the search box below to find a specific post: |
||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
||
|
|
|
| NEWSLETTER |
|
|
|
| Sign up for our FREE Small Business Trends newsletter. (View Current)
We publish regularly and promise we won't share your email address with anyone. (Privacy Policy) |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| SMALL BIZ INFO & RESOURCES | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BLOGS TO READ DAILY* | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| * Don’t have time to read several dozen blogs a day? Pick two or three. Your brain will thank you for it. | |
|
|
|
|
| ONLINE COMMUNITIES | ||
|
||
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
| BLOG DIRECTORIES | ||
|
||
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
|
| THE BUZZ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SPECIAL RESOURCES | |
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Small Business Trends Radio Tuesdays, 1:00 PM Eastern U.S. time on Voice America network Click to listen November 1st: Torsten Jacobi, CEO of Creative Weblogging, joins host Anita Campbell. Sponsored by Six Disciplines. Show details. |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, August 11, 2004 | |
|||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Motorcycle Industry Learns Women Rule | |
||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|||||
|
|
By John Wyckoff
The fact that women control 85% of all the discretionary dollars spent in the US is beginning to wake up retailers everywhere. The last bastion of macho has been the motorcycle industry. They too have seen the shift and are now running at full speed to capitalize on this paradigm shift. About ten years ago women represented about 3% of the motorcycle owners. This year that number has ramped up to 12% in motorcycles and 16% in ATVs. Who changed? Both the OEMs and dealers have realized that they can no longer ignore this powerful market. First the OEMs -- Harley-Davidson, the "man's" motorcycle, now produces a Sportster specifically targeting women. The seat height is 24.5 inches, much lower than the 26 to 28 inches of the rest of the big bikes. The Japanese are catching on too by bring out sleek scooters designed to appeal to women and capable of keeping up with Interstate traffic. Now for the dealers -- Thanks to very intensive training dealers are beginning to understand their salespeople can no longer talk down to women. Some have accepted the idea and have even begun hiring women salespeople. Once only men staffed dealerships, except perhaps for the bookkeeper. Now, although still in the minority, women are showing up as techs, service writers, parts counter, and unit salespeople. Behavior has changed. Women customers now feel more at ease. Male salespeople have learned to treat women more like intelligent men. Why the switch? Perhaps it's the Internet that allows women to do the research before they enter the dealership. Dealers report that when a woman comes in to buy a bike she sometimes knows more than the man trying to sell her. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) conducts training for new motorcyclists. Last year they reported that 40% of those signing up for the class were women. That's up from single digit percentages a few short years ago. Car dealers are just beginning to wake up to the fact that they can no longer treat women the way they did just a few years ago. Those who have spent more time developing the women's market have shown greater success than those still in macho mode. The new pickup trucks show a woman's influence. Pickups are no longer a simple workhorse vehicle. Why the change? Pickup truck makers discovered that women were buying pickups in ever increasing numbers and were insisting on greater comfort and more amenities. The challenge now is to educate the pickup salesmen to the new world of selling to women. What's the upshot? There are fewer "girly" semi-nude posters in motorcycle, ATV, auto, and truck dealerships. Women's rest rooms are clean. Want to increase your business? If you're in a male dominated market learn to cater to and sell to women. Ignore them and suffer the consequences. In this millennium, women rule. John Wyckoff is a true guru of the motorcycle industry. A sought-after speaker at motorcycle events and frequent contributor to the motorcycle press, he is the founder of Intersport Fashions West. He is an expert on the motorcycle business and dealerships and is known for having his finger on the pulse of the motorcycling public. |
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
| |||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
More news... more trends... more insight... | |
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|||||
|
Home | Privacy | Terms | SmallBizTrends |
|
|
|
|
|
(c) Copyright 2003 - 2005, Small Business Trends LLC. All rights reserved. |