Like it or not, Millennials are the current generation your dealership needs to be focusing on. Now in their 30’s, Millennials are one of the key demographics for purchasing both new and pre-owned vehicles…but they’re a different type of customers. According to a new study, in which almost 75 percent of American Gen Z and Millennials told researchers that they prefer to talk with other people via text message–as opposed to actually talking with them. So basically, if your sales team and BDC do not understand the importance of being able to close deals via chat systems, you’re missing out on sales. My son for example ordered his last vehicle site-unseen, and didn’t even want to take the vehicle for a test drive because he did the research and knew exactly what he wanted (all the way down to the trim level). Millennials are smart, educated, and often have money burning a hole in their pocket. In short – don’t overlook this key demographic. So what do you need to do besides close the deal? Well, for starters get their attention. Quality social media management for your dealership means unique content focused on the community, people, and social events – not sales. You don’t really need to “sell” this age group because they know what they want before they even reach out to you. The best part is though, when they show buying signals, you know they’re (usually) serious about that specific vehicle they inquired about. Don’t be pushy, don’t be salesy, just keep it casual and conversational. 9 times out of 10 the deal will manifest itself. My best advice for selling to Millennials is to connect with them in any way possible that allows them to skip phone calls and skip the showroom as much as possible. They don’t want to sit in your expensive customer lounge or eat at your dealership’s cafe. They want to be in and out just like Amazon or the self-checkout line at Target. Ray Reggie
