In today’s connected world consumer experience IS your brand. Your brand is defined, not by a marketing team or agency, but by how people experience it. Our study shows unequivocally what we think the industry has known instinctively for some time; women are disenfranchised by the automotive industry. In this ground-breaking research project, we surveyed over 48,000 women to establish the "state of the nation" of the female experience of automotive. This is the executive summary.

1. The Automotive Experience Lab by Good Rebels 1

2. www.different-spin.com/womenMad Maxine - Does Automotive Fail Women?2
Foreword
“I expect you’ll want to go home and consult your husband”. So said a car
dealer to a divorced, high net-worth businesswoman, about to spend £30,000
on a year-old, premium convertible. Part of a conversation between customer
and dealer, not in 1982 but in 2014.
Something has to change in the car industry. And change radically. From motor shows to showrooms, the female
customer experience is in the most part negative; indeed, the findings of this report claim that the industry is
fundamentally failing women, and that they feel disenfranchised by the automotive world.
For those of us who care about cars, who believe in the track record of manufacturers to evolve and adapt to
changing behaviours and demands, it is inconceivable that the answer is to sit back and do nothing.
At Goodwood, we are passionate about automotive innovation, working with manufacturers and motoring
enthusiasts since the inception of the Festival of Speed in 1993. The arrival of the Moving Motor Show in 2010
gave us a new, privileged opportunity to work alongside the public and industry together, engaging in discussions
around the consumer.
To complement the experiential journey, we have sought the best market intelligence and data-driven insight on a
significant scale; to help us all understand our audience better.
To that end, this year we have partnered with Good Rebels, whose automotive experience innovation lab, Different
Spin, conducts insights projects on the issues we know matter to you and your customers. We are pleased, therefore,
to present the latest Different Spin research project, focused entirely on female car buyers: what are they looking for,
how do they view the buying process? And what do they feel about the ownership experience?
Why are women such an important demographic? Why should manufacturers single them out as a group? And why
should the industry pay attention to this report?
In the UK, women are expected to own 60 per cent of all personal wealth by 2025. From the unparalleled
sample of 48,345 UK women surveyed by Different Spin, the deeper dive survey of 719 women and the panel
of 68 women, the results are staggering. This report gives you a comprehensive, unique insight into a crucial
demographic, but one finding is worth particular mention: 90 per cent of the women questioned would not visit a
car dealership without a male partner, male relation or male friend.
It’s time we all looked for a revolution in the female consumer experience of automotive. We hope this report will
whet your appetite, as it has ours at Goodwood, to look outside the familiar industry constraints for new solutions to
support your female customers.

3. The Automotive Experience Lab by Good Rebels 3
Approach
This project is a ‘state of the automotive nation’, understanding the total female experience of automotive. To
dig deeply into the subject, our methodology has borrowed from ‘design thinking’, a human-centred approach to
innovation that combines analytic and creative processes. Yes we analysed large volumes of data using statistically
significant samples. But we also used our intuition to engage with the women who participated in our research. We
recognised patterns and understood concepts that are emotionally meaningful as well as functional. We enabled our
participants to express themselves through techniques beyond the traditional survey.
Nobody wants to run an organisation on feeling, intuition, and inspiration alone, but an over-reliance on the
rational and the analytical is just as risky. Design thinking provides an integrated third way.
We have spent 3 months running an ‘Experience Lab’, immersing ourselves in the reality of the end-consumer
experience, in this case four segments of women:
• Millennials
• Mothers
• Professionals
• Empty-nesters
This has allowed us to clearly understand the need states of the female consumer when it comes to automotive and
get a robust view of where the sector is delighting and dismaying female consumers.

4. www.different-spin.com/womenMad Maxine - Does Automotive Fail Women?4
Experience Lab methodology
During the 3-month Experience Lab we used a variety of techniques to
get under the skin of this topic in an unprecedented way. We integrated
quantitative analysis of data with in-depth qualitative analysis via open-
ended surveys, audience panels and interviews.
1. Automotive purchasing and behavioural data
Sample size: 48,345 UK women
2. Deep dive survey
Sample size: 719 UK women
3. Hark research panel
Sample size: 68 panel members
4. One-to-one interviews
Sample size: 12 in-depth interviews
We partnered with Mumsnet and Reevoo to reach their consumer panels of women to conduct the deep dive survey.
Survey participants spanned a cross-section of the UK, including region, age, family types and social-economic
group.
All data sources include representation from, and can be segmented into, the following demographic groups:
• Empty Nesters
Female, aged 45-64 with children aged 21+
• Millennials
Female, aged 19-34
• Mothers
Female, aged 18-64 with children under 21
• Above average earning professionals (Professionals)
Female, employed, personal income of £32,001+

5. The Automotive Experience Lab by Good Rebels 5
Experience Lab tasks
In order to get beyond the data, we asked our Experience Lab members to carry out a series of creative tasks
including:
• Writing a love letter to an auto brand
• Writing hate mail to an auto brand
• Visualising their shortlisting process
• Uploading or creating a visualisation of the experience of dealerships
• Evaluating car advertising
More detailed information on methodology and data sources is found in the Appendix on page 92.

6. www.different-spin.com/womenMad Maxine - Does Automotive Fail Women?6
Executive summary,
experience is everything
In today’s connected world consumer experience is your brand. Your brand is
defined, not by a marketing team or agency, but by how people experience it.
Our study shows unequivocally what we think the industry has known instinctively for some time; women are
disenfranchised by the automotive industry.
The picture is a nuanced one. There are elements of the experience that delight and dismay the female consumer in
equal measure. We explore both sides in this report.
Parts of the consumer experience are so broken that they are tarnishing the entire female perception and experience
of the industry. Marketing, dealership and service experiences are disproportionately exasperating and are driving a
wedge between women and automotive as a whole:
• 90% of the female consumers surveyed would not visit a car dealership without a male partner, male family
member or male friend
• 56% said they felt patronised by car advertising
• 34% believe that no car brand understands women
Some of the stories shared by the members of our Experience Lab will make you chuckle, some will make you
wince and some will make you downright angry.
Did you know? In the UK alone, women are expected to own 60% of all personal wealth by 20251
. You already
know what an important demographic women are. There are great initiatives underway in some major automotive
players; the problem is that these iterations are not radically transforming the female consumer experience.
How is the automotive industry, ripe for disruption, going to tap into this potential? Will traditional OEMs develop
experiences that are capable of connecting powerfully with the female market without diminishing their value to
men? Or will it take a bold new entrant (from Silicon Valley or beyond?) to finally create a delightful experience for
every female car buyer?
It is time to stop iterating and start innovating. It is time for a consumer experience revolution in automotive.
1
Source: Centre for Economics and Business Research

7. The Automotive Experience Lab by Good Rebels 7
Contents
Foreword 2
Approach 3
Experience Lab methodology 4
Executive summary, experience is everything 6
Introduction 9
Brand experience 13
Favourite car brands 14
What makes a favourite? 15
Least favourite car brands 16
What makes a least favourite? 17
Do car brands get women? 18
Mini and ‘gendering’ 19
Even women stereotype women 20
Does car advertising work? 20
Women don’t think car advertising is for them 21
What ads do women love? 22
What type of ads do women dislike? 23
TV ads are struggling to be memorable 25
Buying experience 26
New consumer journey model 27
Trigger points 29
Scoping 30
Inspiration 31
Hardcore research 31
Price comparison 32
Validation 33
Test drive 33
Purchase 34
Sources of information and advice 34
What are women looking for in a car? 35
Substance over styling 36
Reliability 36
Size and space 37
Performance 38
A bit of character 38
Room for emotional connection 39

8. www.different-spin.com/womenMad Maxine - Does Automotive Fail Women?8
Dealership experience 40
The dealership in the car buying process 40
The role of the dealership 42
Importance of the test drive 43
Dealership for showrooming 43
A new kind of showroom experience 44
Dealership for negotiations 45
Dealership to build confidence 45
Are women ready for a full end-to-end online experience? 46
Case study: BMW Retail Online 46
What do women really feel about the dealership experience? 47
What do women hate about dealerships? 49
6 dealership commandments 49
1. Thou shalt not make wild assumptions 49
2. Thou shalt not make me feel like a small child 50
3. Thou shalt not direct all conversation to my husband 51
4. Thou shalt not look at my children with fear in thine eyes 51
5. Thou shalt not direct me straight to the family cars 52
6. Thou shalt listen to my needs 52
Going the extra mile really pays off 56
Ownership experience 59
Servicing and maintenance 59
Little things = big difference 61
From ownership to advocacy 61
The recipe for success 63
From advocacy to loyalty 64
Surpassing ownership expectations 65
Forming an emotional connection 65
How to earn a customers’ long-term loyalty 67
Customer experience for service-based companies 68
What women want 71
But what does being customer-centric really mean? 73
Experience Innovation 74
Creating a delightful consumer experience 76
Ripe for disruption 76
1. Complex experiences 76
2. Broken trust 76
3. Redundant intermediaries 76
Don’t understand, empathise 77
Do one thing 78
Download the full report for £250+VAT
www.different-spin.com/women

9. The Automotive Experience Lab by Good Rebels 9
Face it. Automotive has a problem. In today’s connected world, consumer experience is
your brand and our research shows women are disenfranchised by the auto industry.
CAR B
UYING
OWNE
RSHIP
DEALE
RSHIP
CARB
RAND
It is essential that auto brands develop product, service and experience that
demonstrates true empathy with ‘women like me’. Stop iterating, start innovating.
It is time for a consumer experience revolution.
BUY THE FULL REPORT
AT DIFFERENT-SPIN.
COM/WOMEN SOURCES: DIFFERENT SPIN @ GOOD REBELS EXPERIENCE LAB, MUMSNET,
REEVOO, GLOBALWEBINDEX.
Different Spin the automotive experience innovation lab
from GoodRebels.com. In association with Goodwood.
OF WOMEN INVOLVED IN BUYING
A NEW FAMILY CAR WITH THEIR
PARTNER ARE EQUALLY OR MAINLY
RESPONSIBLE FOR RESEARCH,
PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING.
DISSATISFIED
SATISFACTORYBAD
Yes No Don’t Know
PatronisingForgettable BoringRealistic Make assumptions
about families
CAR BRANDS UNDERSTAND VERY STEREOTYPICAL WOMEN. NOT
ALL WOMEN, NO. THEY’RE VERY GENERALISED IN THE WAY OF IT
BEING ‘ALL GIRLS LIKE SMALL CARS, PINK STEERING WHEELS...’
EMMA, 22
THE TOP PRIORITIES
WHEN BUYING A CAR
WOMEN THINK CAR
ADVERTS ARE...
WHAT WOMEN SAY
ABOUT CAR DEALERS
WOMEN’S FEELINGS
ABOUT OWNING A CAR
GOOD
41%
FUELECONOMY
45%
RELIABILITY
57%
PRICE
0%
BECAUSEIT’S
PINK
MAKE ME FEEL GROWN UP - WELL
SPEC’D AND SENSIBLE BUT POWERFUL.
LEIGH, 46
TRADITIONAL AND FORWARD THINKING,
RELIABLE AND STYLISH, AFFORDABLE
AND INSPIRING.
FAYE, 24
OF WOMEN WOULD NOT VISIT A
CAR DEALERSHIP WITHOUT A MAN
WOMEN ARE 3 TIMES MORE
LIKELY TO SAY THEY HAD AN
IN A DEALERSHIP THAN AN