Auto Dealer Monthly, February 2014

By Stephanie Forshee INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT LADIES NIGHT Reaching highline customers has its challenges but Lexus of Massapequas Rose Cruz has set her sights on an even more focused market women Lexus of Massapequa N Y located less than an hour from Manhattan in an affl uent area of Long Islands South Shore is using cupcakes and cocktails as bait to attract female buyers to the store and its lineup of luxury vehicles But refreshments are only one facet of a larger campaign which includes special events educational sessions and social media marketing Much of the credit for the campaigns success belongs to Rose Cruz the stores business development manager She joined the dealership last July aft er working with its parent company Atlantic Auto Group for about four years She had been dreaming up ways to connect with female shoppers and was anxious to put her ideas into practice I said to myself I have to fi nd ways to engage women For instance the Lexus RX350 which is the most popular model we have in our line is driven predominantly by women Cruz explains According to Forbes 60 of Lexus RX crossover buyers are female CARS AND CUPCAKES In December the staff invited women to join them at the dealership for Cars Cupcakes a one night event featuring baked goods virgin cocktails holiday shopping and workshops on car related topics You can take Saks Fift h Avenue Bloomingdales even smaller boutiques and they have ladies nights Cruz says I thought Why not try this here And thats exactly what we did Aft er enjoying the faux champagne and virgin cosmopolitans served throughout the night visitors were invited to sit in on sessions to learn more about the auto fi nancing process Cruz hoped the sessions would help change the mindset of women who may have been reluctant to buy a car on their own As a woman going into the dealership alone can be a very scary thing Cruz says Th ey feel more comfortable bringing a guy with them their husband a brother their son an uncle So the seminars let them know a little more about what theyre going to be hearing Led by two women a local teacher and a longtime Lexus of Massapequa sales consultant the sessions focused on what women need to know about their familys credit what determines their credit score how to improve 16 AUTO DEALER MONTHLY FEBRUARY 2014 their credit and leasing vs buying One session was even dedicated to demystifying car terminology like horsepower and all wheel drive You need to know your demographic You need to know your psychographic Cruz stresses adding that she plans to switch up the topics in the future Cars Cupcakes was held shortly aft er Novembers Long Island Womens Expo where Cruz and coworkers manned a booth for Lexus of Massapequa Flanked by exhibitors selling leather coats and spa treatments Cruz says the Lexus booth became a favorite destination for attendees thanks to the cupcakes her team handed out Booth visitors also received vouchers they could redeem for a 25 American Express gift card by visiting the dealership M Lexu th locat Man Islan Lo cupcake attrac Rose Cruz above recently worked with Somos Partners Inc on campaigns aimed to bring in more female car buyers In December Lexus of Massapequa hosted Cars Cupcakes a one night event where women were invited to partake in cupcakes cocktails and shopping