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Lyft and public transportation. But as this generation has Millennials are emotional customers, and it’s critical that
swung into their purchasing power, a different reality has they are made the star of their own experience and they
emerged. feel special in every step of the sale. A failure in service
or a bait-and-switch can lead to a crippling onslaught of
Clearly, millennials want conveniences similar to what bad reviews and public shaming across their social me-
their parents enjoyed, and are active consumers of retail dia networks that can negatively impact the business for
automobiles as they begin raising families of their own. years. They expect online transactions and delivery, and
But disruptors are taking advantage of millennials’ pur- failure to offer seamless experiences here will cost you
chase expectations in everything else they buy. thousands of dollars a day. Furthermore, digital media
is your only way to reach this shopper and your budget
When we think about our customers today, it’s fairly should be aggressive and fluid to move where the eyes
common to justify our marketing investments, our mes- are across every medium. Streaming connected TV is a
saging strategies and our communications habits based force to be reckoned with in this shopper’s journey and
on subconscious stereotypes we have applied to them represents an opportunity for you to optimize the effi-
for years via pure muscle memory or at least a conscious ciency of historically wasteful TV budgets.
assumption of their habits.
While a stronger mix of digital advertising gets millen-
We often think about millennials as the major justifica- nials into the dealership, the in-store experience must
tion for our industry’s move toward digital marketing also cater to them. Millennials are ripe for upstart online
given their constant attachment to screens and general shopping platforms today, but just like how they enjoy
avoidance of traditional linear and print media. browsing products inside an Apple store, so too can
they find a similar experience inside a dealership.
Embracing Digital to Entice
Millennials to Buy Cars A dealer has great advantages over a pure online car
shopping platform. From a logistical perspective, dealers
With the purchase power of millennials guaranteed are far better prepared than upstart online retailers like
to expand greatly over the next 20 years, we often get Carvana and Vroom where it relates to vehicle delivery
caught up in muscle memory when we think about other experiences, service and warranty work, and ongoing
generational cohorts, still advertising the way we always maintenance of the vehicle.
have to these different demographics because subcon-
sciously we perceive them to be static. Many dealers However, if a dealer can't help millennials customize
look to a digital strategy to satisfy millennials’ demand their vehicle and driving experience, discuss in detail all
but then revert to traditional advertising to reach the the features and explain F&I products in a non-pressure
other generations they’re familiar selling to. sales environment – something that has been a turn-off
to millions of millennials. Not doing so means risking
One blind spot is that a static media mix doesn’t consid- losing competitors that over-deliver on the shopping
er the behavioral evolution that occurs in each custom- experience and flexibility.
er’s subsequent buying cycles.
Millennials are interested in buying cars and trucks.
Thus, dealers’ advertising and sales strategies of- However, dealers must eliminate the muscle memory of
ten become static and stale as generations’ behavior how they advertise to them and how they sell to them.
evolves. This consistently leaves marketing allocations When dealers embrace an open and flexible purchase
and shopping experiences misaligned with customer process, they open the opportunity to deliver a very
expectations, competitive offerings, and the distribution Apple-like shopping experience to every customer, both
of media budgets, and it results in significant wasted online and in-store.
spending across profit centers in the business.
This article originally appeared on the WardsAuto web-
The Millennial-Friendly Auto Dealership site, which can be found here:
https://www.wardsauto.com/dealers/dealers-must-
Branding is critical for millennials. If your 65-year-old adapt-millennial-car-buyers-needs
dealership owner still insists on being the face of every
traditional television advertisement, you’ll still sell cars to
this generation, but you won’t maximize your opportuni-
ties.
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On The Mo
On The Move 2021 21