99% of consumers expect car shopping to be a ‘hassle’
Consumer Experience survey by Driving Sales.
The logic of marketing was that the more advertisements you throw at youngsters, the sooner you could hook them to your brand. Reaching out to the younger generation takes a lot more than traditional ads.
In particular, the millennials (born from early 80’s to around 2000) prove to be a challenge for the market and you can see numerous companies attempting to connect with them to seek personal, deep, and long-lasting relationships.
Here are 9 steps how to attract the Millennial audience.
Don’t declare.
Let’s start with our broadcast messaging, how we communicate via radio and television. The vast majority of broadcast marketing from dealers is declarative in nature, stating facts or superlatives. “We have the lowest prices. We have the best selection.
The Millennials love to participate in a conversation, to be asked versus told. Scripts that ask more questions (even those that are overtly rhetorical) will engage this audience. “Do you love getting a good deal? Would a bigger selection make it easier for you to buy your next car?”
These “asks” also allow for the messaging to extend easily into social media. Imagine the spot (radio or TV) that concludes with an invitation to continue the conversation online? “Tell us how you’d like to buy your next car @SouthWestFord #carshoppingfun”.
Respect Their Intelligence
When you respond to an online submission, from a Millennial or anyone for that matter, you are marketing. Most dealers fail to recognize this uncomfortable fact, and is probably a topic worthy of another article. A thoughtful and intelligent response will dramatically increase your chances for continued engagement.
Personalizing
Pandora channel plays sets of songs based on likes and dislikes. Advertising can do the same thing. Does your marketing keep pace with this new paradigm?
Mirror Them
Sales psychology 101, as people buy from people that are most like them, Millennials should be an ingredient in your TV spots, and should have a voice in your radio spots.
While my generation has a sufficient case of Stockholm syndrome to tolerate what I call “Old dealer on lot spots”, the Millennials will tune that out completely. Start seeing your marketing efforts as a mirror to the people you are trying to attract.
Millennials are as communal as it gets and they want to see a village full of their kind, in your marketing AND showroom (read: staff). This extends into sound as well, where a jingle that anchors to their day in music will encourage engagement.
Social Media
Timing and location is crucial when getting the message across to millennials about your brand. If your business is the sort that wishes to target this heavy group, you must be aware of the fact that millennials spend most of their time on the internet. That’s where you can target them.
With the internet common in the present century, it isn’t anything new to see that millennials depend on social media sites. The more information they find on social platforms, the more they tend to trust and act on that information. In other words, social media for advertisers can serve as one of the best places to target millennials.
Internet Content Matters
Another good strategy to reach millennials is through content. Marketers these days invest a lot of their time putting their message across to youngsters via content. In a recent survey, as much as 62 percent of millennials agreed that they read or watch a majority of their content online via social media and different websites.
By content, this could include articles, blogs, and other various web-based postings. When millennials read content online, they tend to relate more and somehow trust it more than watching or listening to ads.
Millennials Depend On Reviews Not Ads
Today, things have changed drastically and millennials tend to depend more on the reviews of products they see on the internet. Meaning, investments in social media and reputation management are more important now than ever to the young buyers of today.
It’s also not about how the product appears on television, but how it can affect their life. They need to see proof that what you offer them can actually have an impact on their life.
Millennials Focus on Specific Categories
Many researches also reveal that although millennials are tech advanced, there are some things that just don’t change. In terms of categories, male millennials still search for tech based gadgets and sports content while female millennials still focus on beauty and health aids. Keeping these traditions in mind, businesses should continue to work on displaying their services or products in this space.
Aim for their dog (It’s not a John Wick story)
This generation is less likely to own a car, own a home, or even have a child than the previous generation. However, they do succeed in one specific category: pets.
Pet treats, pet toys, pet clothes, pet accessories – the market is inundated with an excess of pet products, and millennials are on board for indulging their canine and feline friends. Many stores have caught on to this pet-crazed trend; Starbucks serves their famous “Puppacinos” on the secret menu, an espresso cup full of whipped cream for your canine companion’s eternal delight. Others, like Chick-Fil-A serve drive-thru doggie treats, whereas some like In-N-Out Burger even provide dogs a full “Pup Patty.” It’s easy to say that pets nowadays are having their cake and eating it too.
In search of a better yard and a better lifestyle for their precious pooch, millennials are changing their larger item buying habits to coincide with their dogs’ needs. Pets have begun to influence the market as a whole, becoming the pseudo-children to a generation holding back on the traditional norms of marriage and parenthood. They are the outlet for millennials’ extra spend – essentially, a baby without the cost or sacrifice of a real baby.
Authenticity and guarantee of advertising comes when you speak to and perceive millennials in the way they wish to be seen or viewed. You have to cultivate an authentic relationship and soon you can reap the rewards.
-With Jack Wooldridge
